TOW #13 - Old Spice

            This image is an advertisement for Old Spice, a men’s deodorant. Old Spice was established in 1934, and has been making advertisements for a long time. This particular ad displays a man on a horse. With the use of text and facial expressions, the ad satirizes hyper masculinity while still selling a product.

            Seeing as Old Spice is a men’s grooming company, the audience of this ad are men. It was made to sell deodorant, as that is what the company makes. No one enjoys other people who sweat a lot, so this product battles that. This ad also enlightens hyper masculinity. By saying how important it is to be manly, they acknowledge the ridiculous notion that a man can never be weak, or smelly, or anything less than perfect.

            They address this hyper masculinity in a humorous way that inspires people to buy their product. Obviously, a purpose of this advertisement was to increase revenue on their products. However, the other purpose of this ad was to mock the importance of being the right kind of a male in today’s society. This leaves the effect that people who use Old Spice don’t follow the straight and narrow. The ad makes it feel okay to not always be strong and insensitive to everything.

            The author’s first purpose was to sell a product, but they also wanted to address society’s high standard of what it means to be a man. Current society expects men to be a certain way all the time, and that is simply not practical or realistic. I think the author achieved their purpose because it makes people question what it means to “Be a man, man.”