Peripheral Persuasion in TV Ads: Geico and Old Spice
This paper examines two well-known television commercials — Geico's "Little Piggy" and Old Spice's "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" — to identify the persuasion techniques each employs. Using the concept of peripheral route persuasion, the paper analyzes how both advertisements rely on humor, irony, and memorable spokespeople rather than direct product arguments to capture audience attention and build brand recall. The discussion explores how these campaigns playfully subvert conventional advertising tropes, arguing that self-aware humor can generate viewer trust and lasting brand impressions more effectively than traditional hard-sell methods.
- Introduction: Overview of advertising persuasion techniques and paper scope
- Geico: 'Little Piggy': Scene description and peripheral humor analysis
- Old Spice: 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like': Irony, attractiveness, and masculine identity appeal
- Discussion and Reflection: Comparative analysis of humor, irony, and viewer trust
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds close reading of specific commercials in an identifiable persuasion framework (peripheral route), giving the analysis theoretical coherence.
- Uses concrete scene-by-scene description before moving to interpretation, allowing readers unfamiliar with the ads to follow the argument.
- Connects both case studies through a unified discussion section that draws a comparative conclusion rather than treating each ad in isolation.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied media analysis: selecting real-world artifacts (commercials), describing them with sufficient detail, and then interpreting their rhetorical strategies through an established theoretical lens (peripheral vs. central route persuasion). This move — description first, interpretation second — is a foundational technique in communications and marketing coursework.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a clear three-part structure: an introductory framing section that names the analytical lens, two parallel case-study sections each covering one advertisement, and a comparative discussion that synthesizes findings and adds a brief personal reflection. Each case-study section mirrors the other in approach, reinforcing structural symmetry and making comparison easy to follow.
Introduction
Advertising and marketing specialists frequently use specialized techniques to communicate with audiences by appealing to a specific type of customer and helping a brand or product become memorable or appealing. Advertisements frequently accomplish this by using spokespeople, slogans, or visual symbols that grab the intended audience's attention and appeal to the customer's curiosity, sense of aesthetics, or humor. This paper assesses two television advertisements by sampling two different popular commercials and analyzing the marketing tools used to capture audience attention and attract potential customers.
Geico: 'Little Piggy'
Geico's "Little Piggy" advertisement begins with a handsome middle-aged man speaking directly to the audience. The spokesman opens by asking, "Could switching to Geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance?" He then poses the rhetorical question, "Did the little piggy cry 'wee, wee, wee' all the way home?" The commercial cuts to a video segment of an SUV driving down the road. A baby pig is hanging out of the window, holding pinwheels in his hooves and crying, "wee, wee, wee." The baby pig is buckled into the backseat beside a young boy, while a middle-aged woman — presumably the boy's mother — drives. The SUV pulls up in front of a house and the woman tells the pig, "Maxwell, you're home." The pig stops yelling and replies, "Oh, cool. Thanks, Mrs. A." The ad closes with an announcer saying, "Geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more."
The main appeal of Geico's message in this advertisement follows a peripheral route of persuasion. The commercial captures the audience's attention with an absurd scenario involving a talking pig having fun. The underlying message is that it would be just as foolish to question whether you will save money with Geico as it would be to doubt the nursery rhyme. The company appeals to customers through offbeat humor, and many viewers will remember the company's name and services simply because the short message leaves a lasting, humorous impression.
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