My introduction:
The two most prominent ideological positions in The Old Spice advert are a deconstruction of patriarchy (arguably a feminist viewpoint) and a critique of consumerism. The advantage to the brand is that this ironic twist on fragrance advertising for men allows them to establish a very memorable and arguably unique brand identity, differentiate themselves from their competitors and to validate the aspirations of consumers all while poking light-hearted fun at them. It also allows them to target a mature male audience (existing customers) while also engaging a new audience (women buying for their partners).
A good introduction should answer the question and make it clear what you are going to be writing about. It should NOT contain anything that is unnecessary.
What will I be writing about?
Now that we have written our introduction, the next step is to write the essay. There may be several ways to approach this, but here are two good options.
Option 1: Technique Approach
- Paragraph 1 - Write about image (250 - 300 words)
- Paragragh 2 - Write about language and typography (150 - 200)
- Paragraph 3 - Write about the pack shot or branding. (100 words)
Option 2: Ideology Approach
- Paragraph 1 - Write about patriarchy/feminism. (300 words)
- Paragraph 2 - Write about consumerism. (300 words)
Task 2: We are going to have a go at approach number 2 and write a paragraph on consumerism.
This paragraph should include:
- Specific and detailed examples from the text.
- Analysis of the way that example is used to construct/deconstruct consumerism.
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of this approach regarding the target audience (advertising values).
The ideology of consumerism is constructed through representations of the target audience galivanting in the Bahamas, this validates the aspirations of the customers. However, the representations of the target audience are humorous and contain a range of intertextual references to movies (such as jaws, castaway and the Poseidon adventure) that would be known by the audience (mature males and females purchasing it for a man). This mocking of the audiences helps to make the product memorable, the comedy is cemented by the comical representation of an American sportsperson with a volcano on his head in one of the sweet spots (according to rule of thirds), and the body of the Bahamas. The use of the Bahamas connotes positive associations with the brand, connecting the idyllic location with their product and supporting the consumerist desires of the audience to go holiday (to the Bahamas). Consumerism is also supported in the anchoring text, the language adds another layer of humour and intertextuality, making fun of other fragrance adverts and advertising stereotypes attracting both a pro and anti-consumerist audience through preferred and negotiated readings. Applying the rule of Z, the pack shot is the last thing the audience reads and hence will stick in their head. The pack shot reinforces the consumerist ideal of the Bahamas as it reflects the image and establishes their brand identity.
ReplyDeleteOne of the prominent ideological positions in the Old Spice advert is a critique of consumerism. Consumerism is the human desire to constantly be consuming, with there clearly being biological needs that are satisfied by consumption. In the advert, the celebrity model is surrounded by multiple intertextual references to late 20th century and early 21st century film, such as “Castaway” (2000) and “Jaws” (1975). This use of intertextuality strongly appeals to the older male target audience who will be more familiar with these films, and resultingly could make them feel a sense of nostalgia from this advertisement. Because of this inclusion, the target audience, due to the consumption of the advert and older films, will feel the need to purchase the product because they might feel it is defining their identity in a social hierarchy. Furthermore, the branding staple of “the Bahamas”, which appears on the product and in the comedic tagline, is playing off a simulation of the Bahamas. Not everyone has been to the Bahamas, with a low amount of people having been especially from the UK. Therefore, through media consumption, society has a perception of the Bahamas as beautiful, warm and exquisitely relaxing. This simulation now directly correlates to the product, giving the brand a connection to the magnificent islands. “Old Spice” is, however, aware of this, shown by the text stating “this fact has not been fact checked” when talking about their products scent coming straight from the Bahamas. This establishes brand identity and makes the product memorable by embracing a comedic quality which will differentiate the product from its competitors.
