The Academy Awards are a time of glitter and magic, as most of Hollywood's biggest stars wear elegant dresses and tailored suits to stroll down the Red Carpet. Viewers from around the world tune in to watch their favorite actors receive the awards that they worked so hard for. The Awards are also a time for major spending sprees. People and firms spend hundreds, thousands, and even millions, of dollars on hair, make-up, dresses, and, as with all major public events, commercials.
According to USA Today, thirty-second Oscar spots were going for $1.75 million. The biggest sponsors of the red-carpet event were Hyundai, JC Penney, Procter & Gamble, and Best Buy. The large number of sponsors generally results in large numbers of commercials to analyze, which definitely made my job for this week easier. The one that immediately caught my eye, as I was flipping through YouTube, was Procter & Gamble's commercial for its Venus line of women's razors that featured Jennifer Lopez.
As with many celebrity endorsed advertisements, this commercial greatly played upon Lopez's ethos as a musician. The commercial had various scenes of the Latina singer, performing at a concert, arriving at a red carpet event, practicing choreography, recording an album, playing on the beach with children, and, of course, shaving with a Venus razor. It shows Lopez in her full glory and, at the same time, also shows her completing everyday tasks, like taking a break and playing with kids. And, in every shot, she is featured wearing shorts, mini-skirts, or short dresses, showing off her cleanly shaven legs.
Procter and Gamble takes the approach that many companies lately have also chosen. By endorsing Jennifer Lopez, they appeal greatly to her ethos. They also make her feel relatable, by showing her completing everyday tasks like shaving and playing with kids. Furthermore, the advertisement includes inspirational words, such as goddess, confidence, fabulous, radiate, and smooth. The commercial appeals to pathos, asserting that if women use Venus razors, these words will describe them as well.
Procter and Gamble’s use of celebrity endorsement, appeal to pathos, and appeal to ethos are all reasons why this commercial an effective and entertaining commercial. Check out the link below:
Jeanne, I liked your analysis of the commercial, particularly how you mention that she is shown not only on stage but also with her kids. I also think that P&G chose a good celebrity to appeal to ethos, she has such nice legs!
ReplyDeleteI could have bought a spot at the Oscars! :D
ReplyDeleteThe commercial, as you say, is well presented...Not being sexist here, but I do feel like J-Lo has relative fame (apart from her accomplishments, of course) for very ...pointed...reasons. I also like the pithy nature of your writing.
Agreed with Ben's acknowledgement of the "very... pointed... reasons." In a nutshell: sex sells.
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