Trident Gum

I find this print advertisement very interesting. I' am not sure how this advert really relates to chewing gum, or why exactly the designers decided that a 1940's pin-up style illustration conveyed the right feeling for Trident. The advert bares no correlation to the style or even mode of the gum packaging. Indeed I feel the whole advertisment goes against the brand identity that Trident has built up for itself.

However, perhaps this in itself is the very essence of the advert? The copy claims that the gum will 'mess with your head'. The advert certainly disturbs me from the aspect that it departs from my expectations. This may be because I analyse such texts more than the average person... but it is important to remember that everyone sees the world with sets of preconceived notions and perhaps showing the unexpected gathers more notice than the obvious. Of course the licking mouth that has been placed instead of a right eye also utilises the fact that we are experiencing an oddity. An open mouth , especially this one, which features a tongue running across the teeth, creates an oral fixation in the human psyche, and a solution to this fixation is offered by the gum. The background is in a mint green colour alluding to the flavour, which is chocolate and mint, a perfectly acceptible combination of flavours but not usually associated with chewing gum. This is where the whole advert comes together in the fact that the flavour will 'mess with your head' but is ultimately incredibly tempting. Sex appeal is used to stress the fact that the flavour is so tempting.

A very interesting advertisement, well thought out despite its unusual take on selling Trident. Personally though I couldn't think of anything worse than mint and chocolate flavoured gum!