Free Custom «Case Study in Advertising» Essay Paper

“Old Spice” did an advertisement on body spray, deodorant, body wash and anti-perspirant/ deodorant, which is considered as a successful advertisement. The advertisement features Isaiah Mustafa who depicts a man that is self-confident and motivated to be a winner in the chase of life. The advertisement, which runs for 30 seconds commences with Mustafa setting himself in a positive mood through listening to a session about self-help on the audio-tape, for which reason he has large head-phones. The self-help tape makes the man remember that he has strong muscles and stylish hair. In addition, the man has a car, which is made entirely from sand, which is included in the advert. Then the superstar dumps Graham at a dinner who is utterly surprised before he proceeds to win a horserace, which depicts him as the horse. This has the effect of revealing the man’s superhuman abilities. The ad then transforms to a new image advertisement that depicts a different person rounding a corner by means of a jockey attached to his back. The inclusion of a horse in this advert is significant, and that explains Mustafa’s role in the advert considering that he was previously riding as a horse (Hopkins, 2007). Various topics are covered in this advertisement. For instance, the company had to incorporate advertising research in order to make the advertisement appealing to people. Corporate identity is also evident in the advertisement with their slogan regarding smelling like a real man. Creative strategy has also been incorporated in the advertisement, in order to appeal to the target market.

 

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This essay explores the creative strategy, advertising research, and ethical marketing regarding the “Old Spice” advertisement.

There is an inclusion of ethical marketing in the advertisement. Ethical marketing campaigns for the inclusion of marketing ethics in the marketing process. This abounds in a variety of ways such as non-depiction of child labor, decent working conditions, relationships between the marketers and third world countries, and consideration of environmental problems. From the advertisement, we can deduct that there is non-inclusion of child labor. Gillies & Selvadurai (2008) note that this abounds from the feature that the advertisement utilizes mature men, who also forms part of the target market for its product. Isaiah Mustafa is the main character in the advertisement too, which defeats any argument of child labor been included in the advertisement. Ethical marketing is also given priority in the advertisement given the fact that nothing in the advertisement antagonizes third world countries. It should be noted that the advertisement utilized a person with a black racial background as its main advertising character. This should not be confused with antagonizing the third world countries, which feature with many of the black population. The fact is that the advertisement stuck to the world conventions, which means it can appeal to all populations across the world.

Creative strategy is also included in the advert. Inclusion of middle strength strategy is evident from the fact that the advertisement incorporates positioning for its product. The “Old Spice” advertisement depicts Mustafa engaging in a horserace, which he subsequently wins as the horse. This is positioning from the fact that the advertisement is pitted against other products in the market, which the product wins effortlessly (Thorson & Duffy, 2011). Brand image is also incorporated in the advertisement. This abounds from the fact that the advertisement utilizes a celebrity. Isaiah Mustafa is a celebrity because he played in the NFL and he acts as a spokesperson of “Old Spice”. This evokes emotions from the target market as they get the feeling that they have to use the product, as well, given the fact that Mustafa has also adopted its use. Strong advertising strategy is also incorporated in that the advertisers settled around Mustafa, who is featured as the main character. This abounds as a strong advertising strategy because the people targeted for the marketing are men and they identify with Mustafa. It is also a strong marketing strategy given that Mustafa is renowned person around the globe because he used to play in the NFL. This strong advertisement strategy is referred to as resonance (Gillies & Selvadurai, 2008).

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Another significant factor that features in the advertisement concerns advertising research. According to Kirschner (1999), the creators of the advertisement must have done further research regarding what appeals to both men and women at the moment. That explains why the campaign for marketing the “Old Spice” products had to adopt the new slogan for its brand. According to Hopkins (2007), the slogan “Believe in your smellf” sounds idiotic, but reflects the marketer’s larger theme of exaggarated yet self-deprecating manliness (Altstiel & Grow, 2006).

In conclusion, ethical marketing, creative advertisement, and advertisement research are evident in the “Old Spice” advertisement. These contribute in one way or the other to the success of the advertisement. It should be noted, “Old Spice” has been in the market for quite a long time, and that explains why these factors had to be considered before the advertisement was done. For instance, ethical marketing abounds in the advertisement from the fact that there was no inclusion of an image that depicted any form of child labor. Environmental factors were also considered before undertaking of the advertisement. Despite the use of sand in the advertisement, we can ascertain that the shot was taken in a place that has lots of sand, which means no erosion was motivated with the advertisement. Creative strategy has also been featured significantly. This abounds from the inclusion of a celebrity (Isaiah Mustafa) as the spokesperson of the brand. Mustafa’s inclusion was used to achieve both middle strength strategy and strong advertisement strategy. Lastly, the advertisement depicts that thorough research was conducted before it was undertaken (Petley, 2003). This abounds from the fact that the producers had to change the slogan of the advertisement, among other things.