Don't Use Lady Body Washes, Smell Like a MAN!!!!

The advertisement that I have selected for this blog is the 2010 "Smell Like a Man" campaign for Old Spice. This advertisement featured a shirtless man who says that men aspire, by using Old Spice products, to "Smell like a Man." This commercial is poking fun at itself by featuring transitions that are completely unrealistic, like how the man's towel magically gets ripped away in one scene. In another, the Old Spice man magically gets transported onto a horse's back. The myth in this advertisement is that by using Old Spice products, men are intrinsically more "manly." This advertisement is completely unrealistic and exploits men's sexuality. The sign in this ad is the way that one can "Smell Like a Man" by using Old Spice products, and how men will be found more attractive by women if they do so.

The signifiers are images of an "ideal" man and showing how he used Old Spice body wash. This ad is trying to convey that using "lady-scented" body washes are completely unmanly and is completely unacceptable to any man who wished to be admired or respected by any female in the world. Is the body wash a man uses the end all be all to his attractiveness? I think not. Does Old Spice body wash smell fantastic. Of course. The over-exaggeration of the essentiality of scented body wash is what makes this advertisement hilariously iconic. This ad is only one example of the tradition of comical ads launched by Old Spice. By establishing a expectation for funny ads, Old Spice can brand their products accordingly.