Old Spice Entices
Jade D. Thornton
University of Anchorage Alaska
Professor McDonald
Introduction to Composition, English 111
March 26, 2014
Old Spice Entices
Have you ever wondered how Old Spice originated or what impact it has on men today?
Consider the company’s future and how commercials affect it? One commercial stands out from
the rest, this is the “Momsong” Old Spice commercial. The commercial provides three elements
that make it popular, these elements are ethos, logos, and pathos.
Old Spice first originated in 1934. The very first product produced was called Early American
Old Spice for women and was introduced to the public that very same year. Four year laters in
1938 Old Spice was created for men. Old Spice for men was manufactured by the Shulton
Company and was founded by a man named William Lightfoot Schultz. When the first Old Spice
product for men was being developed a nautical theme was chosen to represent the product. A
colonial sailing ship was used as their trademark to represent their brand for Old Spice for many
years to come. In June 1990, Procter & Gamble purchased Old Spice fragrances and products
from the Shulton Company.
Proctor &Gamble was first established as a company in 1837 by William Proctor and James
Gamble. Since the start of this company Proctor & Gamble has ranked 41st as the world’s most
replicable company around the world as well as 15 the most replicable in the United States. It is
also ranked 21st on the most respectable company list and 40th on the Best Company of leaders
established list. No wonder this product has had so much success and respect from people
around the world. Old Spice has become a raving sensation to men as well as teenage boys
(Proctor & Gamble, 2014).
The “Momsong” commercial for Old Spice states that their new line of Old Spice body spray
will quickly turn a teenage boy into a man. In the commercial this prospect is not something that
moms are ready to face based on their reaction in the commercial advertised. In one of the scenes
a mom is seen hiding behind a door in her son’s bedroom singing sadly about her son becoming
a man. The song then flashes to other moms doing the same thing spying on their sons as they
are growing into men and are now hanging out with women more and more.
Singing the phrase:
"Oh I didn’t see it coming but it came in a can
Now my sweet son sprayed into a man" (Suhay, 2014)
This commercial was first shown at a commercial break during the NFL playoff game on
January 4, 2014 (Lear, 2014). One day later the phrase “’Old Spice’ was tweeted over 50,000
times according to social analytics, Topsy, “…the video has had more than 1 million views since
it was posted a few days ago” (Lear,2014). So why so much buzz about this commercial? The
reason this commercial is so popular is because of the fact it has all three elements ethos,
logos, and pathos.
Ethos is defined as credibility, how trustworthy and credible the speaker or writer is
(Durhamtech, 1998). In the commercial “Momsong” credibility is established through the use of
the brand, Old Spice, and the history it portrays of producing men fragrances. The company has
been around since 1934 and has since been developing products for men. Ethos is also apparent
through the use of a mother raising her son and being aware of the changes her son is having
based on the “Old Spice” commercial. The mother realizes these changes as she spies on her son
in different situations and how he reacts and interacts with the women he is with. This element
suggest the audience should feel the brand is more trustworthy based on what the commercial is
portrays in the advertisement.
The second element that is portrayed in this commercial is logos. Logos is defined as the “the
internal consistency of the message--the clarity of the claim, the logic of its reasons, and the
effectiveness of its supporting evidence” (Durhamtech, 1998).In the “Momsong” commercial
logos is used a great deal. Logos is used throughout the whole commercial to develop the claim
that Old Spice equals manhood and supported by evidence of grieving mothers. The mother
blames Old Spice for hastening the attraction of girls to her sons and changing her son into a
man. She realizes this when she spies on him and sees the changes that are occurring right in
front on her eyes as well as the audiences.
Through the use of the song she sings that spraying the bottle makes him a man. You as an
audience can see for yourself the changes that occur through the use of the bottle. The fact the
she and the audience are a witness to the claim being stated at the beginning of the commercial is
supported through the actions of the son in the advertisement. By having these elements in the
commercial the logos is portrayed in the advertisement, therefore increasing the effectiveness
and thought of the overall commercial being advertised on the television.
The last element that is portrayed in this commercial is pathos. Pathos is defined as,“persuading
by appealing to the reader's emotions” (Durhamteh,1998). There are a lot of emotions used in
this commercial to one get the point across by appealing to the audience as a whole. For instance,
a mother can relate to her son growing up and becoming a man, even if she is not ready for such
an act. Just like in the commercial the mother is not ready to deal with the fact that her son is
growing up. Could it be caused by a substance in a bottle? It is up to the audience to decide
whether or not the bottle really changes boys into men. On the other hand, the commercial also
appeals to men as well through the use of female attraction and acts that you can perform with
the right of manhood. As seen in the commercial the sons are able to interact with women in
many different setting all because of the use of a spray. Using appeal to emotion helps the
audience feel connected to the commercial. Through the use of the elements provided in the
commercial the audience is able to relate more to the brand as well as desire the product that is
being sold.
Although this commercial is appealing and has many different qualities, without the use of ethos,
logos, and pathos the commercial would not be as popular as it is today. The three elements an
argument or effective advertisement should have are ethos, logos, and pathos. Without stating
credibility, evidence, and emotion the advertisement would be dull and not very convincing. By
using all three elements that are portrayed in the commercial, it has become a hit with the
audience and they are able to believe the message that the brand, Old Spice, is trying to deliver in
their commercial.
The biggest appeals used in the advertisement are ethos and logos which are established from
the beginning of the commercial. They are the most important elements used to persuade the
audience to trust the brand and to trust the product that is being advertised. By using the two
most important elements, ethos and logos, the advertisers are able to get their desired results.
Citations
Lear, J. (2014, January 7). “Old Spice TV spot 'Momsong' gets online buzz with positive,
negative reactions. CNN. Retrieved March 23, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/
Procter & Gamble. (2014, January 15). PG.com “External Recognition: awards, supplier
diversity, Dow Jones”. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from
http://www.pg.com/en_US/company/external_recognition.shtml
Ramage, J., & Bean, J. (n.d.). A General Summary of Aristotle's Appeals . . . .“Writing
Argments”. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from
http://courses.durhamtech.edu/perkins/aris.html
Suhay, L. (2014, January 7). “Old Spice 'Mom Song' hits close to home”. The Christian
Science MONITOR. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://www.csmonitor.com/TheCulture/Family/Modern-Parenthood/2014/0107/Old-Spice-Mom-Song-hits-close-tohome