Is it me or is there some subtext in this ad?

4 replies

I wouldn't call it "subliminal" but there seems to be "innuendo" in this ad... It's like they're trying to reach a certain market without addressing it overtly...

Is it me -- or are these guys pretty clever?
#subtext
  • Profile picture of the author splitTest
    Hmm... I guess no one else sees it. Looks to me that these guys are hinting at women who may have lost hair due to chemotherapy treatments, but they "say it" without saying it...

    Anyway... carry on.
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  • Profile picture of the author wilder1047
    I remember seeing this commercial and expecting it to be in relation to chemo.

    But, if you go to the actual Youtube video and read the "info", there's no mention of it being for that cause. Here's their site -> Keranique Solution for Thinning Hair in Women | Keranique.com, also no mention.

    I mean, even if you don't want to come right out with it, if the target market is those who have had chemo, than you just gotta say it somewhere.

    So, perhaps it's quite the opposite, opposed to being classy and not being forefront with it... it looks like they were stirring emotions by correlating it with something we hear about all too often.
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    • Profile picture of the author splitTest
      Originally Posted by wilder1047 View Post

      I remember seeing this commercial and expecting it to be in relation to chemo.

      But, if you go to the actual Youtube video and read the "info", there's no mention of it being for that cause. Here's their site -> Keranique Solution for Thinning Hair in Women | Keranique.com, also no mention.

      I mean, even if you don't want to come right out with it, if the target market is those who have had chemo, than you just gotta say it somewhere.

      So, perhaps it's quite the opposite, opposed to being classy and not being forefront with it... it looks like they were stirring emotions by correlating it with something we hear about all too often.
      You're right -- it could be seen as sleazy... On the other hand, it would be even sleazier to target that demo directly with such a product... To do so would suggest that their hair is a major concern for them (and that this product will actually work for them). Both those things are probably taboo to say out loud...

      Sleazy or no, this is still a pretty clever approach at "catching the eye" of that market, (whose loss of hair is probably pretty distressing), without actually saying anything overtly. "Dog whistle" stuff like that is a high art among marketing communicators.
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  • Profile picture of the author kk075
    I thought they were going to be kidnapping victims that had their hair taken for ransom. It seemed inevitable that it would end with a tough guy in the back room with dozens of bags of hair and a big stack of cash piled up at his feet....but that's not the way they spun it.
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