The artifact being used for this post is from an Old Spice commercial that aired back in
2010.
BJ Fogg says there are 3 elements needed to elicit a
behavior; these elements are Motivation,
Ability, and Trigger.
Motivation
This ad has a fast pace comedic flair, and pleasure is
derived from the comic nature of the ad. The ad is directed at the woman
viewer, and so it appeals to a woman’s sense of desiring status, and that men
who wear Old Spice are classy, and attractive
in the eyes of women. For men, the motivation would be in garnering acceptance by
women from having a status symbol, similar to owning an Apple product, or wearing Nike
sports wear… i.e., Old Spice
translates as a status symbol that men should have/use.
Ability
The nature of an ad is that it requires “low ability” on the
part of the viewer. In regards to the Old
Spice commercial, it is a subconscious seed that is aiming to prompt the
viewer into purchasing Old Spice body-wash
when the individual goes to the store… The purchase then becomes a “high
ability” action on the part of the consumer.
Trigger
The ad’s persuasive power is that it is comical, and thus
relaxes the skeptical inclinations of the viewer. A trigger that acts as a facilitator is one that prompts the
viewer to be “convinced” because the level of ability needed is low, and the
motivation for being convinced is high. The Old
Spice commercial does this by being both comical, and implying that a
woman’s status is determined by whether her man smells good or not. This would
lead the woman to either purchase Old
Spice body-wash for her man to try out, or the man will be convinced to
purchase it because he would appear lesser in the eyes of his woman for not
doing so.
Process Premise
This ad appeals to our sense of ego-gratification. As human
beings, we look for symbols that give us immediate indicators about another
person, and this ad attempts to do this by portraying Old Spice products as being “high class,” and inferring social
acceptance on those who use there products. If you are a man that wears Old Spice, then people (and certainly
women) can tell you are of a certain echelon that is acceptable upon first
“smell.”
