Alcohol advertising

I chose adverts related to alcohol and their promotion, since to me it is a fascinating concept. In the magazine ads I have selected, no one is actually imbibing alcohol, rather it is already assumed that the desired results, which are given in the form of the pictures used for the ad, will come about, or take effect after drinking, which plays on the notion we talked about in class related to the soap adverts. We've moved well beyond establishing alcohol as something in the common social thought, and are now in the process of relating it to ideals such as sex, a good time, and in general, being cool.

The first ad, with a shirtless guy standing on a post looking out to the water, and in more detail, the city, gives the viewer a sense of uniqueness, with a hint of sexuality. For the man to be shirtless implies that fun will be had tonight if the viewer, man or woman, joins them for a night of drinking. It also directly asks the viewer a question, almost putting them on the spot to make the decision to drink, seemingly being asked by the shirtless gentlemen. The idea of uniqueness is also the general theme of the rest of my chosen adverts.

In the second ad, it presumes that a working class man, such as the one pictured, is viewing this ad, and is dissatisfied in some way. Since the vagueness of the ad is left open to interpretation, it can very well be related to anything: a bad day, job, relationship, whatever. The butterfly wings give a feeling of change, as the bright colors stand out against the dull colors of the ad. It also supports the idea of alcohol being used to make oneself different, and better than others.

The third ad, the museum of Absolut gives the impression of hyper cool, something reminiscent of a art style we are all familiar with. The bold colors and seemingly obvious placement of certain images lends to an overall idea of "too cool". I chose this one, because I believe it represents the same aspects as in previous ads, the notion of becoming hip, cool, or out of this world by drinking the product.

The fourth ad, again plays on the ideas of uniqueness, as I believe the main actor in this ad is the man, and as the ad says, he is able to pursue his daydreams to get the girl, and it's all thanks to the little bottle in the corner. Like ads 1 and 3, it also hints at sexuality ad sexual activity, which is in many ways tied to, or thought to be tied to alcohol consumption.

Lastly, in the fifth advert, the overall theme here is the idea of the house party, or a social occastion, and all the stuffy people bring wine, but you, the viewer, brought a "cool" drink, and thereby saved the day. Once again implying that you, along with this drink, will stand out from the crowd. The other thing I find fascinating about the type of minimalist ad, is that it plays on your preconceived ideas of certain social situations in order to sell the idea the product signifies, rather than just the product itself.