Old Spice: The Impression Of Male Stereotypes

Rationale: A formal letter to the editor informing how young men are forced into adulthood by advertisements portraying “manhood” in a twisted perspective. For our IB HL Language and Literature English class, we have focused our studies on Part 2: language and mass communication. By researching this area, we have studied the effects that advertisements we view today have on different gender stereotypes. I have focused my ideas on the impression of male stereotypes, which state that a boy’s “coming of age” originates at an age in which children are still developing. Through the use of emasculation and masculinization, I was able to stress the importance that one’s appearance has on their stereotypical masculinity. To support my analysis, I
To begin, Old Spice’s written advertisement portrays the incentive emasculation of men. It focuses on a gender ambiguous name, Jamie, which contributes to the fear of not fitting in with social ideas of gender presentation. Old Spice’s commercial is analyzed to further develop our case of male degradation solely based on one’s physical stature. Old Spice focuses on a typically feminine market, body care, and uses normative, heterosexual masculinity to sell their product. Old Spice uses hyperbolic expressions to portray a physically attractive male as the face of a masculine
Our group is working as a representative of men and boys who face stereotypical ideals, which are clearly warped as a result of today’s stereotypical messages. MenEngage is actively working towards changing these messages that are exposed to teenagers, altering their ideas of “manliness.’ These messages, which are often portrayed through advertising, such as Old Spice’s “Smellcome to Manhood” marketing campaign. These advertisements unintentionally alter the stereotypical message of men solely based on one’s name and physique.
Old Spice’s advertising campaign for its “After Hours” product line produced an advertisement targeting gender ambiguous names. This unanticipated advertisement succeeded in promoting the body wash, in both a comedic and grasping manner; however, this comedic message was displayed at the expense of men who possess the name Jamie. This usage of emasculation of men corresponds to the “inadvisability of an action without clear gender presentation”. This contributes to the male fear about the idea of fashion, even though it has primarily been a female-run market. The warning of “Don’t be a man whose body wash makes him smell like a woman”, advertises to men who try to fit in with male social