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Juan Borges Professor Bain-Conkin Writing and Rhetoric 17 October 2013 Rhetorical Analysis: Many companies use advertising in an attempt to persuade their audiences into buying their products. They use a wide range of rhetorical techniques to attract their consumers. One company who is well-known for associating with these procedures is Old Spice. Old Spice is a company that is known for male freshener products such as: body wash, deodorant, gel, cologne, etc. Throughout the world, there exists many companies who produce the same products as Old Spice, and as a result competition is created between these companies. In order for Old Spice to be superior to these other companies, their advertising methods must surpass those of their fellow competitors. Old Spice is specifically known for their very extensive, creative, and attractive body wash commercials. These commercials are essential for customer approval and overall satisfaction of the company. The ideas behind these commercials are very intriguing and are definitely worth a second look at. Commercials are an important strategy for businesses if they wish to seek greater profits from consumers. Most of our worlds population spends a descent amount of time watching television on a daily basis, so appealing through commercials is the most practical and appropriate way to significantly influence consumers. Old Spice takes advantage of this useful technique with their creation of countless commercials with varying themes that attract

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consumers to their products. Specifically, the commercial starring Isaiah Mustafa has developed and jolted the advertising aspect of Old Spice. This short commercial contains a multitude of ideas that both entertain and intrigue consumers all around the world. The purpose of this commercial, just like most other commercials, is to appeal enough to consumers in hopes that they will buy your product. Body wash is an essential good that is used often by many people, but Old Spice wanted their product to be the best so they steered away from the norm. Old Spice tried to portray their product to their audience by depicting how ones life would change if they were to use their product. Old Spice has also directly chosen their audience to be females, which in turn directly affect males. Furthermore, Old Spice accomplishes the feat of consumer satisfaction by portraying Isaiah Mustafa as the ideal manly man that all women are interested in. Mustafa properly fulfills his role with his physical appearance, and both tone and pace of his voice. Old Spice adds to their commercial by placing Mustafa in attractive environments and fully equipping him with accessories that are appealing to an abundance of women. Old Spice has effectively shaped their commercial, and consumers seeking the fantasy that Old Spice body wash brings will potentially buy the product. One focus of the Old Spice commercial is to intrigue women with appealing scenarios, which will in turn lead them to buy Old Spice body wash for their partners. Women want the ideal guy that they have always dreamed about and maybe their men can be this way if they just showered with Old Spice body wash. Another focus is that men will view this commercial and try to change themselves. Old Spice wants them to think that just the addition of their body wash could enhance their lives and lead them to become the ideal man that attracts all of the women. Of course, this technique is very effective as males and females are always trying to better either the lives of their partners or even their own individual lives.

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Isaiah Mustafa attracts many viewers, both male and female, with his physical appearance. Guys want his body, and girls dread for a man with his body. Old Spice also ensures that Mustafas body receives attention by leaving him shirtless throughout the entire commercial. Mustafa also lends to the overall impact of the commercial by speaking in a deep tone, which is also complemented with a quickened pace. Deep voices are the essence of your typical man, and are even considered sexy by most women. The quickened pace of Mustafas voice lends to the viewers excitement and can even leave them wanting more at the end of the commercial. When Old Spice created this commercial, they thought heavily on the surroundings and qualities of their ideal man. When the commercial begins, Mustafa is standing in a bathroom where the shower is running. This is where their product would be predominantly used, so they had to include it. The setting then shifts to a boat in the middle of the ocean where Mustafa is seen with a shirt tied around his neck, and nothing but vast water and clear blue skies surround him. Finally, he is seen on a white horse, as he overlooks the beach. Setting is an important part to any commercial, as it allows the audience to dream and wish that they could be in that exact position. On the other hand, the white horse is an image of dominance that this ideal man rides upon. This is certainly a position that every man wishes to be in, and that every women wishes to accompany their partner in. Accessories always play an important role when determining the overall success of any commercial. In the Old Spice commercial, Mustafa has an oyster in which he claims to have tickets to any show that his audience loves. This technique is used both to win his viewers attention and woo them at the same time. These tickets then turn into diamonds, which serves a common purpose in the lives of most women. They are both a highly prized and highly favored object that attracts the likings of an abundance of women all around the world. Lastly, these

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diamonds turn into the final result of the Old Spice body wash, which is the actual product that the entire commercial is derived from. Since the Old Spice body wash has stemmed from all the previous irresistible accessories, it is believed by the viewers that the product itself is also irresistible. Also the container of body wash is always lathered with soapy foam, which attracts to the viewers eyes and allows them to believe that Old Spice always ensures a deep clean. Old Spice commercials are the essence of an effective advertisement. Consumers can appreciate the rhetorical efforts hidden within various aspects of the commercial. Whoever sat down and brainstormed the ideas for this advertisement was extremely creative, wise, and capable of appealing to the people. The ideal man is a fantasy that exists among the minds of countless females and even males throughout our world. Females want this ideal man in their lives, while males strive to be this ideal man. Of course, not everybody can be Isaiah Mustafa, but Old Spice instills hope in their consumers. They exaggerate their body wash product, and consumers might even be tempted to the addition of this product into their daily lives. Rhetoric can be found anywhere or in anything. People are constantly being persuaded on various products or topics of ideas. Only those with the strongest rhetorical ideas will succeed in the world. Old Spice absolutely took advantage of this situation, as their commercial was phenomenal and will be recognized for many years to come.