Olivia Fuld

J201-311

04/25/18

Word Count: 1545

Irish Spring’s Strategic Use of Masculinity

If a man slides in the mud to capture a rugby ball, is he dirty or masculine? What about when he cleans up? Can he be both? These are some of the questions at play in a print ad for Irish Spring soap. The purpose of the ad may seem simple: to encourage athletes to stay clean through Irish Spring. But the reasoning and strategy behind this ad are quite complex. The specific image used conveys a certain meaning, and the text carefully emphasizes some concepts over others in an effort to preserve core concepts of masculine identity. In American society, many advertisements rely on stereotypes about hypermasculinity in order to appeal to male consumers. For instance, advertisements for male hygiene products are often branded in a way that is intended to make men feel secure that buying those products will not be emasculating. In the May 2018 issue of Men’s Journal, Irish Spring has an advertisement that purposely targets men by appealing to hypermasculinity through trying to eliminate the association between hygiene and femininity, therefore marketing its products effectively to “real men.”

Gendered ads, such as the Irish Spring advertisement from Men’s Journal, rely on cultural stereotypes. These stereotypes come from socially-constructed gender ideals that are deeply rooted and embedded in our society. The book Controversial Matters on Media Ethics discusses how “gender is one of the most used social resources” in modern advertising. It also states that gender has been utilized because “it is easy to identify and to access, and broad enough to be profitable” (Panarese, 2016, p.33). Yet there are layers to the masculine stereotype, which is evident in the Irish Spring ad. An article by Susan M. Alexander explains that the masculine gender ideal can be defined by four roles. The first dictates that men should “never, never resemble women, or display strongly stereotyped feminine characteristics.” This is impossible, however, as the “feminine” characteristics at hand are actually human–appreciating cleanliness and aesthetics is a behavior exhibited by both men and women. Alexander also makes the point that this gender ideal enforces the stereotypes that “real men have deep voices, avoid the use of cosmetics, and give minimal attention to their clothes and hygiene” (Alexander, 2003, p.537). Whether or not this stereotype unfairly pressures certain behaviors from groups of people, it actually means it should be difficult to sell men products geared towards grooming. However, as this ad shows, such is a market-defeating principle. So, in order to sell men products, advertisers have to find a way to depict a product as appealing to “real” men.

Men’s Journal, the magazine that ran the The Irish Spring ad, plays a complex and sometimes contradictory role in the landscape of masculinity. Its editorial mission claims that “Men’s Journal provides expert and concise information for the pursuit of new experiences through the landscapes of gear, adventure, travel, food & drink, style and wellness” (Men’s Journal, 2017). The average age of the consumer of the print edition of Men’s Journal magazine is 44.5, and they are usually accomplished, health-wise, intellectually curious, aspirational males. These qualities are not necessarily at odds with traditional notions of masculinity, but they also begin to incorporate some traditional feminine qualities. Men’s Journal encourages attention to the body’s appearance, and purchasing products for that very body.

Irish Spring most likely used a rugby game as the scene of the advertisement because rugby is a very intense and often violent sport. Rugby players are thought of as “tough” and therefore serve as the perfect example of a “true man.” One of psychology and marketing Professor Robert Cialdini's elements of persuasion, liking, is represented through the rugby in the ad. Liking relates to the idea that “people prefer to say yes to those they like” (Cialdini, 2001, p.3-4). Having men performing an activity that men who read the magazine can relate to increases the chance that the viewers will “like” the ad. The ad takes up the entire page of the magazine, and has both visuals and verbals that are intended to grab attention and cause a reader to pause rather than flipping to the next page. The focal point of the ad, and the biggest figure on the page, is a man himself displaying his physical body and actively playing rugby. The man is covered in mud from head to toe with a grimace on his face, showing his intensity. Men who “like” this athletic ideal will also like, and therefore perhaps buy, Irish Spring.

