SWA #5

What is the one product every man needs? According to the Trojan television commercial, that product is the condom. The commercial takes place in a bar. The bar is filled with pigs trying to pick up a variety of gorgeous ladies. When I say pigs, I do not mean men behaving as though they were pigs. In this commercial there were literally farm animal pigs sitting on the stools. The women all look very unhappy and irritated by the presence of their potential pig spouses. Until one pig buys a Trojan condom from a wall vending machine and becomes an actual man thus making one woman smile and begin flirting with him.
The commercial redefines the traditional search for a spouse by changing the purpose of searching for a spouse from the pursuit of happiness to a competition between men. The newly defined reality creates a need for the condom to the potential customer because the condom is the item needed for any man to win the competition to pick up a woman at a bar. There are two powerful signs at work in this commercial. The first sign is the image of the pig. A pig in this commercial is a man without a condom. If he is without a condom he is a filthy animal whom inspires only dislike and irritation from the women he is trying to pick up. The second sign is the condom. If he has a condom then he becomes a real man and effortlessly finds a woman interested in him. The ownership of a condom is thus the difference between victory and defeat. A woman’s interest in a man is redefined from a variety of personality and physical traits to the simple ownership of a condom. The ownership of a Trojan condom is thus the difference between victory and defeat.
Commercials redefine reality to make their products more appealing. This commercial makes no sense outside of the context of the television. Women do not have condom radars and a woman knowing a man has a condom will not increase the chance of picking this woman up. If you do not believe me try picking up a woman in a bar with a condom taped to your forehead. This commercial redefines the reality of searching for a spouse for those poor lonely men, wearing boxers in front of the television, to give these men hope for their spousal futures. However, hope is only available to them if they buy Trojan condoms.