So after learning about the Frith Analysis, I am going to reassess the reason why the old spice commercials are so popular. Since there are quite a few old spice commercials, I am going to choose this particular image to analyze:

Creepy right?

So now that we have had a nice look at this ad, lets answer the first question in the frith method: What is the surface meaning in this picture? Well, the first thing that we notice is that there is a guy on who appears to have half of his body missing with another guy living inside him. The bigger guy looks a bit nerdy and overweight and the other guy looks like a rockstar.

Alright, next thing we need to look at is what the advertiser's intended meaning was in this ad. What are they trying to tell us? To put it bluntly, old spice is telling guys that if they use old spice body wash, they too can smell the way that men are supposed to smell, because old spice magically unleashes this inner "man". 

The last thing that we need to look at is the cultural setting behind the message. Starting with the surroundings of the add, we see the two men standing in what appears to be a fancy library or place of knowledge, a place usually popular among middle/upper-class intellectuals. This setting is also one of prestige, something most humans desire to attain more of.

 In the center of the frame, we see the two men. Or is it one man? Judging by the slogan, it appears that it is just the ONE man, and that the other is the man that is waiting to be unleashed from the prison that is the bigger, nerdier man. Looking at them both, they both are polar opposites of what is perceived as cool in our society. The first guy is overweight, wears glasses, plays the saxophone, and carries a messenger bag with pins and superhero logos from his favorite comic books. He is the uncool one, the unsexy one, and the unmanly one. 

On the other end of the spectrum, we see what a "real" man is supposed to like. He is fit, muscular, tattooed, wild, and judging by the lipstick marks and female undergarment hanging from his double necked electric guitar, sexy. This is the American rockstar that all little boys wanted to be when they grew up, and that gives this particular advertisement it's allure. When guys see this ad, this image tries to connect with their inner rockstar spirit, and if rock and roll is not their cup of coffee, then there is also this ad in manly, no fear soldier form.  

Personally, I find this ad a bit shallow. Who says playing the saxophone is not sexy?! Have they never heard of the sexy sax man?