http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYuBDIWpvT4&noredirect=1
For my analysis I chose to focus on the “Smiling Bob” television commercial used in the advertisement campaign of the “male enhancement” drug: “Enzyte”. This advertisement became embedded in popular culture in the early 2000s. I chose this advertisement because it was an extremely popular ad filled with multiple examples of stereotypes and played on sexual double entendres. Yet as the years went by, I saw less and less Enzyte commercials featuring their character “Smiling Bob”. The advertisement also jumped on the medicalized trend of erectile dysfunction brought on as a result of the Viagra era. Since this relatively new area of men’s health has gotten so much attention and funding in our generation, I wanted to see what tactics these drug advertisements were using to reach out to their audience and potential customers/patients. The very nature of the advertisement campaign was also one of the main points of interest for me. Since these advertisements were direct to consumer television advertisements, the audience becomes called into patient hood by these ads. Optimization and bodily entrepreneurship are also huge aspects of these ads. Since erectile dysfunction is not an illness but rather a condition, maximizing their health to lead a happier life is a huge aspect of these advertisements. In my research I found the reason for Enzyte’s drastic drop in commercials. In 2008, the CEO was imprisoned and confessed that Enzyte did not have any affect what so ever. It was the tactic of utilizing stereotypes including but not limited to gender roles, and masculinity. Along with using stereotypes Enzyte’s use of words such as reliable, and natural gave the notion of a natural alternative to the potential health risks associated with use of Viagra and Cialis.
For my analysis I chose to focus on the “Smiling Bob” television commercial used in the advertisement campaign of the “male enhancement” drug: “Enzyte”. This advertisement became embedded in popular culture in the early 2000s. I chose this advertisement because it was an extremely popular ad filled with multiple examples of stereotypes and played on sexual double entendres. Yet as the years went by, I saw less and less Enzyte commercials featuring their character “Smiling Bob”. The advertisement also jumped on the medicalized trend of erectile dysfunction brought on as a result of the Viagra era. Since this relatively new area of men’s health has gotten so much attention and funding in our generation, I wanted to see what tactics these drug advertisements were using to reach out to their audience and potential customers/patients. The very nature of the advertisement campaign was also one of the main points of interest for me. Since these advertisements were direct to consumer television advertisements, the audience becomes called into patient hood by these ads. Optimization and bodily entrepreneurship are also huge aspects of these ads. Since erectile dysfunction is not an illness but rather a condition, maximizing their health to lead a happier life is a huge aspect of these advertisements. In my research I found the reason for Enzyte’s drastic drop in commercials. In 2008, the CEO was imprisoned and confessed that Enzyte did not have any affect what so ever. It was the tactic of utilizing stereotypes including but not limited to gender roles, and masculinity. Along with using stereotypes Enzyte’s use of words such as reliable, and natural gave the notion of a natural alternative to the potential health risks associated with use of Viagra and Cialis.
My question is why Enzyte able to successfully market a
product that did not work for years?
Should we reshape direct to
consumer advertisement laws?
Should more people look at outside sources for the truth
behind their medications?
Was it the use of
masculinity and other stereotypes that convinced men to buy their product?
What exactly was Enzyte selling? Is erectile dysfunction a
medicalized condition?
Are men called into patient hood by erectile dysfunction
advertisements?
First of all - wow - I do recall these crazy, creepy commercials, but I never heard about the product not actually working. Hearing this, I agree that men are called into being a particular type of patient by these types of ads. Enzyte seemed to be selling confidence in masculinity more than anything else. The ad makes me think of Thornton's normation/normalization framework. Enzyte seems to apply more to normation, and men are persuaded that they need to be more like Smiling Bob in order to be considered masculine. The ad mentions how Bob makes his wife happy, so some men may see the ad and think they need Enzyte to make their own wife happy.
ReplyDeleteI also agree the language used in the ad (reliable; natural) helps place it above other options for erectile dysfunction because it eliminates any negative symptoms. The imagery is also convincing: all other men in the commercial appear to be frowning/unhappy. Enzyte helped Bob become happier and more satisfied in all areas of his life. I think the fact that Bob is happy ALL the time because of Enzyte is a little crass, because it's only supposed to help with his erectile dysfunction, not his entire life. However, the ad makes it seem like if the sexual part of a man's life is perfect, then everything else will follow suit.
Cool artifact!
Wow, that's pretty crazy that the CEO ended up admitting that Enzyte doesn't even work. I absolutely think that we should place some sort of standard on DTC advertisement laws. Perhaps drugs could only be allowed to be advertised if the FDA checked their validity. While it would be better for people to fact check drugs like this, the bigger issue is definitely that the drug company is blatantly lying. Aside from that, you're absolutely right. This advertisement calls consumers into patient hood by telling them that they have a medical condition over something that is unfortunately natural. I don't think its necessarily a problem if a man wants to take a pill (that works) if it can correct this dysfunction, as it surely intrudes upon a person's quality of life. While ED may not be a medical issue per se, it definitely is an annoyance and I think if a person wants to correct it, that's fine.
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