Gender Strength

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlwW1aj9xak

This ad is interesting when considering the influence of gender because rather than simply appealing to the different emotional drives between men and women that are usually targeted in gendered ads, it actually seeks to establish itself as a reason ad through discussion of some scientific facts. For a case like this, where many consumers would probably believe that any anti-perspirant would work for either gender, the addition of reason to the ad strengthens it. Rather than showing lifestyle images that promote things that advertisers believe women would like to do with an anti perspirant, they have managed to create a need for the product even for those who do not feel an emotional connection to most of the usual gendered ads.

Texty intertexty

The first example that I'd like to focus on this week is one that I came across on thestar.com's main page. The ad does not contain a great deal of text but instead relies on intertext to carry across the advertiser's message. The slogan 'Love your water' implies that while you should enjoy water, you may not. Since the ad does not need to explain that water is healthy and an important part of a healthy lifestyle; this is not new information to any consumer likely to be seeing the ad. The idea is anchored by the light text underneath the clickthrough link reminding you that Crystal Light is a diet drink mix. With the message being carried intertextually, the ad does not have to promote any specific health benefits that a health/diet product advertisement would usually require.

The second ad that I wanted to look at is one for a charitable organization. It uses a celebrity spokesperson, Christina Aguilera, in combination with a bit of information below to create some intertextual interplay. The idea that a rich celebrity is required to help the cause is played off by the text below claiming that $1 feeds four children. The ad doesn't rely on only the celebrity's image to promote the organization, though it does still have that message to fall back on if the viewer fails to see the intertextual elements.

The portion of the readings this week was in the introduction to The Discourse of Advertising , section 1.6 specifically. During both in-class activities, we have had to sort advertisements into groups. Each time, I found that I disagreed with the way that we were organizing them. The distinction between tickle and reason ads was interesting because attaching these uniquely advertising words to the familiar concepts of emotional and logical appeals makes them a little more direct and down to earth. For this post, I wanted to find two ads for similar products, one a reason ad and one a tickle. I also wanted to show how they can sometimes blur the lines.


The first ad that I want to look at couldn't be found anywhere online to link to, so I'll stick with describing it. It is a TV ad for Speed Stick anti-perspirant that primarily focuses on the benefit of having no 'yellow stains' in the armpits of white shirts. While this commercial doesn't fit the traditional reason ad format of listing profit benefits and promoting it as the industry leader, it does show specific gains in only slightly exagerrated situations. It is not just an insight into the lifestyle that could be led by someone who used the product.

The second ad is the series of Old Spice ads that have been running recently. Though they feature a classic symptom of reason ads, a spokesman, it portrays only emotional benefits surrounding the product instead of a specific need that the product addresses.

Similar Sprite

I want to look at two different Sprite commercials for this post. The first is one that I actually quite dislike. It was played constantly during nearly every basketball game for all of last season. It also features Drake, who is far from my favourite artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh6vHoyBs58

The idea is that when you're dry, not quite there, or lacking in something, Sprite enhances your creativity. It seems to be catering to a young, urban oriented demographic. The use of a popular music artist as a spokesman rather than an actor to play the same character. The interesting thing is that Drake never actively promotes Sprite or says anything about it, he simply drinks it and delivers lines from a pre-existing song. Contrast this with my other Sprite ad example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtMji36lOQM

Very similar target audience, totally different execution. Rather than having Kriss Kross replay one of their songs, this ad has them actually perform an original piece that performs much the same function as a jingle. The promotion of the drink is much more direct in this ad compared to the first. This ad actually mentions the taste of the drink, which you would think would be a requirement for a beverage ad.

Ads List

Most of these ads were seen on a drive to Toronto:
-Century 21 Realty billboard
-Plumbing service billboard
-91.5 The Beat Radio station billboard
-Car wrap ad for BoardWalk Empire (TV show)
-Many posters on lamp posts and walls for club events, concerts, and film screenings
-Radio ad for End of the Roll flooring store
-Sponsored traffic segment from Subway restaurants