ReplyDeleteConsumerism: the protection or promotion of the interests of consumers. This ideology is very prolific across the advertisement, becoming ever present in examples such as the multiple allusions to movies of the late 20th century/early 21st century, a time period that the consumer base of Old Spice can associate themselves with. Within this imagery, it’s interesting to note that the representation of women is shown to be relaxed, consuming a holiday as a holiday should be consumed. This contrasts the representation of men, who are engaging in more reckless activities that result in their loss. The easily recognisable imagery makes the product more memorable, and the correlation with a specific demographic assists in maintaining existing customers, as well as attracting new ones. Frequent tropical references establish the brand identity of their ‘Old Spice: Bahamas’ product line, while simultaneously validating the aspirations of consumers. The pack shot also constructs brand identity with its iconic red colouration, it’s ‘hand written’ logo in an elegant font, and more references to the Bahamas. This style of marketing differentiates itself from Old Spice’s competitors, opting to ridicule the conventional idea of consumerism through its comedic tone.
ReplyDeleteA clear ideology being promoted by this Old Spice advert is Consumerism, seen in many attributes of the advert. Using the Z rule, the last image seen is the pack shot, meaning it is the last part we forget about. This promotes the product making people less likely to forget it and more likely to wanting to buy it, promoting a consumerist ideology. Celebrity endorsement also makes the product more memorable as it attracts new customers who may be fans of the American Sports person modelling in the advert, fans who want to relate to the celebrity and be like them. A conventionally attractive male also would attract female viewers who may buy old spice for their husband. The model looking down the camera with a smirk looks confident and flirtatious, stereotypical for older women to be attracted too, hence they consume the product so their husbands can smell like the celebrity. However, humour is also used to promote consumerism by mocking it. The anchoring text seems like a fact with white sans serif font, however, is complete nonsense and lies, mocking the lies and “truths” other companies make to promote their products. This to the audience makes Old Spice stand out from other companies, creating a brand identity, which they can relate to as the older generation tends to have negative views on modern products and advertisement. Ironically, this is used to still promote the product, supporting the ideology that they seem to be against. The product scent “Bahamas”, which is what the model seems to be modelling as, is a stereotypical place for an older generation to want to travel to, so while they can’t travel to the Bahamas, Old Spice promotes consumerism as their customers can at least smell of the Bahamas.
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When looking at the advert itself, we see that the image draws links to consumerism and a deconstruction of patriarchy. Using the Z rule we are drawn to the face of the model Isaiah Mustafa, a former NFL player, the use of this celebrity endorsement makes the product memorable as many will see it as the ‘Isaiah Mustafa’ advert, as well as this, the model has a smirk on his face which suggests a cool, confident manner, that the audience could obtain by consuming this product. When looking at the setting of the advert, we see it set in the Bahamas, this is seen as a paradise and an aspirational holiday for many and this advert validates that aspiration. The image contains many intertextual references to 20th century film such as Jaws and Castaway. These references help establish the brand identity and clearly shows the products target audience (35-40+) as people outside of this demographic are unlikely to understand this. The image helps attract new customers as Mustafa is famous and many may buy the product because of this, it also helps maintain customers as it plays a joke on the typical male patriarchy, showing the rest of the males in the image as foolish and not the cool, confident stereotype of Mustafa. This shows the target audience that they do not need to be concerned with this male stereotype, thus reinforcing their brand identity. We also see the only female on this advert is sunbathing and enjoying the ‘paradise’ she is in, she is very passive and this conforms to Van Zoonen’s theory of male gaze.
ReplyDeleteOld Spice critiques consumerism whilst also utilising it to the advert’s advantage to widen the range of consumers attracted to the product, particularly considering their typical mature male demographic, by using intertextuality throughout the main image as an homage to late 20th century movies. This not only validates loyal existing customers, but also attracts new customers who may recognise movie references, such as Jaws, and feel a strong alignment with the brand’s identity. Consumerism is also taken advantage of throughout the pack shot and text, promoting the idea of the ‘Bahamas’ in association to the brand to validate consumer aspirations; by attempting to sell a simulacrum of the Bahamas to consumers who may never truly experience it. Consumerism is also evident through its use of celebrity endorsement; placing the camera angle at eye level in order to establish an equality between the potential customers and the celebrity, connoting that they too can be as God-like as he is presented. Whilst Old Spice takes advantage of typical consumeristic techniques, the advert cleverly dismantles and critiques consumerism through its use of clear comedic value; ‘this fact has not been fact-checked', as well as the bizarre editing of the volcano head, which is instantly noticed when following the z-rule, and clearly makes the product memorable by mocking traditional advertising values, and in effect, differentiating itself from competitors. Whilst this is clearly in affect, Old Spice may also be targeting female customers, intending to play into their own aspirations and lifestyle choices through the idealised female representation on a line of thirds; using red amongst a mostly tan/blue mise en scene to connect to the red in the pack shot; drawing our attention amongst the chaos of masculine adventure. The representation of the woman clearly speaks to consumerism as it validates typical aspirations of a holiday; aligning the Old Spice scent of the ‘Bahamas’ as idyllic to their lifestyle and aspiration to a generalised female audience.
