Old Spice Fresh Places Analysis

The whole ad is a visual metaphor as the brand ambassador is wearing the Bahamas, relating to the scent of the product. The same man is used for the Old Spice adverts, and is now seen as the new old spice brand ambassador. He maintains direct eye contact with the audience/ camera, showing himself to be a dominating, masculine person which is again emphasised with the half- smile. He is also shown to have a good muscular physique, perhaps encouraging women as well as men to buy the product, aspiring to look similar to the face of the product. Resulting in a larger target audience and increasing sales as, stereotypically, women tend to do the shopping. The brand ambassador wearing the Bahamas on his body offers an element of the male gaze, a women in a bikini is laying on the beach (his chest) which may attract a certain audience, and as a result will encourage more men to wear the scent to become more appealing to potential parteners.
Additionally, the humour used, ‘this fact is not fact checked’ may increase sales by engaging a wider audience. The poster includes tropical connotations and escapist imagery which appeals to an aspiring audience who appreciate humour. Similarly, the tropical connotations emphasise the scent, smelling like a holiday, which may increase sales as most of the population enjoy a holiday, so relating this to a scent may be a successful selling point.
The volcano on the man’s head may create the idea of ‘mind blown’ perhaps by the scent of the product. The volcano gives off connotations of illumination which is an attractive quality to a product  and may suggest that buying and using the product may give you an illuminating look. The volcano also may relate to the brand ambassador, both of which are active. In fact, the volcano may suggest other ideas in more depth, eruptions have a positive effect on the earth as they provide minerals and nutrients to the land, perhaps implying the anti-persperant offers more than just the scent.