Welcome To My ENG 101 Portfolio
Audience Analysis
Anywhere you look, you will see tons upon tons of advertisements. As you drive, you see billboards telling you to stop at the next exit to get a double cheeseburger from McDonald's. You turn on the radio station and there is a commercial about the latest lip surgery. It seems that no matter where you turn, there are advertisements all around. Better yet, they are all designed specifically for you. I recently saw an advertisement for a men’s cologne by the brand Davidoff which you can see in the photo below. This advertisement is a great example of how a specific product is made and marketed to a specific audience. Like in all audience’s, you simply cannot please everybody, however, I believe that the advertisement itself is a well done piece that attracts a certain group of people.
Davidoff Coolwater Intense men’s eau de parfum (perfume in French) speaks to three specific audiences: men, younger males, and athletes. When looking at the image, the first thing anybody would notice is the man. He looks like he is in his 20’s or 30’s and is very fit. Along with the man, we see a beautiful body of water and then the cologne bottle. The image caption specifically states that it is “The new fragrance for men,” clearly identifying the specified audience as male. The advertisement reaffirms this by including a man in the photo. Based on this advertisement we can also understand that the targeted audience is most likely the younger generation of men rather than the elders, as it uses the word “intense.” Younger men are the most active and care more about personal appearance. Using a product like this would get rid of any bad odors and attract people, perhaps even a sexual partner. The image of the man being shirtless reaffirms that. The imagery in the advertisement targets an athletic audience. We can see the waters behind the man as well as his toned and fit body. Because cologne and perfume are to enhance one’s scent, we can assume from this image that when a man is doing athletic acts, like swimming or visiting the lake, this cologne will keep him smelling nice the whole time.
When having an audience there are always the people excluded and the people included. The people included are those to whom the product is geared, as well as those who will have access and be able to buy this product. The Coolwater Intense cologne is inclusive toward men as it clearly shows on the advertisement. The only people who would have access to this advertisement are people with internet and a good connection since this is found online on the Davidoff website. Because this is an online product, people will have to use a debit or credit card to buy this product. So people that are able to make online purchases are also included. The people excluded include women, unless they are purchasing a gift for a man, as they most likely will not be using this product. People without the internet are excluded because they will not have access or be able to purchase it. This advertisement is very visual, so blind people will also be excluded from the advertisement and product online.
Davidoff Cool Water Intense Eau de Parfum advertisement that I discuss in my analysis.
A general audience is not present in this advertisement, as it is geared to a very specific audience. In fact, some people, like a 60 year woman, might find the advertisement repulsive due to the fact that the man is not dressed. When I myself see this advertisement, the only reason I would even take a second glance is because I have a boyfriend who I want to smell good. He is 27 years old, so he is one of the people to whom the product is geared. This product does not attract very many people outside of that particular group of people. If the company wanted to expand their audience, one step would be to take out the “for men” text, possibly replacing it with “for men and women.” I would also recommend adding a woman to the photo or not including any people at all.
Advertisements can try to be as generic as possible but there is a purpose behind every ad we see or watch. Advertisements also prefer to invoke a particular audience because the advertisements that invoke a generic audience tend to not address anybody. There is always an audience the creator is trying to reach out to. For this ad, the audience consists of the male gender, physically fit men, and younger men in their 20’s or 30’s. This advertisement is also pretty exclusive overall. In my audience analysis, I would say this advertisement does an excellent job invoking a particular audience, probably largely contributing to how the company makes their money.
Works Cited
Fragrances | DAVIDOFF. 2020. DAVIDOFF, https://res.cloudinary.com/zinodavidoff/image/upload/ar_16:9,c_fill,f_auto,g_auto,q_auto,w_1216/v1/2019-07/DZV_CW_INTENSE_For_Him_KV_3200x1800