The definition of man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE&NR=1

Old Spice commercials have become known for their amusing nature, in the idea that all men should want to be as manly as the one in the commercial. The general premise of the commercial is to create this image of the manliest man that every man should aspire to be and every woman should want to be with. Their goal is to epitomize the definition of the male gender in order to make their product more desirable to those wanting that same image. There are obviously many different kinds of guys, but they took the most stereotypical one from American culture, and put him in the most stereotypical situations that either a woman would love, or a man would want to be in. The commercial is arguing for its product by arguing for the most basic definition of a guy, and the strange part of the commercial is that they are not only trying to appeal to men, for whom the product is for, but also women.

Watching the one above, it begins with the assumption that the subject in the commercial is already more masculine than anyone else who could possibly be viewing it. He challenges women to evaluate their boyfriends and determine if they measure up to the supposed perfect one that they are viewing. This is exemplified by the obvious shirtlessness of the person in the commercial, regardless of the situation he is put into. It is clearly for body image purposes, as according to the stereotypical definition of a guy, all men should want to be muscular such as the one in the commercial, and women should want to be with that kind of person.

In addition to the image of the man in the commercial, there is also the idea that his goal is to please women with the tickets and the diamonds. This then comes full circle when out of the diamonds comes the Old Spice body wash, which is when the obvious intended effect is for the man to believe that just as women want diamonds, they too want the body wash as well. The diamonds are a sign intended to show that Old Spice is equivalent to them, and would make a man more desirable to a woman.

These commercials, and all of the Old Spice commercials in general, tend to use very stereotypical ideas of a man and force them on the viewer in a very obvious manner. It basically amounts to the impression that men should be perfect, and if a woman isn’t dating one like the one in the commercial, then she should do better.