ReplyDeleteConsumerism is an ideology that is ever-present in the Old Spice advert. In fact, the advert displays criticism towards consumerism in a comedic manner that differentiates the brand from competitors. In the advert, it uses language that one can assume is an attempt to make fun of other fragrance brands and the language that they use in their adverts. We know this to be true as the advert says that the scent comes from an ‘anti-perspirant mine in the Bahamas’, one can obviously see the humorous nature of this text as “anti-perspirant” mines do not exist. This clearly establishes the brand identity as well as it conveys the brand as one that is to be taken as some sort of joke. Furthermore, the imagery in the advert is littered with intertextual and non-intertextual references that make the product more memorable and perhaps even maintaining existing customers. The movies that are referenced in the advert are classics that were released quite some years ago and therefore reach the targeted audience of the fragrance, which is of an older generation. Similarly, the advert validates the aspirations of consumers by making many references to the Bahamas. The Bahamas are referenced in everything from the image, the language, the pack shot and even the brand itself, with the fragrance being called “Old Spice Bahamas”. The advert simply makes the consumers aspire to go on a holiday to a location like the Bahamas, displayed through the palm trees and luscious beaches.
ReplyDeleteEssay Paragraph 2: Consumerism
ReplyDeleteThis advert takes a unique approach to consumerism, basically mocking typical consumerism ideas. The text on the advert is an attempt at humour, satirising other advert and their methods of consumerism, this establishes an identity with the brand, while also making the product memorable.
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DeleteThis advert clearly constructs the idea of consumerism through the validation of the audiences (mature men’s) lifestyle choices with the mise en scene based solely around the idea of holidaying in the Bahamas. To make the product memorable the advert has a heavy use of intertextual references (such as jaws, castaway, the Poseidon adventure), whilst referencing these movies the advert also has a comical and chaotic affect which further appeals to the audiences adventurous side and aspirational lifestyle. The humour of the text is further developed in the text, placed alongside the head of the sportsperson to follow the rule of thirds and z rules, which differentiates itself from its competitors through the comedic phrase ‘ this fact has not been fact checked’. Also through the application of the z rule we find ourselves lastly at the pack shot which pictures the idyllic Bahamas yet again and further imposes the brand identity. Similarly when looking at this from a woman's perspective, the consumerist ideology is promoted by the way in which the only female on the advert can be seen relaxing and enjoying the holiday in a stereotypical way which may create an aspirational view for women. The uses of all imagery in this text create a familiarity and therefore will continue to appeal to the current consumers and hopefully to new aspirational consumers.
ReplyDeleteThe Old Spice advert contains the ideology consumerism in its attempt to make the product more memorable with their target audience. However, the old spice takes a different direction to those of other after shave brands by mocking the use of consumerism. The advert does this by showing the target audience that they are lying to them. This lie is done in a joke manner saying that the smell of Old Spice comes from the mines of the Bahamas when in fact it does not. This text serves as a reflection to other aftershave brands who also lie to their audiences to encourage them to buy their products. This joking style the advert gives makes its brand new and unique on the market as it goes against the common tropes other adverts in the market use, the use of the joke makes the assumption that the audience will understand it making a connection between the advert and the possible buyer. The whole advert is set in a traditional island paradise setting; a woman is seen sunbathing/relaxing, blue sky's and palm trees, this setting promotes a consumerism approach for the brand as the pack shot in the advert doesn't only serve as a call-too-action, the product itself is also advertising a holiday trip to the Bahamas. The design of the pack shot also contains palm trees and the sandy environment from the main image.
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