Old spice

Explain how viewpoints and ideologies are communicated by the media language used in adverts.

The selected advert from Old spice’s “smell like a man” campaign can be viewed as reinforcing the patriarchal ideology within modern society. This can be seen through the use of the celebrity endorsement of Isaiah Mustafa to promote the product of Old Spice Bahamas and also that of the slogan of the advert which in turn all reinforce the idea of hyper masculinity and the dominance of men within a modern society through an ideological standpoint.

 The advert itself creates the idea to both men and women that if the product were to be purchased by either a man or a woman buying for a man that it will enable them to become a “better man” and in turn achieve some form of self-fulfilment as they have improved who they are as a person. In turn the advert itself is promoting the viewpoint of the male dominant ideology both to the men buying the product but also the women who are being the product as a gift to accept this viewpoint. The use of aspirational viewpoints such as becoming a better man by using this product helps to promote and reinforce the patriarchal ideology which is currently running rampant in a modern society.

The advert itself draws upon common patriarchal stereotypes such as using a successful male athlete along with hyper masculine activities such as fishing for sharks or fighting a sea creature etc. as shortcuts to appeal to their target audience of masculine men  however it also reinforces the ideological assumptions about the customer’s lifestyle such as their  appearance to other people, consumerism and the idea of individualism. It could also be argued that by using the celebrity endorsement of Isaiah Mustafa who is a successful NFL player who would be well known by their American audiences it is reinforcing the stereotypes of the hyper sexualisation of black men in the media. The use of the mid shot to portray Isaiah Mustafa could also be considered to reinforce this idea as it makes him to appear in an almost show case style which shows the hyper sexualisation of black men in the media.