Old Spice Ad

The ad I chose is an Old Spice poster that is advertising their “Matterhorn” brand deodorant. Old Spice as a company mainly targets the male demographic, pushing their products as being overtly masculine and manly. This particular ad pushes this point very successfully. The aspects of masculinity pushed in the poster are power, muscle, being larger than life, and athletic outdoor activities. The model used is a handsome, muscular man that other men would look up to. His facial expression is very charismatic; friendly and attractive, but not in a sexual way, because though the ad features a handsome shirtless man it does so in a way that does not rely on it becoming overtly sexual. The man is depicted as a snowy mountain with miniature people and scenery on it. Comparing this man to a mountain is a way of showing that he is larger than life, because of the deodorant he wears.

The various activities the miniature people are doing on this mountain speaks a lot about the ad itself. There are people doing awesome, impressive stunts, such as snowboarding, going off a huge ski jump, riding a sled guided by polar bears, and hiking to the top of the mountain. The character that is on the mountaintop sets up a flag that says “Success!” on it; having this positive word displayed prominently gives the entire picture a positive tone. There are also people on the mountain doing silly things, like being chased by a yeti and being caught up in a snowball rolling downhill. These things show that the ad is not taking itself too seriously, enforcing that the man is not being presented in a sexual way.

The one controversial aspect is that the only place a woman is shown in the ad is as one of the miniatures on the mountain, but she is wearing a bikini in a hot tub. This may speak to the idea that looking at half-naked women is seen as something that is manly. The woman in the ad, however, is not made out to be sexual. She has large gray hair, her body is not skinny or emphasized on her breasts, and she is not in a sexual pose.  The ad is not directed at women and the woman is not at al displayed prominently, so it is in my eyes acceptable. Overall, the ad is creative, effective, and refreshing.