The Man YOUR Man Could Smell Like

                I went down to McLanahan’s this past week, and on my way to pick up a new bottle of Shampoo, I passed the deodorant aisle. As I was walking past, I noticed the considerably large collection of Old Spice men’s deodorant and aftershave. And so, when searching for an advertisement to analyze this week, the first one to pop into my mind was the Old Spice “Man your man could smell like” commercial. As I watched the commercial on YouTube, one of the many things that caught my attention, other than Isaiah Mustafa’s well-toned upper body, was the large number of rhetoric appeals – appeals to pathos in particular.

                One of the things that sets the Old Spice commercial apart in particular was its target audience.  While many aftershave and deodorant commercials – Axe commercials in particular – target male audiences, and guarantee that these males would get the woman of their dreams if they use the advertised product. The “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” ad is set apart because it cleverly targets women, the ones who generally purchase both aftershave and deodorant for their husbands and sons.

                Old Spice’s marketing team cleverly named the commercial campaign “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.” Isaiah Mustafa – the star of the commercial – argues to his women viewers that, if their men use the Old Spice product, their men will both look and smell like Mustafa himself. And, by cleverly including imagery of wealth and luxury, he suggests that the ladies – and their men – will have a life of class if they buy this product. The final scene, of Mustafa riding a white horse on a beach into the sunset, appeals to pathos by implying that if they purchase this product, they will have a romance even stronger than before.

The commercial’s use of imagery, clever choice of an audience, and appeal to pathos make it extremely strong and a pleasure to watch. Check out the video below!