The ads are very similar in their use of celebrity to sell a product. At first glance the use of color and shadow are also very similar, using bluish gray to invoke a calming feeling as you should have before you begin to move razors over your face or body. Obviously, Men's Health jumped on the Olympic bandwagon and chose a highly motivated, hard working, athletic, Olympic Gold Medalist, completely clean shaven and staring off in the distance. Ryan Lochte is center of attention in this ad, the print reads as follows: 'AT THE START OF EACH DAY, I REMIND MYSELF, MY TOUGHEST OPPONENT IS IN THE MIRROR. YOU'RE READY, GET STARTED.'
There are five Gillette products in the bottom left hand corner of the two page ad, including one Fusion ProGlide razor.
In the ad that appeared in Rolling Stone, the celebrity is once again the main focus. It is a highly motivated, hard working, musician, writer, entertainer, this time staring directly into the camera. The print reads: 'Andre 3000 Benjamin Style: Van Dyke Tool: ProGlide Styler; FACIAL HAIR FRAMES YOUR FACE AND MIRRORS YOUR PERSONALITY.' Once again, the actual product on display, this time the ProGlide Styler, is in the bottom left hand corner of this one page ad.Both of these magazines have similar audiences being males beween the ages of 18-49 with a median income of $61K for Rolling Stone readers and $70K for the Men's Health crowd.
The ads both have very similar marketing strategies essentially using the same blueprint to sell different products. Olympic swimmers are obviously clean shaven so it would not make sense to have the ProGlide Styler which boasts the ability to 'trim, shave, and edge' with one precision tool, being sold by Ryan Lochte. Nor would it be wise to have Andre 3000 selling a regular razor when he is sporting a well trimmed pattern of facial hair.
The celebrities chosen for each magazine is right on cue as well as the subtle differences in the camera shots and taglines. The Rolling Stone ad is promoting style, art, and personality, as Andre 3000 stares directly at you letting you know that he is his own person and is not afraid to let his 'style' be known and neither should you. The Mens Health ad has Ryan Lochte fresh out of the pool from a grueling workout (or so we are to believe) staring off in the distance with a goal oriented and determined look on his clean shaven face. Andre 3000 is using his time to shave to allow his personality to come thru his style, while Ryan Lochte uses his time to shave to start his day, reflect on his goals and in the end as Gillette says get 'The Best (shave) A Man Could Get.'
Gillette indeed paid special attention to their use of color in both ads. Your example of the calmness necessary before putting a razor to your face was genius. I cant think of a better way to put it. Both ads are calm and pleasing to the eye thanks to the use of grey tones. The fact that Andre 3000's attire is accented in red helps express his own personal flare. It symbolizes his bold personality and style while the grey tones keep it calm and balanced, much like Andre's style of rapping.
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