A lot of sites speculated whether or not the message was transmitted effectively to a younger crowd. One blogger, tscott, on the TransmediaTV: "practive safe...breath?" entry states:
"I know it may seem extreme but this ad only encourages the trend of unprotected sex, with a slogan that says 'Icy cool intensity, so you are prepared no matter how close you get.'"What I'm asking is, how far can people really go to overlook the concept? The commercial is targeted at an older audience for one, I would assume college students ages 18-25 by the scenarios depicted and two, it effectively plays off of the "safe sex" concept and the ceremonial "condom reach" (as I like to call it.) I believe that an audience without the proper "safe sex" education would think the commercial is funny and understand the gum concept, but may not completely understand the tag line of "practice safe breath."
I do not believe it encourages the trend of unprotected sex, but rather uses that idea and slogan to further convey Dentyne's long quest of trying to "own the kiss." On Eric Bowe's blog entitled, Safe Sex, Social Norms, and Bad Breath, he argues for the campaign with the my same playful admiration. Dentyne ICE is to Safe Breath as condoms are to Safe Sex. He states that the campaign is "a fun poke at safe sex or at a higher level it is about being prepared when the right moment presents itself."
I can understand how some would perceive Dentyne ICE to be saying that "gum is like a condom." However, i just think those who believe this way completely overlooked the entire ad. It's all about having a sense of humor, poking fun at social norms, and relaying a message that the target audience will understand.
I think the message to the target audience came out loud and clear, it's the members of the audience not targeted that don't understand and are causing the uproar... Simply stated, no matter who tries explaining it or in what way it is laid out, the ad was just not meant for them and it will not be understood in the way the target audience understands it. But that's the beauty of advertising.
Till Next Time,
The New Ad Grad
