Analyzing Persuasive Techniques in Old Spice's "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" Commercial
University of Rijeka
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of English Language and Literature
Analyzing Persuasive Techniques in Old Spice's “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like“ Commercial
Student: Mia Sarić
Course: English Language 1
Course Instructor: Irena Meštrović Štajduhar, M.Ed.
Ac. Year: 2012/2013
This essay covers persuasive techniques used in the video commercial for Old Spice deodorant, as well as the messages that lie in the heart of the very commercial. The essay will try to explain the techniques and effects of persuasion on targeted audience, while at the same time referring to style and language. A great emphasis is put on humor, as it is the main technique of persuasion used in the very commercial.
The commercial that is the subject of this work is Old Spice's “The man your man could smell like” 33 second long video, which increased Old Spice sales as much as 106% at one point. In order to explain and understand this phenomenon, attention should be drawn to persuasive techniques used by advertisers to subconsciously influence targeted audience, while analyzing main messages itself.
First, let us take a look at the concept of the commercial itself. The product, Old Spice deodorant, is presented to the audience by a physically attractive, stereotypically masculine African American, the narrator and the only character in the commercial, stereotyped to the point of exaggeration. Presented image leaves us with the idea of a parody. The main character is addressing the audience in second person, leading them through the commercial. One of the most interesting things about his narration is that, although the product itself is aimed at men, the commercial is not directly addressed to them. The narrator speaks to women, which is undoubtedly one of the factors of the popularity of this commercial, as it gives an unexpected twist to it, taking into consideration the well-known fact that most commercials of this type feature a stereotypical
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of English Language and Literature
Analyzing Persuasive Techniques in Old Spice's “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like“ Commercial
Student: Mia Sarić
Course: English Language 1
Course Instructor: Irena Meštrović Štajduhar, M.Ed.
Ac. Year: 2012/2013
This essay covers persuasive techniques used in the video commercial for Old Spice deodorant, as well as the messages that lie in the heart of the very commercial. The essay will try to explain the techniques and effects of persuasion on targeted audience, while at the same time referring to style and language. A great emphasis is put on humor, as it is the main technique of persuasion used in the very commercial.
The commercial that is the subject of this work is Old Spice's “The man your man could smell like” 33 second long video, which increased Old Spice sales as much as 106% at one point. In order to explain and understand this phenomenon, attention should be drawn to persuasive techniques used by advertisers to subconsciously influence targeted audience, while analyzing main messages itself.
First, let us take a look at the concept of the commercial itself. The product, Old Spice deodorant, is presented to the audience by a physically attractive, stereotypically masculine African American, the narrator and the only character in the commercial, stereotyped to the point of exaggeration. Presented image leaves us with the idea of a parody. The main character is addressing the audience in second person, leading them through the commercial. One of the most interesting things about his narration is that, although the product itself is aimed at men, the commercial is not directly addressed to them. The narrator speaks to women, which is undoubtedly one of the factors of the popularity of this commercial, as it gives an unexpected twist to it, taking into consideration the well-known fact that most commercials of this type feature a stereotypical
References: -Basic persuasion techniques [PDF document]. Retrieved from English Language 1 MudRi website: https://mudri.uniri.hr/file.php/1642/essay/Basic_persuasion_techniques.pdf - Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like [video]. Found on Old Spice youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE - Reiss, C. (2010). Five lessons from the Old Spice Man. Entrepreneur, 38(9), 22 -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE [ 2 ]. Reiss, C. (2010). Five lessons from the Old Spice Man. Entrepreneur, 38(9), 22 [ 3 ]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFhFqoAgNPg [ 4 ]. https://mudri.uniri.hr/file.php/1642/essay/Basic_persuasion_techniques.pdf [ 5 ]. https://mudri.uniri.hr/file.php/1642/essay/Basic_persuasion_techniques.pdf