Ideologies in an Old Spice Commercial
The advertisement I am going to talk about can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE. The link to where I got the information about Old Spice from is here: http://oldspice.com/en-US/.
Old Spice is a brand that was created by Procter & Gamble (P&G). There are many products that are sold under this brand: antiperspirant, deodorant, body wash, body spray, and fragrances. Several commercials advertising their body washes have been aired and are memorable because of the use of humor. Particular ideologies are dominant throughout the commercial I'm going to discuss.
Stuart Hall discussed what ideologies are in an article called "The Whites of Their Eyes: Racist Ideologies and the Media" (which is found in the third edition of textbook called "Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader," which was edited by Gail Dines and Jean M. Humez). He stated, "I am using the term ideology to refer to those images, concepts, and premises which provide the frameworks through which we represent, interpret, understand, and 'make sense' of some aspect of social existence" (page 81). He also claims that "...the media's main sphere of operations is the production and transformation of ideologies" (page 81). The second statement is particularly true, especially after looking at the Old Spice ad called "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like."
The commercial shows a sequential set of random activities performed by a man who uses Old Spice body wash. He repeatedly says, "Look at your man... now back to me." At one point, he says, "Sadly, he isn't me. But if he stopped using lady-scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he's me." Later on, he stated, "Where are you? You're on a boat with the man your man could smell like. What's in your hand? Back at me. I have it. It's an oyster with two tickets to the thing you love. Look again. The tickets are now diamonds. Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady." Based on these quotes, it is clear what ideologies are being reinforced: it is important for a man to smell good, he can't smell "like a lady," a man has to provide his "woman" with nice, expensive gifts, and you can achieve many things/do or have whatever you want/pursue your dreams (or, as stated in the commercial, "Anything is possible.") if men use Old Spice.
According to Hall (page 81), "...ideologies do not consist of isolated and separate concepts, but in the articulation of different elements into a distinctive set or chain of meanings." Whoever made this commercial is expressing the idea that it is "manly" to use Old Spice and it would be foolish not to use it. In this way, the creators are connecting masculinity to using this specific brand of body wash. By doing so, they're saying that using Old Spice fits into the "chain of meanings" associated with masculinity. Then, C. Wesley Buerkle wrote an article called "Metrosexuality can Stuff it: Beef Consumption as (Heteromasculine) Fortification." On page 88, he claims, "...meat connotes men's assumed dominance..." By claiming that "Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice" and showing that "your man" would be able to buy you tickets and diamonds, the writers of the commercial are saying that men who use Old Spice are dominant because they can afford and achieve whatever they want in a short amount of time without any problems. Next, Dafna Lemish wrote an article entitled "The Future of Childhood in the Global Television Market" (found in "Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader"). On page 359, he claimed, "A partial list of the critique of values identified in the forms of American television broadcast to children around the world includes heavy consumerism..." This Old Spice commercial is obviously encouraging consumerism. It's doing it in a way that convinces male viewers that they need to buy the body wash.
Women and men are being represented in this commercial. Not only does this ad convince men they have to use Old Spice, it makes women believe that men need it, as well. If "their men" use it, they'll be able to go sailing and they'll be spoiled with whatever gifts they want. The way the ideologies are presented and the ideologies themselves are ridiculous because there is no way that using a certain body wash will get you far in life. You achieve your goals because of the time and dedication you put into your work. You have to earn things; everything isn't always given to you. Also, why should women have to rely on men to get what they want? There's no reason why they can't provide for themselves. Finally, deciding what a "womanly smell" is can be subjective: who decided what a woman is supposed to smell like and what a man is supposed to smell like? "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" is clearly full of ideologies.
The commercial shows a sequential set of random activities performed by a man who uses Old Spice body wash. He repeatedly says, "Look at your man... now back to me." At one point, he says, "Sadly, he isn't me. But if he stopped using lady-scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he's me." Later on, he stated, "Where are you? You're on a boat with the man your man could smell like. What's in your hand? Back at me. I have it. It's an oyster with two tickets to the thing you love. Look again. The tickets are now diamonds. Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady." Based on these quotes, it is clear what ideologies are being reinforced: it is important for a man to smell good, he can't smell "like a lady," a man has to provide his "woman" with nice, expensive gifts, and you can achieve many things/do or have whatever you want/pursue your dreams (or, as stated in the commercial, "Anything is possible.") if men use Old Spice.
According to Hall (page 81), "...ideologies do not consist of isolated and separate concepts, but in the articulation of different elements into a distinctive set or chain of meanings." Whoever made this commercial is expressing the idea that it is "manly" to use Old Spice and it would be foolish not to use it. In this way, the creators are connecting masculinity to using this specific brand of body wash. By doing so, they're saying that using Old Spice fits into the "chain of meanings" associated with masculinity. Then, C. Wesley Buerkle wrote an article called "Metrosexuality can Stuff it: Beef Consumption as (Heteromasculine) Fortification." On page 88, he claims, "...meat connotes men's assumed dominance..." By claiming that "Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice" and showing that "your man" would be able to buy you tickets and diamonds, the writers of the commercial are saying that men who use Old Spice are dominant because they can afford and achieve whatever they want in a short amount of time without any problems. Next, Dafna Lemish wrote an article entitled "The Future of Childhood in the Global Television Market" (found in "Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader"). On page 359, he claimed, "A partial list of the critique of values identified in the forms of American television broadcast to children around the world includes heavy consumerism..." This Old Spice commercial is obviously encouraging consumerism. It's doing it in a way that convinces male viewers that they need to buy the body wash.
Women and men are being represented in this commercial. Not only does this ad convince men they have to use Old Spice, it makes women believe that men need it, as well. If "their men" use it, they'll be able to go sailing and they'll be spoiled with whatever gifts they want. The way the ideologies are presented and the ideologies themselves are ridiculous because there is no way that using a certain body wash will get you far in life. You achieve your goals because of the time and dedication you put into your work. You have to earn things; everything isn't always given to you. Also, why should women have to rely on men to get what they want? There's no reason why they can't provide for themselves. Finally, deciding what a "womanly smell" is can be subjective: who decided what a woman is supposed to smell like and what a man is supposed to smell like? "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" is clearly full of ideologies.
No comments:
Post a Comment