Print Ad - Gain Detergent

It's that time of the week again! Here's the third print ad I will be evaluating as part of the print ad series I have been running. If you're just tuning in, here's the first and second print ads that I evaluated.

1. Communication Objectives: The primary communication objectives of this ad are to spread awareness of Gain’s brand and maintain Gain’s brand image as a detergent that helps remove odor from clothes, like the odor was never there. In order to do this though, the ad of course has to capture the consumer’s attention, which it does very well.

2. Message Strategy: The message strategy is targeted towards low involvement consumers through an emotional appeal. For me and probably most people, the appeal is humor and overall, a positive one. For others, the appeal may be horror, fear, disgust, and rejection. The ad requires a little processing to understand the more rational message of the ad but doesn’t really require any more effort than the amount people put into choosing a detergent. Overall, I’d say the ad works in capturing attention and creating a memorable image of gain even though it does so at the expense of others who may be too disgusted with the ad to process it.

3. Evaluation of Creative Execution: The ad captures the consumer’s attention by using a combination of emotional appeals, sources, visual, and message tactics. It uses humor to capture attention and an average to below-average model surrounded by relatively above-average models to create contrast and capture even more attention. As I mentioned above, I think the tactics are appropriate for its involvement level and appeal strategy. Others might argue that the appeal and ad itself is distasteful and transfer that emotion toward the Gain brand.

4. Source & Appeal: The main source in the ad can be attractive in the sense that the consumer may be able to relate to or identify with him and maybe even find him a credible user of the brand itself, but the purpose of the source is to be funny and relate to the underlying message of the ad: Gain can help you remove odors. The Humor appeal in the ad works well in capturing attention, and creating a memorable image, while staying relevant to the message of the ad.

5. Layout: The ad is mostly comprised of visuals, but has a small headline on the bottom right that reads, “Your clothes were never there.” To the right is a picture of the product itself, which has the brand name and the product's major selling point (odor removal) on it.