Ad #2: Pepsodent with Irium

Critical Analysis:

The target audience of this advertisement is women ages 18-24. The headline of this advertisement reads, "Are your teeth alluring too?" The photograph to the left of the headline shows a beautiful woman that is clearly attracting a man. Like I said in my previous post, at this time in history women married at younger ages than they do today. The photograph along with the headline are meant to appeal to women in this age group who think they need more help attracting a potential husband. The overall layout of this advertisement makes it very effective in my mind. First, the headline along with the picture put the idea of a "filmy coating" in the readers head. Then the advertisement instructs the reader to do the "tongue-test", making the "filmy coating" a scary reality. In step two, the ad claims that the "filmy coating" hinders romance, and in step three the ad offers a solution to the problem: Pepsodent with Irium. The last thing on the page is a picture of the woman and the man kissing, and directly under the photo is a tube of Pepsodent tooth paste and a toothbrush, suggesting that Pepsodent is the reason for their romance. The layout of the ad indicates a timeline of events that leads to the woman's dream of romance. The advertisement utilizes popular culture by highlighting the superficiality of the era. People were very concerned with their outward appearance, and this advertisement plays off of that insecurity. It also utilizes pop culture by enhancing the idea that a woman's main goal at the time was to land herself a husband and become a home-maker. Pepsodent's concept in this advertisement was to relate the "filmy coating" of her teeth to a woman's inability to secure a husband, highlighting the importance of romance in the woman's life. 

Comprehensive Analysis: 

This is an advertisement for Pepsodent with Irium Toothpaste. It was published in Cosmopolitan magazine in 1941. One of the techniques used in this advertisement is constructive discontent. The advertisement focuses a lot on creating the problem ("filmy coating") instead of selling the beneficial qualities of the product. All the advertisement says about Pepsodent is that it will remove the coating. Another technique used is the symptom-cure formula. The advertisement defines "filmy coating" as an unattractive problem, and says Pepsodent with Irium is the cure. The advertisement defines a problem and offers the product as the solution. This product would be important to someone in this time period because of the societal connection between good hygiene and finding a husband. Single women would see this ad and immediately run to the store and buy new toothpaste in hopes of becoming more alluring to men. There aren't any stereotypes in this advertisement.