Barbasol is a nationally recognized shaving cream and has been since the 1920's. Back then it was more of a thick cream, but today it is more fluffy and easier to spread. Barbasol has advertised it's product to appeal to men ages 20+. My first advertisement I am analyzing is a Barbasol advertisement from the year 1949. My second and more common advertisement I will be analyzing is a Barbasol commercial aired on television in 2010. The title of the commercial is "Close Shave America" which has two different appeals. The Barbasol commercial has music appeal and sexual appeal, as opposed to just sexual appeal in the 1940's still image. Barbasol is a type of hygiene product, and one of the more common appeals with hygiene products is sexual appeal. Companies shoot for the advertisement to make the viewer or reader believe that if they use this product they will be desired by the opposite sex because they smell better, their hair looks better, their skin is smoother, etc.. Barbasol's shaving cream and advertising technique as not made many changes since the 1940's with the exception of the addition of tv commercials and videos.
Women have always been used as probs in the advertising industry. A common phrase said in the advertising industry is that "sex sells", and this is true because we are human. We as a spices desire the sex, and advertising companies know this. In the 1940's, the stereotype for women was too cook, clean and be a stay at home mother while the husband went out to work. So, advertising companies feed off that stereotype by saying how their products will make you look good women (or your significant other) and then they will want to have sex with you. The image I chose artist's name is Carl Setter and he created a still image advertisement for Barbasol Shaving Cream. The idea Barbasol had in mind with this image was to create a sexual appeal from the image to catch men's eyes. Carl did this by drawing a young women stroking a man's face. In the image the woman is very young and very attractive. The woman is wearing a bright red apron that is very tight and revealing. The dress is also red, which is a more eye catching color than a duller color. She is wearing a apron and holding a garden tool meaning she was working in the garden, which back than was stereotyped as a women job. The first sentence in the description below the image is "To make a Tiger Lilly purr -- try Barbasol!", the tiger lily symbolizing the women in the picture. Barbasol is advertising that if you use their shaving cream you will make women purr like a tiger lily. This whole advertisement is based of stereotypes of women and sex appeal, which was the norm in Barbasol's advertising. Most of the advertisements I came across had a young women in them with provocative clothing on. As I mentioned before, sex sells in advertising because it gives men/women the illusion that they will have the ability to attract young and attractive people from the opposite sex.
In today's day and age, advertising has become much more complex. Today's technology gives companies to make commercials on television, with moving images and video. Barbasol is still a well known company in the men's hygiene industry. Big name companies like Gillette and Barbasol do not have the need to hire an artist for newspaper advertisements anymore, instead teams of videographers and editors to make commercials for television. I chose a commercial from 2010 that Barbasol aired on national television. Like the previous advertisement discussed from the 1940's, this commercial too has sexual appeal. What it does have that the previous advertisement did not have is a music appeal. The jungle titled "Close Shave America" is an inviting and catchy tune. It is a longer jingle than some of the more effective jingles such as Kit-Kat's jingle, but it still has music appeal. The words are not difficult to understand or follow and the music flows with the words. However, the music is only one piece of the advertisements appeal. The commercial begins with a man that seems to be driving across country in a Barbasol 18-wheeler, appearing tired and feeling the need to shave (rubs face). When he arrives home there is a can of Barbasol on a table with a note that reads "Welcome Home, xoxo". The man then shaves and is met in the bedroom by his wife. His wife, an attractive younger woman, is lighting candles wearing a loose over-sized shirt, almost appearing the reward her husband for shaving. Barbasol is advertising that if you shave your face after a long day of work, you have a better chance of having sex with your wife. The music is just icing on the cake because it is catchy and has a nice ring to it.
Although times have changed, along with stereotypes of women, one thing seems to remain a constant: sex sells. In the two advertisements mentioned, each had a young and attractive woman in the ad. Each woman was also wearing seductive clothing. Both advertisements gave the message that if you use this product you will get to sleep with young and attractive women. Each style was delivered different but it was heard loud and clear. Barbasol is still a powerhouse in the men's shaving industry because they have used effective methods of advertising to capture the attention of their audience. Most men will eventually need to shave, so why not use a catchy tune and a young attractive woman to lure consumers in?
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