Taking a Look at an Old Spice Ad

Old Spice, a brand of male grooming products, has produced many humorous ads and television commercials to persuade more and more men to buy their products. In a 2008 ad for their pro-strength antiperspirant, Old Spice used Neil Patrick Harris, famous for his role as teen Doctor Doogie Howser, as their spokesperson to appeal to males and add humor. Old Spice effectively reaches their target male audience through the use of well-known model, humor, and offering a needed product without the need of a prescription.

The first thing in the Old Spice ad to catch the eye is Neil Patrick Harris in a lab coat and badge. He stands facing the audience, not even looking as he holds a stethoscope to the nose of his male patient. The patient, who is lying on a gurney in what looks to be a typical ER room, is looking up at Harris with what appears to be confusion on his face. The text at the top of the ad reads, “Body odor protection recommended by former TV Doctors, like me. –Neil Patrick Harris, EXTVMD.” Directly below Harris and his patient is another statement from Harris reading, “You don’t need a real Doctor to get protection against the torment of chronic body odor and wetness. You need Old Spice Pro Strength antiperspirant. It’s prescription-strength wetness protection without the prescription. Take it from me, I used to be a fake Doctor.” Below and to the left of that says Pro Strength and a picture of the Old Spice antiperspirant. At the very bottom of the ad is the brand name, Old Spice, in big letters with their logo picture of a ship in between.

A great way to catch consumers’ attention in an ad is by using a spokesperson that everyone knows and loves. Old Spice used this technique by using Neil Patrick Harris to target male consu...

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...rescription. This promise captures the attention of all people, but especially the male community.

Old Spice has it figured out when it comes to matters of attracting men toward their products. They know how to capture a man’s attention and convince him that Old Spice is the way to go. Proof of this is their ad portraying Harris as a Doctor who recommends the pro-strength antiperspirant, which is prescription strength without the actual prescription. Having Harris on the ad is a good assurance that many males are going to stop to see what this ad is about. Making the ad more appealing is its use of humor, including the lines Harris uses to ad credibility to himself as a Doctor, although he obviously is not a real one. With offering this much needed product and using humor to promote it, Old Spice is right on track to persuade the male audience to but their products.