The Lure of Old Spice and GEICO into the Sea of Rhetorical Commercialism

Breanne Richards

Eng 450

Brother Brugger

10 December 2012

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Aristotle once said that rhetoric was “the faculty of discovering in the particular case all

of the available means of persuasion” (Welford 3). As the world continues to grow and develop,

so have the possibilities of persuasion. One element in particular is the media and the means by

which it persuades its audience to listen, watch, and remember. Two million. That’s the number

of TV commercials seen by the average person by age 65, as reported by A.C. Nielson Co.

(Herr). As a specific medium of persuasion, television has become a necessity in the modern

world, and rising with it is the age of commercialism. Television advertisements use any means

of persuasion available in order to make their 30-second experience with the audience as

memorable as possible. For Old Spice and GEICO commercials, rhetoric is apparent in the way

that rhetorical figures—repeated format and unpredictable content—are employed to create such

an experience.

In an ever-changing world that’s constantly competing for audience attention, rhetorical

figures are a device that each advertising company must use. According to Edward McQuarrie

and David G. Mick, professors of marketing and commerce respectively, rhetorical figures are

“artful deviation[s] . . . [that] swerve from expectations” (“Visual and Verbal” 579).

Commercials have to find a unique way to say essentially the same as what similar products are

also trying to say; both are seeking to place their particular brand in the greater light. Popular

deodorants, such as Old Spice and Secret, both want to convey that their product will make you

smell better. However, in modern commercials, it is uncommon to find an advertisement that

uses such a direct verbal claim as “Old Spice makes you smell better” or something along those

lines, as alluded to by McQuarrie and Barbara J. Phillips, a professor of marketing at the

University of Saskatchewan (7). Instead, a company must use the artful deviations of rhetorical

figures in order to stand out to an audience. McQuarrie and Mick explain that this key technique

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creates a stronger interest and enjoyment, which in turn enhances ad recall to produce more

positive attitudes towards an advertisement (“Visual Rhetoric in Advertising” 38, 40; “Visual

and Verbal” 579).

Old Spice is a very apparent example of a commercial that “deviates from expectation”

(McQuarrie and Mick, “Figures of Rhetoric” 425). Obviously the norm would be to appeal to

men, but rather than using a direct verbal claim to explain the product’s purpose, Old Spice

instead employs a rhetorical figure by focusing on an unexpected audience: women. The “Old

Spice Man,” or actor Isaiah Mustafa, always opens with the same line—“Hello ladies”—which

immediately gets the ladies’ attention (Old Spice). The directors of the series of commercials

geniusly direct them toward women, since they are the general shoppers that would buy this

product for their man. The Old Spice Man suggests that they dream of having a man in their life

like him where their man would smell just as good. It gives several examples of what women

dream of: a sculpted man, a man that would buy them tickets to the things they love, or a man

that would buy them diamonds (Old Spice). By mentioning these things, it essentially plants the

idea that women would get these things if their man would smell like the Old Spice Man does,

which will only happen if they buy Old Spice. By deviating from the norm through an appeal to

a female audience for a male product, the Old Spice commercials create a stylistic variation that,

according to McQuarrie and Mick, generates “a reliable impact on consumer response,” creating

a more unique and memorable experience for their audience (“Visual Rhetoric in Advertising”

38).

Another way in which Old Spice accomplishes this is by their repetition of format within

their commercials. The repeated tag line “Smell like a man, man” gives the audience something

familiar to go back to every time.

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http://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/view/81097610/

Similar phrases such as “hello ladies,” “look at your man, now back to me, now back at

your man, now back to me,” and “the man your man could smell like” are all examples that are

repeated in some form or another in every commercial (Old Spice). The basic format itself is also

consistent. Every advertisement consists of the Old Spice Man moving from scene to scene and

outfit to outfit, and in each one, telling the ladies what Old Spice could do for them. According

to McQuarrie and Mick, “[This] rhetorical operation of repetition combines multiple instances of

some element of the expression without changing the meaning of that element” (“Figures of

Rhetoric” 429). To explain, Old Spice’s use of repetition takes its generic claim that its product

makes you “smell like a man, man” and illustrates that principle in myriad ways. Whether the

Old Spice Man is yodeling in the Swiss Alps, riding a horse, or diving off a waterfall, he is a

man and he smells like one too. No matter the location or action taken in the commercials, the

meaning of the product remains the same: he still smells like a man.

