Blog Post #1: Palmolive Commercial

Vintage Palm Olive 💅💅💅💅

         I never took the time to watch and analyze commercials from this time period or from an early time period to really understand what the message was that was trying to be conveyed. In the late 60’s early 70’s when this commercial was aired the purpose was to get women to have softer hands by using the dishwashing soap “Palmolive” instead of other dish washing detergents. The moto that was used for this product was, “Softens hands while you do the dishes” which was displayed on the front of the container included with a picture of a women’s hand. Not only does this commercial introduce the idea to use Palmolive to clean dishes, but it also has the ability to soften hands just by soaking one’s hands in it like Madge had done in the nail salon. The version of reality that it is selling is that when using a different dishwashing soap other than Palmolive you will have dry unappealing hands, just like the woman’s in the nail salon before being introduced to Palmolive.          

         The intended audience of this commercial is strictly women. In the time period of this commercial, women were responsible for doing the house chores such as washing dishes, which, when not using Palmolive, caused their hands to become dry and unappealing to their husbands. Information is conveyed through a women’s eyes in this commercial (Madge) as a manicurist. When she is looking at the women’s hands she made a comment that her hands made her want to become a nurse. After the women explained it was due to washing dishes Madge explained to her the benefits of Palmolive dishwashing soap. In addition to the manicurist’s perspective, we receive the perspective from the house wife and how the washing of dishes has caused her hands to be unappealing and dry. Two weeks later when the women saw Madge out while shopping, the women thanks Madge for introducing her to Palmolive and that she is absolutely in love with it. Madge made a remark where she questioned the women if her husband had known about it. This helped put into perspective the husband’s perspective as well because the woman’s hands are now appealing to those around her and not just herself. 

          People/figures are portrayed in this video by taking on different roles to display the difficulties that other dishwashing soaps give the consumers. I think these figures such as the manicurist and wife were singled out because when being a manicurist you really pay attention to the condition of one’s hands which is what this video was trying to sell with using the Palmolive product. Additionally, I think the wife in the commercial was singled out because she was a typical house wife and it displayed the hardships she has with washing the dishes every day and having very dry hands that were appealing to her, her husband, and even the manicurist. I think if the video producer were to recreate this commercial using male actors, instead of women, it would not portray the same message that this commercial had.     
     
           From the perspective of a video producer I think some of the most important design decisions used in creating this ad was the clip at the end when the woman sees Madge out while she is shopping. The video producer could have simply ended the commercial right after discussing how the Palmolive suds last from the first glass to the last greasy casserole dish. However, by including the clip where the woman thanks Madge and explains how she is in love with Palmolive really helps to sell the product and make it desirable for all consumers to buy.

References

Palmolive Company. (n.d.). Call the police! These hands are a crime! [Image]. Retrieved from http://potliquor.blogspot.com/2008/12/palmolive-soothes-burns-while-you-fry.html

Palmolive Company. (1979). Madge in the '60's [Image]. Retrieved from http://clickamericana.com/eras/1960s/palmolive-ads-featuring-madge-the-manicurist

sideshowcarny. (2006, September 6). Palmolive commercial [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bEkq7JCbik&feature=related