Crest Toothpate Magazine Ad Blog #2

 December 2, 2012

I came across a toothpaste ad while i was reading a magazine.  The Crest toothpaste ad in a magazine was created in order to inform readers on their product so they will buy it.

 They had weasel words in the add.  The weasel word word used was up to.  It said, "Now you can keep it feeling fresh up to five times longer.   Also, it is vague because they say a whiter smile but don't exactly say what that's like.  Another Vague word is fresh.  Well what exactly is fresh? 

The fact that on this ad shows a black lady and man, creates a more of a contrast between the darker skin people and the white smile. People might understand this differently than me because I see the black people being used as a way to make their smile even whiter to make the toothpaste look like it works better.  Others might say they are trying to not to be racist at all and wanted to have a more diverse advertisement.

The technique used here was to have a picture of two people smiling showing how white it is.  They also used the words fresh and up to 5 times longer.  Fresh could mean different things to people which is an example of ambiguity. 

 In my opinion, I feel like they could've added a before and after picture or some kind of comparison to prove that their toothpaste works better.  This would make the ad better because there would have been evidence to actually convince people that it really does work.

I thought it was clever how the toothpaste tube is acting like the clock hand on the 5, or what would be the 5. I also find it sneaky how the add says Up to five times longer really big but next to the word longer is *.  In very small font, the * is explained and says versus ordinary toothpaste.

In conclusion, I found this add to be not that effective because of the vagueness in the words.  Also, the main thing it says is just feeling fresh up to five times longer.  I think it would've been better if there was a comparison between two toothpastes to prove how their toothpaste actually works better.  However, I did like the clock idea  but it doesn't make me want to buy it.