Ad Analysis of Lysol: Douching Method for Women in the 1950s
Brenna Wilburn
ENG 122
Professor Demack
Visual Argument Analysis Paper
3/4/14
Lysol has been around since 1889 and has been known for its disinfectant purposes for more than fifty years, but in the 1950’s it was used for a completely different purpose. Lysol was used as a douching method for women and this advertisement published in the 1950’s is sponsoring Lysol as a feminine hygiene product. As a visual argumentative piece, Lysol uses several warrants and attributes to prove its point, that Lysol was gentle enough to be used as an internal cleansing product. Lysol was a “Homemade” contraceptive, used in place of the more expensive forms such as condoms or pills. According to Nicole Pasulka in her essay When Women Used Lysol as Birth Control, Lysol contained “cresol, a phenol compound that sometimes caused information burning and death. The Visual Argument in this advertisement makes several claims as to the safety and quality of this product. When evaluating warrants or evidence for arguments, it is necessary to understand all the visual elements in this advertisement that would have appealed to consumers and actually persuaded them to buy Lysol for this purpose. The active ingredient along with other agents in Lysol during this time were proven to be lethal both inside and outside the human body. In this add, the first visual that appeals to the eye is the spider web. The spider web is a metaphor for a wall in between the husband and the wife. Simply translated, her condition or vaginal issues are preventing her and her husband from being together. Today, visuals such as Vagisil are widely advertised on TV and social media. The products of today have been tested, researched and gentle to the female uterus. As the ad introduces the wife stuck in the web, we see the husband ignoring her and reading the paper. The first warrant is made visually by the display of the web and his reaction to her. The ad is speaking visually that she caught
ENG 122
Professor Demack
Visual Argument Analysis Paper
3/4/14
Lysol has been around since 1889 and has been known for its disinfectant purposes for more than fifty years, but in the 1950’s it was used for a completely different purpose. Lysol was used as a douching method for women and this advertisement published in the 1950’s is sponsoring Lysol as a feminine hygiene product. As a visual argumentative piece, Lysol uses several warrants and attributes to prove its point, that Lysol was gentle enough to be used as an internal cleansing product. Lysol was a “Homemade” contraceptive, used in place of the more expensive forms such as condoms or pills. According to Nicole Pasulka in her essay When Women Used Lysol as Birth Control, Lysol contained “cresol, a phenol compound that sometimes caused information burning and death. The Visual Argument in this advertisement makes several claims as to the safety and quality of this product. When evaluating warrants or evidence for arguments, it is necessary to understand all the visual elements in this advertisement that would have appealed to consumers and actually persuaded them to buy Lysol for this purpose. The active ingredient along with other agents in Lysol during this time were proven to be lethal both inside and outside the human body. In this add, the first visual that appeals to the eye is the spider web. The spider web is a metaphor for a wall in between the husband and the wife. Simply translated, her condition or vaginal issues are preventing her and her husband from being together. Today, visuals such as Vagisil are widely advertised on TV and social media. The products of today have been tested, researched and gentle to the female uterus. As the ad introduces the wife stuck in the web, we see the husband ignoring her and reading the paper. The first warrant is made visually by the display of the web and his reaction to her. The ad is speaking visually that she caught
Cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysol http://www.motherjones.com/slideshows/2012/02/when-women-used-lysol-birth-control/lysol-douche-cobweb