The text in the advertisement bolsters the image’s message. The product itself is only at the very bottom of the page, one-quarter of the entire page space, with nothing but photos of the products themselves alongside the text, “CLEANS A MAN UP RIGHT.” The other text on the page is higher and more emphasized, but the text strategically emphasizes words that evoke masculinity. The entire line is, “For men who think ‘rain’ delay means game on,” but the entire sentence is capitalized. The phrases “for men” and “game on” frame the picture most notably. The ad opens with “FOR MEN” to prove its point, that it is the essence of masculinity, and then concludes on “GAME ON” which calls men to action to demonstrate their toughness by means of purchasing the product. The use of “RAIN DELAY” is also significant because it signals that only weak men (or women) would even consider a rain delay (Irish Spring, 2018). This is another subtle way to challenge men to “man up” by getting dirty and then using Irish Spring. It is clear that the Irish Spring advertisement is a “soft sell” ad because not only is the product not the focal point of the page, the ad does not specifically tell the audience to buy the product. Rather, the ad uses a “soft,” more subtle approach, taking advantage of the male need to prove masculinity and implying that those who do not use these products actually lack manhood.

Cialdini’s element of social validation is prevalent in the content of the Irish Spring advertisement through the specific language that is used. The advertisement is challenging men to act in a certain way, and justifies the use of the product through the appeal of the hypermasculine behavior depicted in the ad. Cialdini describes social validation as taking “advantage of peer pressure to drive human behavior” (Cialdini, 2001, p.3). The verbals chosen are intended to make men feel obligated to buy the product in order to be amongst their peers and “act like a man,” to be “up for the challenge.” These are incredibly gendered and even very provocative statements, challenging the viewer to prove his masculinity and showing that this proof comes through purchasing and using a particular product. Not only does the ad gender the product as male, but it then claims that true men use the product. Irish Spring is leveraging both the stereotypes of the male gender as well as the constant pressure men are under to prove their masculinity. The combination of these factors is an incredibly effective and convincing advertisement.

Irish Spring attempts to reach men who want to assert their manliness and identify as athletic. A content of an ad is what will ultimately sell the product, so the sport of rugby with muddy team players surrounding the main player is intentional. Professor McLeod introduced the use of strategic goals that companies have when creating an advertisement. Together, these goals are known as the ABC model (D McLeod, Personal Communication, April 2, 2018). These letters stand for affective, behavioral, and cognitive goals. Irish Spring certainly utilizes the ABC model in its efforts to make its ad appealing to men, especially in terms of affective impact. The “A” in the ABC model the advertisement’s strongest tactic. More simply, the advertisement targets the mindset, the attitude, of the target market (men) and seeks to register deeply with the consumer. Irish Spring does not simply want to sell its products. The company wants to suggest to men that, in order to be real men, they need Irish Spring products. The phrasing of the ad implies that a man who does not purchase these products is actually less of a man, and that risk is something that many shoppers will spend money to avoid.

This Irish Spring advertisement is not part of a larger campaign. It is a stand-alone advertisement “soft sell” print ad. The ad’s effectiveness, as well as its ability to accomplish the goal of trying to recast purchasing hygienic and grooming products as non-feminine, comes from its relies on society’s gender roles to make its point. The ad sells the convincing message that buying Irish Spring products is a way to demonstrate hyper-masculine behaviors such as strength, dominance, and athletic performance. Men can reinforce and demonstrate their male identities through buying this product and therefore they are more inclined to purchase it. As exemplified by this Men’s Journal ad, advertisers rely on social cues and standards to produce content that is relevant and maximally impactful to the market they are trying to reach. By identifying and relying upon these preconceived beliefs, advertisers are able to tap into the minds of their consumers thus resulting in greater consumption and sales of their products.

References

1. Alexander, Susan M. "Stylish Hard Bodies: Branded Masculinity in Mens Health Magazine." Sociological Perspectives 46, no. 4 (2003): 535-54.

2. Alfonso, G. R. (2016). Controversial matters on media ethics. Madrid: Dykinson., 29-55.

3. Cialdini, R. (2001). The Science of Persuasion. Scientific American, 284(2), 76-81.

4. Irish Spring. (2018, May). [ Advertisement for Irish Spring Soap]. Men’s Journal, 27(5).

5. Men’s Journal. (2017). Media Kit 2017. Retrieved from https://www.americanmediainc.com/brands/mens-journal[Accessed 10 April. 2018].