Although each commercial’s format is predictable, the content of the structure, however,

is not; they use the repetition of ambiguity, or unpredictability, in order to hook their audience.

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Old Spice, in order to deviate from expectation, chose an artful way of creating a memorable

experience for their viewers by supplying unpredictable content to the extreme. McQuarrie and

Phillips said, “Several researchers contend that the openness or ambiguity of pictures in

advertising is what makes them so persuasive” (9). As Win Welford, head of the Department of

Communication at Southeastern Louisiana University, said, “Ambiguity [becomes] their ally” (6)

because the unpredictability of Old Spice’s commercials makes them stand out, and because it

allows the consumers to draw their own inferences. This freedom for the audience produces a

more memorable and interactive experience. Whether the Old Spice Man is in a bathroom, a

boat, the Alps, a lake, or on a horse, he essentially evokes every form of whimsicality

imaginable.

http://www.mailmangroup.com/2011/12/top-5-social-media-campaigns-2/

Thus, the consumer is forced to actively follow the commercial, seeking to draw connections and

conclusions. Despite the randomness, however, Old Spice consistently manages to convey the

message that is essential: that Old Spice will make you smell like man. This product’s use of a

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constant format and sense of unpredictability gives the audience an element to grab hold of that

stands out from other products, making for an unforgettable commercial experience.

Comparable to Old Spice, GEICO is another company which employs rhetorical figures

to deviate from the norm. To do this, they use a corresponding strategy of creating a series of

similarly-formatted commercials with creative, unpredictable content. Shuhua Zhou, Peiqin

Zhou, and Fei Xue, assistant professors of telecommunication and film, sociology, and mass

communication and journalism respectively, said concerning advertisements:

In 30 seconds, ads strive to offer us a compelling reason to consider the product,

typically by tapping viewers' aesthetic sensibilities and cultural affinity.

Necessarily, they call for effective storytelling, creative means to reach

consumers' hearts, and insightful abstractions to convey meanings larger than the

ads themselves (111).

GEICO knows that “effective storytelling” is essential for them to reach to the core of

their audience. In order to achieve this, they have employed a specific, repeated format attached

to creative content. The familiar format follows the pattern of (1) the company’s tag line or

statistical phrase, (2) a short, pointed question, and (3) a corresponding clip that answer “yes” to

the posed question. GEICO rhetorically begins each of its commercials with their famous tag

line: “Can GEICO really save you 15% or more on car insurance?” (BusinessVoiceInc).

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http://dubsism.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/

This line supplies the audience with a logical appeal, giving statistical information on what worth

their product is to “you.” The phrase is one repeated throughout all GEICO commercials that

most people are able to identify immediately. Tag lines are something that are consistently used

in nearly all commercials, but what GEICO follows it with is what makes it special. After the tag

lines, the commercials are then followed with a whimsical, random question that essentially has

nothing to do with car insurance, but the company repeats this structure to establish familiarity

and connect viewers to the product. The clip that follows is always an illustration of that

question, which essentially answers “yes.” This movement of rhetorical strategy now employs a

more emotional approach (moving from the logical approach) by appealing to the audience’s

emotions, philosophies, or sense of humor. In one example, the GEICO man asks their statistical

company question, followed by “did the little piggy really cry ‘wee, wee, wee’ all the way

home?”

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http://walterhedgehog.wikia.com/wiki/Maxwell

The commercial continues to display a clip of the little piggy leaning out the window and indeed

crying “wee, wee, wee” until he gets home (BusinessVoiceInc). By asking a rhetorical question

such as this, but then showing a clip that answers the question as “yes,” GEICO is essentially

communicating that yes, they really can save you 15% or more on care insurance. Using this

strategy, each commercial employs both logos and pathos, by sharing the statistic as well as an

emotional appeal that connects the viewer by catching their attention.

GEICO, again, uses the same rhetorical approach as Old Spice in regards to unpredictable

content. Its use of clips that fundamentally have no connection whatsoever to the product being

advertised—car insurance—creates a memorable experience for their audience, also known as

audience stance. Mary E. Hocks, coauthor of Eloquent Images: Word and Image in the Age of

New Media, said, “Audience stance describes how the work visually gives [viewers] a sense of

agency and possibilities for . . . a highly interactive experience” (635, 639). Consumers become

extremely engaged in the commercial because they must work to create a comprehensible path in

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their mind between car insurance and the random clip shown, such as the little piggy or GEICO’s

signature caveman.

http://joeboydblog.com/2012/02/15/meet-the-geico-caveman/

Following that path (and as illustrated below in Figure 1), one thinks: did the little piggy really

cry “wee, wee, wee?” As the commercial illustrates with a pig crying “wee, wee, wee” out the

window, we can say yes he did; since, yes, the pig really did cry “wee, wee, wee,” GEICO really

can save you money.

