AOW 3/12: Old Spice Guy

This week's visual is the Old Spice commercials that aired in 2010. The premise is that a man could smell like a women's dream man and also act like him as well. It was a wildly successful campaign for Old Spice and they would make seven commercials that would involve "the man your man could smell like." It was successful because the character was a very memorable character and certain elements of the "plot" were very funny and had snappy diction. The purpose of the commercial was to sell Old Spice, but to sell Old Spice as a product to smell good and get to be the man your women dreams about. They do this well because the commercial is well known and the actor, Isaiah Mustafa, is known for his role in the commercial. They also appeal to their audience very well, they are targeting men who are somewhere between the ages of 16-30. The diction is very repetitive, but is effective because it displays a psychological trick of seeing the person and the commercial and yourself as the same person. The diction is also similar to how the "Beats" generation wrote. It jumps all over the place and is shown by how the commercial flows. The diction helps support their purpose because it shows how "anything is possible" and that is something that this product may bring to one of their typical users. This commercial also appeals to pathos because of the emphasis in his voice, but also by the inspiration of "anything is possible." Their users will use it more because they market the product almost as something that makes them better and that will not only help their customers, but also attract new customers. Old Spice accomplished their purpose because they were able to sell their product, but is also shown in the additional commercials that have the same premise.