Anything Less Would Be Uncivilized
Kristopher Moss
DeVry University

Anything Less Would Be Uncivilized
When I was a child I loved to play basketball and one of my favorite players was Charles Barkley. Even though he had a reputation of being arrogant and playing a little more physical than you could probably get away with playing in the modern game, I appreciated that attitude and physicality he brought to the court. I always viewed it as his passion for the game. He always seemed to be angry and would often get into shouting matches with opposing players, referees, and even his own coaches. For that reason it seemed slightly absurd that Right Guard would chose him as a spokesperson considering that there slogan for many years has been “Anything less would be uncivilized,” and Sir Charles’ domineer on the basketball court was anything but. These ads could lead people to wonder, “If this is a product that can make Charles Barkley more civilized, imagine what it could do for me.”
The ad takes place on a clear spring-like day. You can practically hear the birds gently singing as they fly jubilantly through the crisp, spring morning air. The overgrown grass smells of dew as it flourishes from beneath a broken down, tattered wooden fence. Wearing a vibrant red coat, yellow vest and while collared shirt and slacks, stands Charles Barkley in the foreground. A towering man, Sir Charles stands 6 foot 6 inches tall and sports a dark mustache and a completely shaved head. Looking quite regal he leans on a saddle that sets atop the wooden fence with a clever look of sophistication on his face. Well equipped for a fox hunt, in his left hand he holds a black riding crop. In the upper left corner of the ad there is a quote in white lettering that reads, “One cannot smell like a hound and expect to catch any foxes.” –Charles Barkley
We live in a society that is increasingly uncultured. We seem to do what we want when we want to without regard to how it may affect other people. Ultimately I believe we all want to be better people and Right Guard leads us to trust that with the use of their product they can assist us in doing so. Right Guard appeals to our more humane values with a slogan they have employed for many years. “Anything less would be uncivilized,” pushes us to believe that with the use of their product that we could become more civilized people.
Right Guard uses their credibility to make us believe that their product could turn a savage basketball player like Charles Barkley into a conservative gentleman. They use their reputation of being a product for a more civilized society to paint a picture of a calmer, gentler, and more refined Sir Charles. He is portrayed as being a more low-key individual than we know him to be on the basketball court by making it seem as if he is prepared for the gentleman’s sport of fox hunting. The calm and soothing natural scenery is contradictory to the rough arena settings where we are used to seeing Charles Barkley compete.
Barkley is quoted as saying, “One cannot smell like a hound and expect to catch any foxes.” The use of the word foxes in this instance has two obvious meanings. One is directly related to Sir Charles’ fox hunting attire and that if he were actually on a fox hunt, he would not want to smell like a hound. The other meaning for the word foxes is obviously directed at woman. If you were out on the town trying to attract woman, you wouldn’t want to smell like a hound either. This quote appeals to our desires, more specifically our desires to attract women. With this quote Right Guard is telling us that with the use of their product, we will be able to more efficiently attract women.
Right Guard’s ad campaign was directed toward young men who had a rugged and wild side but still wanted to seem polished and well-mannered, so they really took a risk casting Charles Barkley in this spot. Coming out of college the 250 pound forward stood 6 foot 6 inches tall and was known as the Round Mound of Rebound due to his stalky presence and willingness to fight for every ball. His size and quick temper earned him a reputation of being an intimidator on the court to anyone who crossed his path. Right Guard managed to alter his image just enough to drive home their point that even the most rugged individual can have a softer, more gentile side.
This ad paints a different picture of Charles Barley than we are used to seeing. We are lead to believe that because of this product, he is more civilized than we thought. He is intelligible, mannered, and well dressed. He speaks more profoundly than one would anticipate given his rough domineer on the basketball court. The promotion of Sir Charles as a more civilized man allows us to believe that we too could raise our level of sophistication.