Figure 1

Not only does the audience’s interactive experience during the commercial draw them in, but so

does the visual, whimsical content of the commercials. S. Zhou, P. Zhou, and Xue said, “Many

researchers believe that the power of advertising is conveyed in visuals, which are more concise

and more easily and quickly processed than verbal language,” (111). In a matter of seconds,

GEICO traps their audience’s attention through a unique and visually interesting image, such as

Can GEICO really save you 15% or more on car insurance?

Did the little piggy really cry “wee,

wee, wee?”

“Yes, the little piggy really cried “wee, wee, wee.”

Yes, GEICO really can

save you 15% or more on

car insurance.

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a pig hanging out the window, a caveman in a suit, or Ed “Too Tall” Jones standing on a scale

(BusinessVoiceInc). By using images like these, GEICO effectively advertises their product just

by giving the audience a powerful, memorable image to grab hold of. Now, the next time they

see an image similar to these, they’ll think of GEICO. So just as with Old Spice, viewers

immediately make a connection with the whimsical nature of these commercials and that—even

more than the content—is what they attach to.

Despite the effectiveness of Old Spice’s and GEICO’ rhetorical use of repeated format

and unpredictable content, one could argue that such devices are less structured and could in fact

confuse readers to the point that they cannot follow the advertisement. As described before, a

rhetorical figure “deviates from expectation, [and] the expression is not rejected as nonsensical

or faulty” (McQuarrie and Mick, “Figures of Rhetoric” 425). It’s essential for a commercial,

when employing unpredictable content that has the possibility of coming across as ambiguous, to

make sure that their strategy is clear. In the case of Old Spice, they make sure that their audience

understands that no matter where the Old Spice Man is, he smells good. In the case of GEICO,

they make sure that their audience understands that each whimsical clip answers “yes,” also

answering “yes” to their tag line. McQuarrie and Mick addressed nonsensical commercials:

Nonsensical or anomalous statements represent a double violation or a deviation

of the second degree. In other words, consumers have conventions available to

deal with violations of convention. When a search for context successfully

restores understanding, the consumer assumes a figurative use and responds

accordingly. Else, the consumer assumes some failure of communication

(“Figures of Rhetoric” 426).

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It is essential for commercials such as Old Spice and GEICO to ensure that the path of

communication is clear for their audience. Hocks said, “Any rhetorical theory works as a

dynamic system of strategies employed for creating, reacting to, and receiving meaning” (632).

Unfortunately, though, some audience members when given their “sense of agency” during a

commercial don’t know how to use it. Thus, they are unable to create, react, and receive the

meaning intended from the advertisement and therefore do not understand it. This is how

“nonsensical or anomalous statements” could come about. However, this is the exception to the

norm. Old Spice and GEICO, by establishing a consistent format, establish a consistent message

that their product works. Nonsensicality can be a huge problem in advertisements, but so long as

commercials such as those described make the pathway of communication clear, their audiences

will have no problem receiving their message.

We live in a world where media has become the network by which companies can send

their persuasive messages to every street corner, every shop, every home. They have thirty

seconds to hook their audience and ensure that their name will be remembered. With the

persuasive power of television advertisements on the rise, companies have had to up their

creativity and use of rhetoric in order to make their 30-second experience with the audience as

memorable as possible. For Old Spice and GEICO, they discovered ways to employ rhetorical

figures, or deviate from the norm, by incorporating unpredictable content with a structured

format. They have implemented crisp, clean, and familiar formats that their audiences can

immediately recognize and remember. Each format consists of a series of whimsical content that

catches their audience off guard, making for a memorable and exciting experience. Old Spice

and GEICO are able to effectively use unpredictability to lure each audience member into a

familiar sea of memorable commercials that keep them coming back for more.

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Works Cited

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McQuarrie, Edward F., and David G. Mick. “Figures of Rhetoric in Advertising Language.”

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