3. To start, the product which is advertised here is a razor for men, the Schick’s new four-bladed razor: the
Quattro. This advertisement is part of a larger campaign which is composed of three ads which are built in
the same way. The campaign was destined to be in the press magazine, maybe in men’s magazine like QG,
Equipe, …
The advertisement is composed of the colored picture of a woman. She is sitting at a table. Behind her, we
can see a white wall of bricks. She is holding a cup of coffee. She is probably having her breakfast. She is a
long-brown-hair woman in her early thirty. She is wearing a wedding ring and a top. She has a lot of marks
on her face, like she has been hurt by someone. Indeed, these marks seem to be bruises.
On the main picture, at the center of the advertisement, we can read the catchphrase “The abuse must
stop”. This message is written in black bold capital letters. The catchphrase is a little inclined and the “p” of
the word “stop” is cut because a part of it is out of the page. The typography chosen for the catchphrase
and its position appeals us. In fact, our eyes are always attracted by what is on the center of a picture.
That’s why the advertiser chose to put it here.
Below the catchphrase, and especially below the word “stop”, there is the logo of the razors’ brand: Schick.
The logo is composed by two razors that intersect like swords. Below the logo there is the slogan of Schick:
“smoother shave for men”.
At the first read, this advertisement seems to be an advertisement against domestic violence, because of
the catchphrase and the marks on the woman’s face. People understand that the sitting woman is battered
by her husband and the marks on her face are bruise. We can think that the catchphrase asks us to do
something to stop that. But when we see the logo and the slogan, we understand it in a second way.
Indeed, the catchphrase is a pun on the word “abuse”. We expect the abuse is the fact that the man hit the
woman but, actually, the abuse is that the man doesn’t use Schick’s razor so his beard irritates the skin of
the woman. Thanks to the slogan “smoother shave for men” we can deduce that the man doesn’t use his
razor often because when he shaves his beard the razor irritates his skin so he prefers not to not shave
every day. And, when he kisses his wife, his beard hurts her skin.
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4. On the one hand, we can guess that this advertisement targets men who want a soft skin after shaving and
are in their thirty’s. On the other hand, I think it also targets women who want smooth skin for their
husband. At more, women take decisions in shopping matter, so advertisers have to convince both of them.
This advertisement plays with the reader. At first, it shocked him showing him a picture of a battered
woman and saying that hitting women must stop. Then, it makes him laugh because he understands that
he misunderstood the advertisement. The woman’s husband goes to a brute who doesn’t care of his skin
and injuries his wife because of that.
This advertisement appeals to different fundamental instincts: first, responsibility, men don’t want to be
responsible of women’s injuries so they have to use Schick’s razors not to hurt their wives. This ad implies
that, by using a Schick’s razor, you will have a soft skin and you will not irritate your skin and your wife’s
skin. It also appeals to self-satisfaction: if you use a Schick’s razor you will have a great skin and you wife
will be happy to hug you because you will not irritate your skin.
The main goal of this advertisement is of course to sell Schick’s razors using humor. Instead of showing the
picture of a razor and saying with a caption how efficient it is, the advertiser chose to show what happen
when men don’t use Schick’s razors and to say stop to it. The ad cleverly links the irritation on the woman’s
skin to a form of abuse like domestic violence.
To conclude, we can say that this advertisement is very efficient because it catches our eyes because we
feel empathy for the woman. Then we understand the second meaning of the ad and it makes us laugh.
Instead of showing the razor and its qualities, Schick decided to promote it with humor to stand out from
the competitors.
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