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I'm assuming I don't have to link to any of Isaiah Mustafah's Old Spice commercials, and that you've seen them all.
First, let me just make the comment on how it's changing my perception of the brand. I thought of Old Spice as the deodorant that my grandfather used.
Now I'm thinking, "Oh, right -- my grandfather killed a bunch of Nazis, didn't he?"
Anyway.
One of my favorite terms to use when doing feminist critiques of media is "agency" -- specifically the agency of women. In the medium, are women active participants or passive prizes?
In the Axe Body Wash commercials, women have no agency. If you (and "you" means "a male" -- the commercials ignore the possibility that half their audience might be female; females don't exist as PEOPLE in those commercials) use Axe, women will flock to you without any free will of their own. Women aren't people; they're prizes.
In the Old Spice commercials, "Ladies: Look at your man. Now look at me. Now look at your man."
It's addressed to women, with the impression that WOMEN are people who can make choices. It's not terribly feminist, yes, but there IS a difference between the commercials for men's deodorant which treat women as props and these, which at least make a nod to the idea that women are people. We can talk about how terribly heteronormative they are, but the fact that they at least acknowledge that women exist as sapient beings is a huge step forward for men's grooming product advertisements.
First, let me just make the comment on how it's changing my perception of the brand. I thought of Old Spice as the deodorant that my grandfather used.
Now I'm thinking, "Oh, right -- my grandfather killed a bunch of Nazis, didn't he?"
Anyway.
One of my favorite terms to use when doing feminist critiques of media is "agency" -- specifically the agency of women. In the medium, are women active participants or passive prizes?
In the Axe Body Wash commercials, women have no agency. If you (and "you" means "a male" -- the commercials ignore the possibility that half their audience might be female; females don't exist as PEOPLE in those commercials) use Axe, women will flock to you without any free will of their own. Women aren't people; they're prizes.
In the Old Spice commercials, "Ladies: Look at your man. Now look at me. Now look at your man."
It's addressed to women, with the impression that WOMEN are people who can make choices. It's not terribly feminist, yes, but there IS a difference between the commercials for men's deodorant which treat women as props and these, which at least make a nod to the idea that women are people. We can talk about how terribly heteronormative they are, but the fact that they at least acknowledge that women exist as sapient beings is a huge step forward for men's grooming product advertisements.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-15 12:34 pm (UTC)(Plus, Mr. Mustafah makes my glad I can see.)
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Date: 2010-07-15 01:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-07-15 01:26 pm (UTC)Most of the Moms, wives, and girlfriends I know do buy the man-no-stink stuff for the guys, the Old Spice commercials take that to a hilarious and really fun to watch level.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-15 02:07 pm (UTC)Completely agree
Date: 2010-07-15 02:07 pm (UTC)Re: Completely agree
From:Re: Completely agree
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Date: 2010-07-15 02:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-07-15 02:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-07-15 03:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-15 04:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-15 04:31 pm (UTC)I don't watch TV -- mostly because of the ads -- but I saw one of these when I went to the movie theater.
My reaction was that the real message was for men, and it was the usual -- "You aren't worth anything as yourself. Your only hope to get a mate is to hide yourself in the image of this unattainable sex symbol, and look, we're selling a product that will do it! Just give us your money and you can paper over your inadequacy!" Yes, they're superficially addressing women, telling them their men are unattractive but this product can transmogrify them. I suppose it's a better message to women to tell them they have the power to choose to transmogrify their men rather than to just use the women as props to demonstrate the transmogrifying effect. I suppose it's better, if some guy walking by kicks me in the nuts, if he doesn't also spit on the woman standing nearby.
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Date: 2010-07-15 04:49 pm (UTC)(No, not taking the mickey. BTW, I think the 2nd - 4th sentences of your entry deserve some sort of award...)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-15 07:16 pm (UTC)Of course it has to be funny and OTT, because everyone would laugh anyway. But the secret is it's appealing, not that it's funny.
Diamonds, for god's sake! And not diamonds-as-self-decoration or diamonds-being-sold-to-men-as-a-means-to-display-ownership. Piles of diamonds for me! To own! Piles! And horses!
I was just ... stunned. I see now why sex sells. If it's actually directed at you.
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Date: 2010-07-15 07:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-07-15 11:23 pm (UTC)Aside from his not matching my physical preferences, I don't need a man to create adventure or do things around the house for me.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-07-17 10:55 pm (UTC)