Old Spice Commercial Analysis
Jennifer Vescio
Dr. Helena Liddle
ENGL3062
27 March 2015
Analysis Paper 2: Old Spice Commercial There are seven major schools of literary criticism: gender, social/historical, biographical, psychological, mythological, new criticism, and reader based criticism ("Schools of Literary Criticism." A-41 - A-49). Each school allows for us to “read” the “text” (Old Spice Commercial) through diverse theoretical “lenses”. The question is how can these diverse “lenses” allow for us to focus in on one specific aspect of a work at a time?
Gender critics examine “how sexual identity influences the creation and reception of literary works” ("Types of Literary Criticism." 1). This school includes gay-and-lesbian study critics ("Schools of Literary Criticism." A-42). From the gender critic point-of-view, the commercial portrays how a man can be more attractive to a woman by using the old spice body wash. It starts out with a fit man standing in just a towel in a bathroom saying “Hello Ladies” and “if he switched to Old Spice he could smell like he’s me” ("Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." 1). The product is promoted just for men (even though women can use it …show more content…
From the social/historical critics point-of view, they portray old spice as an upper class product. The man in the commercial is on a boat with a shirt tied around his shoulders, and has tickets, diamonds, and a white horse. The caption under the video even states “we 're not saying this body wash will make your man smell like a romantic millionaire jet fighter pilot, but we are insinuating it” ("Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." 1). They also used an African American man in the commercial which was produced in 2010. This is now an option due to the new culture that arose in America after the Civil Rights Movement was a
Dr. Helena Liddle
ENGL3062
27 March 2015
Analysis Paper 2: Old Spice Commercial There are seven major schools of literary criticism: gender, social/historical, biographical, psychological, mythological, new criticism, and reader based criticism ("Schools of Literary Criticism." A-41 - A-49). Each school allows for us to “read” the “text” (Old Spice Commercial) through diverse theoretical “lenses”. The question is how can these diverse “lenses” allow for us to focus in on one specific aspect of a work at a time?
Gender critics examine “how sexual identity influences the creation and reception of literary works” ("Types of Literary Criticism." 1). This school includes gay-and-lesbian study critics ("Schools of Literary Criticism." A-42). From the gender critic point-of-view, the commercial portrays how a man can be more attractive to a woman by using the old spice body wash. It starts out with a fit man standing in just a towel in a bathroom saying “Hello Ladies” and “if he switched to Old Spice he could smell like he’s me” ("Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." 1). The product is promoted just for men (even though women can use it …show more content…
From the social/historical critics point-of view, they portray old spice as an upper class product. The man in the commercial is on a boat with a shirt tied around his shoulders, and has tickets, diamonds, and a white horse. The caption under the video even states “we 're not saying this body wash will make your man smell like a romantic millionaire jet fighter pilot, but we are insinuating it” ("Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like." 1). They also used an African American man in the commercial which was produced in 2010. This is now an option due to the new culture that arose in America after the Civil Rights Movement was a