The Olay advertisement for Elle magazine shows a bottle of their new ultra moisture body wash. The ad states “Rises above basic cleaning.” The “Rises above” is in capitalized letters. It also claims, “One bottle is better than seven bottles of the leading body wash.” The ad shows a large Olay bottle of body wash above a splash in blue liquid. Underneath the liquid, there are seven smaller bottles of unknown liquid. The colors beneath the water are dark and blue. The colors above the water are warm tints to match with the white and gold bottle of Olay body wash. The colors of the Olay bottle aren’t gender specific to show how each gender is targeted for this product. At the bottom of the ad, it says, “The difference is the moisture. Go beyond just basic for soft, smooth skin.” The top right corner of the ad contains the logo, “Olay Body”, in the largest font. The information left out on the ad is the ounces per bottle, the price, the scent, where to buy it, all of the contents and ingredients, and what the other compared products are.
This ad uses symbolism of the bottle rising about the water to show how one bottle of Olay is better than the other bottles of body wash by sinking the competition. But this ad is unproven. There is no scientific evidence of whether this Olay bottle of body wash is actually better than seven other bottles of a leading body wash. The reader also has no idea what the “leading body wash” is, which causes false scientific knowledge. This could also be considered a big lie. It is exaggerating Olay being better than the other bottles. This isn’t good because it might be smaller than it appears. Charisma is used twice in this ad It claims Olay can rise above basic cleansing, and also says it is beyond basic. The concept of euphemism is in these words, “beyond basic” for “soft, smooth skin.” But the reader has no idea if the Olay body wash actually does this. This leads into extrapolation. The readers don’t know if the Olay body wash is better than seven bottles of the leading body wash, or if it actually makes skin softer. The ad makes the reader believe Olay is better than other products, but in order to actually know, the consumer must buy the product first. This isn’t good for the consumer when they buy the product and figure out how the product is not what the ad said it was.
The ad is trying to give the reader the message that Olay is a better body wash than the rest because of its moisture and being better than seven other bottles of another leading brand. The ad has a picture of the Olay bottle “rising above” the other bottles to show how it is sinking the competition. It is in water to show how there is moisture of some sort, while seven other bottles are underneath it. This is to show how the other products aren’t as good as the Olay body wash. It uses mainly symbolism and words, but the outcome of the product and how it affects the skin isn’t shown. There isn’t a person on the ad with soft smooth skin to show how the product actually works. All that is shown in the ad is the claim of how it is better than other products without any proof.
The techniques of color, font size, and comparing to other products can be good for Olay to attract customers, but the consumers are missing some major key points. The body wash is used for bodies, yet the reader cannot see any bodies on the ad which causes the consumer to believe the words used in the ad and not know if it is true. The consumer has no idea what the other seven bottles consist of, so putting scientific knowledge doesn’t help at all when the reader has no idea what he or she is comparing Olay to. Lastly, the picture shows the bottle “rising above” other products in a splash of water. This comes across as saying the Olay product is better than all other body wash products, but the viewer really has no proof without knowing what the other products are. The consumer doesn’t know the cost, the ounces per bottle, the smell, where to get it, the contents and ingredients, the other products it is being compared to, or what the body wash does to skin. Any body wash company could say their product is better than the rest, but without having some scientific facts and a picture of the outcome of usage, the customer has no idea if it is as good as the ad says it is.