Media Log 5

I'd like to apologize up front about the terrible quality of this photo. iPhone you have let me down again. This is what it says: "He may pose ridiculously, a behavior born from years of absurd underwear advertising." (top right)

"Tommy John underwear gives your man a 10-pack - 2 more than the competition." (right middle

"His body will cover itself miraculously - in baby oil, every time he puts them on." (left top)

"Your man will look like this. Your man will look like this. Close your eyes and he will look like this."* (left middle)

*"He won't look like this but he might feel like this. Our Quick Draw fly and revolutionary 360 degrees stretch fabric make any man feel like a super man."(bottom left)

     So let me get this straight, my man won't actually look like this, but if I buy him this underwear I will not only boost his self esteem but also mine by tricking myself into thinking I've scored myself an underwear model. That's two for the price of one! 

     Looking at this ad, I can't help but be reminded of the Frontline episode we watched, "Making Cents Out of Teens: Merchants of Cool". I remember someone in the show talking about how teens had wised up to the standard techniques of advertisements and found it boring and ineffective when ads took the boring route and simply advertised their product. One technique they used to combat this was pointing out the absurdity of advertisements. This ad does just this. Looking at this picture, it shows a strong resemblance to the Calvin Kline underwear ads that also feature oiled up, buff males in briefs. However, this ad is poking fun at the typical underwear ad. It points out how weird underwear advertisements are and in the process, sells their own. They argue that underwear ads sell more than just underwear, they sell sex and attention. The advertisers saw this and as well as how over done this angle is, and opted for another way to stand out amongst underwear ads. The addition of the wit and humor technique really separated this ad from the rest of them. Even though the point of the ad is to make fun of underwear ads, it is still selling you underwear, the advertisers just admit to their tactics. 

     I think the perspective the advertisers took in this ad is really affective in making the reader want to buy their product. By admitting that they are advertising, they establish a credibility with the reader. We are now in on the joke (it's advertisement, just in case you haven't picked that up yet), and are more taken by the ad. I found this ad to be very effective and entertaining, as, I'm sure, many other Instyle readers  did when they stumbled upon it amidst a flurry of spring trends.