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The Old Spice Swagger ad came from a Rolling Stonemagazine. We might note that the readers of this publication tend to follow popular culture trends in movies, music, politics, and sports. The publication tends to use some humor and sarcasm to reach its audience, and we can see this trend working in this advertisement. The Old Spice ad uses humor as an emotional appeal. It appeals to the audience by trying to make them laugh and/or smile at the “transformation” achieved by the use of the product Old Spice. The reader then, associates the positive emotion—gained through humor—with the product of Old Spice. Of course, the reader doesn’t actually believe that Old Spice will make such a transformation, but that positive emotion that the ad creates through humor is enough for the reader to have a positive connection when considering the product.

Another main appeal in this ad comes from the use of Brian Urlacher. The use of this athlete represents an ethical appeal(ethos), as the advertisers work to connect the reputation of Urlacher with the product Old Spice. Readers recognize the 6’4” linebacker for the Chicago Bears as a strong and fierce athlete. Urlacher is known for sacking quarterbacks and performing hard-hitting tackles. Urlacher earned the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2005. Most male readers (target audience) would describe Urlacher as strong, successful, tough, aggressive, and determined. Readers might also believe that any product endorsed by a professional athlete such as Urlacher should be a strong, hard-working product. Through the use of Urlacher as an ethical appeal, advertisers hope to persuade readers to associate the brand Old Spice with the positive reputation of this professional athlete.

Of course, many of the qualities that readers associate with Urlacher are qualities that readers associate with masculinity. Society tends to believe that men should be strong, fierce, determined, aggressive, and successful. Urlacher seems to embody all of these qualities; thus, one might argue that the ad also works to perpetuate societal views about masculinity—that men should look and act like Urlacher.This message tends to be emphasized by the “before” picture of Urlacher, as this man does not seem to exhibit the strength, confidence, or success that the “after” picture exhibits. In fact, society might describe the man in the “before” picture as weakand passive. The ad reiterates that most men would not want to be this “before” man, but most men would want to be the Urlacher in the “after” picture. Thus, the ad seems to make specific claims about how a man should and shouldn’t look and behave.