Toothpaste Advert Essay

Advertisement has been around for many years and little has changed, despite that, new techniques and equipment has pushed advertisement into making their products more desirable to the audience, changing with the times and keeping up with the mindset of each era. I will explain some of the similarities and differences between the old and the new and how they affect us as viewers and consumers. To do this, I will use two contemporary toothpaste adverts, one from 1955 (Gibbs SR Toothpaste) and another from 2011 (Colgate).

The SR toothpaste advert is the first broadcasted TV ad in Britain so it is no surprise that the technique is unrefined but it has the building blocks of what advertisement is. These building blocks are what the old and new adverts share. A very prominent similarity is that they use repetition to try and sell the product. Although it is used differently, it still has the same goal. In the 1955 ad adjectives such as, ‘tingling’ and ‘fresh’ are repeated a number of times to emphasize on the supposed aspects that the toothpaste possess, however in the Colgate ad, what is repeated is not adjectives but the product’s name which is ‘Colgate Total’. By using this technique, the companies have embedded the properties and name into the viewer’s minds and increased the chances of them remembering to pick up the product on their next shopping trip. Another technique that the old and new share is that they use expert advice to validate their product, using a dentist’s approval of their product, it tells the audience that their product is reliable and is worth spending money on. Both of the ads say that dentists approve that they can help with gum disease, this adds to the facts and stats technique, which is then even more validated by using charts and graphs. When the audience sees these, they would think that the companies have done their research and testing to be able to provide them with figures. This assures the audience that they are not spending their hard earned money of bogus and unsafe products.

However despite the similarities, old and the new obviously have some differences between them, such as in the newer ad, the duration of the ad is much shorter (00:50), while the older one is far longer (01:01). 11 seconds may not seem like a lot but it is when it involves the attention span of nowaday viewers’, it is enough to make a difference. The difference being whether modern day viewers are bothered to watch the whole 1 minute ad or not, which is unlikely as today’s generation are used to a fast paced lifestyle. It’ll also cost more for the companies to have a longer timeslot as there is competition amongst the other companies, whether they relate in the products or not. The Colgate advert has the use of CGI (computer-generated imagery) effects unlike the SR advert. The advancement in technology is a clear advantage in this because it is much more amusing and interesting to view. Having a shorter airing time, it really does need to have something to keep hold of the audience. A very obvious difference is that the 1955 toothpaste advert is in black and white, again because of the technology used at the time. Another thing that the old and the new differ in is that the Colgate one has a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen, maybe because over the years people have complained about the side effects that toothpaste has had on them. Whatever that could be. Companies typically do this so they can say “We have warned you of the possibly side effects that this product may or may not have. Buy at your own discretion”, this will help hold them up in court if they are being sued.

All in all, despite the differences, they share more solid similarities that differences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99T-iGcii8U - Colgate Total

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKuEwsEiSp8 - Gibbs SR Toothpaste