Don’t
you wish you had swished?
We've
all experienced it before, we’ll cover your mouth, look for gum, and sometimes
avoid talking all together. Everyone knows how dreadful bad breath can be, and
according to this ad, Listerine mouthwash can offer us an alternative to hiding
our bad breath. This ad uses a variety of techniques to try and persuade
potential buyers into purchasing this brand of mouthwash. This ad uses humor
and irony and also addresses people’s sense of pathos and ethos. It takes a
somewhat serious situation, and puts a humorous spin on it. All in all, this
Listerine ad, by using humor, is selling fresh breath and good health.
The
ad, which appeared in a magazine, shows a man in an ambulance accompanied by an
ambulance crew. The man is strapped into a stretcher in is obviously injured.
He seems to be either unconscious or delirious, because of the way his head is
turned, his eyes are closed, and his mouth is wide open facing the EMT workers.
This is where the twist comes in. Instead of administering medicine, or care to
the injured man, the two workers are trying to put as much space between him
and themselves as possible. Their faces are turned in utter disgust and they
are, instead of administering an oxygen mask to the injured man, holding oxygen
masks to their own faces. The Listerine logo appears in the bottom right corner
accompanied by the catchy phrase, “Don’t you wish you had swished?” This
implies that the man’s breath smelt bad and was preventing him from getting the
help he required.
The
scene that this ad takes place in does a very good job of grabbing people’s
attention. Ambulance scenes are often very sad and grab at people’s sense of
pathos. A reader could put themselves in the man’s position or a similar one,
and imagine how terrible it would be if it happened to them. All the injured
man had to do was swish with mouthwash and he could have had the care he
needed. Readers will take this into consideration, and realize how important
having fresh breath is, and see that how bad breath not only affects oral health,
but overall health as well. People take their health very seriously, and don’t
take risks when it comes to health care. This ad really takes advantage of this
fact and tries to sell readers good health. If you have fresh breath, which is
obtainable by swishing with Listerine, then nothing will stand in the way of
you and health care.
Even
though the scene of this ad is very serious, what is taking place in the ad is
very ironic and humorous. The injured man who is strapped in the stretcher is
very funny looking. He has long hair which is messy, and looks delirious and
somewhat crazy. In addition to the man, the EMT workers are very humorous and
ironic as well. Instead of helping the man, they are trying to escape from his
breath. It’s very ironic that instead of helping the man, they are
administering oxygen to themselves. Both expressions that the EMT workers are
making are also very humorous. The utter disgust on their faces is the best
part of the ad in my opinion. Listerine knows that humor is what helps sell,
and take advantage of this by creating a very funny ad.
It is a commonly
known fact that swishing with mouthwash kills the germs that cause bad breath.
The mouthwash company Listerine isn’t trying to just sell you mouthwash, they
are trying to sell you an idea so that you go out and buy their brand of
mouthwash. The idea they are selling you, despite the ad, is fresh smelling
breath. Many people deal with the
frustrations and effects of bad breath every day, and the ad takes advantage of
this. When buying Listerine mouthwash, not only are you buying a mouthwash, you
are buying yourself fresh smelling breath.
All in all, this
ad uses irony, humor, and pathos to sell people good health and fresh breath.
The seriousness of the ambulance scene and the ironic and humorous characters
draw in readers and persuades them to buy this product to avoid situations like
this one. Everyone hates having bad breath, and no one would want to put their
own health in jeopardy just because they didn’t swish with mouthwash.
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