ADVERTISING - LESSON 2: OLD SPICE

WHEN LOOKING AT OLD SPICE, REMEMBER:
//Classic conventions of a fragrance advert.
//Unconventional/converse elements of this advert
//Intertextual references
//Who is it aimed at?
//Sex appeal/the exotic?
//Typography
//The advert was part of a bigger above the line advertising campaign.

TA: high street brand aimed at an 18-34 mass, mainstream male/female TA (transformation re-branding from previous older 40 - 60 demographic) 

CONTEXT:
//Historical American brand (1937) manufactured by multi-national conglomerate Procter & Gamble - they own 100s of brands (Inc. Pringles) 
//Brand range includes male grooming products
//2010 re-branding campaign sequenced by the Ad Agency Wieden and Kennedy (Clients include Nike and other blue-chip clients)
//Introduced ex-NFL player/actor Isaiah Mustafa as the USP of the advert.
//Advert used humour and sex working on levels of aspiration to target consumers - hegemonic cultural stereotypes of male power and sex appeal cloaked in irony (reinforcing/challenging)
//Irony, parody and pastiche positioned the consumer with 'quirky', off the wall product image adverts
//First AV advert was a direct challenge to the female consumer for 'their man' to smell like Isaiah and it went viral.
//Within 30 days it had 40m views on YouTube (now 57m) with a 107% increase in sales = a commercially successful campaign (stats suggest that women buy 70% of men's toiletry products).

LANGUAGE AND REPRESENTATION:
//Intertextual references to the initial moving image advert through star marketing of Isaiah Mustafa as an aspirational central protagonist.
//Saturated colour palette and high key lighting creates an upbeat mode of address and has connotations of the West Indies/Bahamas anchored by the sunny day and palm trees. 
//Isaiah is positioned to the left of the frame as part of the island and 'belonging' to it.
//His 'volcano hair' erupting has connotations of the explosive sex appeal of the brand.
//Isaiah's direct gaze to the potential female consumer, body language and mouth movement make a considered sexual challenge - both alluring and aspirational to the male consumer.
//'old spice Bahamas scent' itself creates mythical, exotic connotations for a British audience.
//As with the Audio-Visual advert , humour and irony are one of the USPs including the 'fact-checking' text.
//Old Spice is written in an elaborate serif font anchoring brand identity (it is the original, historical font).
//Product placement to the right of the frame in the foreground ensures audiences see the brand (palm trees on bottles have exotic connotations)
//The rule of thirds ensures the brand is placed at an intersection and not in the middle of the frame so audiences actively 'look for it' - brand represented as heroic
//Connotations of the sea are evident with a postmodern pastiche that sees a shark on the end of a fishing rod, a sinking pirate ship with a man clinging onto the mast and king Poseidon.
//Attractive girl in bikini framed for the male gaze , sunbathing on Isaiah's chest - connotations of adoration and thanks (for the brand). Isaiah reinforces and challenges stereotypes as a young, physically dominant, sexualised black protagonist. Connotations of 'no man is an island' (which technically he is)
//Old male castaway and monkey sit underneath coconut trees linking with shipwreck connotations but also the stereotypical beauty of a deserted island - the advert is product image (associations are made with the brand).
//A boy buried in the said and lobster continue the seafaring theme, offering surreal representations suggesting a random stream of consciousness. It is subverting genre conventions, standing out, being unique.

HELPFUL LINKS:
Old Spice TV Advert