project 2 fall 2008
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1.0October 2008
AbsolutAdvertising
An advertisement s a publicpromotion f a product hat s meant o entice onsumers o buy or
use a specific roduct Advertisement) . lcohol s a widelyadvertised tem with numerous rands nd
types on the market- n 20O6 lone, he average een ages 2-20 aw approximately 50 alcohol elated
ad s Schwartz). n ha t same ear, oughly very 0 minutes omeone as killed n an alcohol elated
accident Howard). Absolut s one of the eading dvertisers f alcohol nd more precisely odka. here
have been over 150O bsolut dvrtisements un since 980, rimarily n print orm. These
advertisements re simple nd al lhave he same asic omposition it hmany ariations. llof th e print
ads nclude picture r silhouette f the signature bsolutVodka ottle and a two to three word
caption with the word Absolut nd often saying omething omplementary bout he product r its
consumer. he advertisement hat will be analyzed s he ?bsolut Tragedy." dvertisement. hisad
consists f a black ackground, white circle n the center, large bottle of vodka n the upper eft hand
side of the ad with a last drop of liquidcoming ut of the bottle alongwith he statement written n
large white etters across he bottom of the advertisement.
The overallmeaning f this advertisement s o convey o consumers hat Absolut odka s such
a good product hat it is a tragedy hat he bottle would be out. When irst glanced t, he eye s
immediately rawn o the arge bottle on the eft hand side, hen down o the drip, and astly he
statement n he bottom of the advertisement. he ine print s hardlynoticed nd ather disregarded
by viewers f the advertisement.
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advertisement xhibits nlysome balance; he web address n the upper ighthand side attempts o
balance ut the bottle on the eft, but here s more unused pace n the rightside han he eft, which
makes he ad appear uite unbalanced. hisempty space may possibly e o draw he eye on the ast
drop of the vodka and o keep he message f the ad simple. Overall, he original dvertisement s an
effectiveway n which o draw n new or previous ustomers o buy and consume bsolut Vodka.
On he other hand, n the advertisement arody, he same basic ormat was used with many of
the same ualities, ut t conveys very differentmessage. n he parody, he meaning as changed
into he otal opposite message hile eaving he same wo word slogan Absolut ragedy." he parody
ad has many new eatures ncluding wrecked ar n the center and slogan n the upper ighthand of
the ad where he web address sed o be. The slogan s "AnABSOLUTLYun evening an urn nto a
TRAGEDY."hisadvertisement dvises ts audience hat he alcoholic everage s no onger o be
enjoyed, ut hat buying nd drinking t may ead o real and errifuing onsequences.
In he parody d, he colors hangemeaning ecause he overall one and eel of the ad has
changed. lack ow s associated ore with death and ear, while he white s stillmainly sed as a focal
point; t takes on a meaning f faith, because he ad mplies eath and ragedy with the car wreck.The
car being ed draws he eye o it first, and stands or fuar, blood,and death Smith).When irst ooking
at the ad, he viewe/s eyes re drawn o the wreck, o the slogan, o the bottle of vodka, nd astly he
subscript. he parody d also has a large nd eye-catching aying hat is written n red o draw attention
and creates he eeling f fear and anxiety Smith). he slogan s written n he same ont as he saying
on the bottom so hat he ad would have epetition which ies he advertisemenfs essages ogether
(Visual).With both he car and he slogan eing n red, he viewer of the ad associates he slogans
message ith the wrecked ar .The words absolutely nd ragedy re written n caps o hat hey stand
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out to grab he advertisements iewers' ttention. he slogan s what holds he rue message f the
advertisement nd needs o be noticed uickly. t warns of the conseguences hat often come with
drinking nd bad decisionmaking.Color ontrast s demonstrated n this ad because he white and black
are opposites nd he red appears ery boldlyagainst he black nd white background. hrough mall
changes he composer as able o rnake n advertisement hat has aken on a totallynew meaning. t is
clear rom his advertisement hat ts author s warning gainst rinking nd driving nd he
consequences f drinking.
Through isual nd print advertising, lcohol ompanies re able o convey heir product n such
a way hat consumers hink he product will make hem better n some way or have ome ort of good
effect on them while n reality his s not the ruth. Alcoholads ften convey alse messages nd mages
to the consumer. hey are able o do this by knowing he basics f visual hetoric hat create ood
advertisements. hrough he advertisement arody ne can see hat alcohol messages an be altered
into a positivemessage hat warns of the dangers f drunk drivingwith the same nowledge f visual
rhetoric.
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Works Cited
About Absolut. 4Sept 20A7.G & N Creative ervices. October 008
.
"Advertisement." ebster's evised nabridged ictionory. ICRA,nc.07 Oct. 2008. .
Howord, hereso. Absolute ets nto he spiritof name playwith new ads. (16January 005).
2 October 008
schwartz, ohn. THEMEDIA USINESS:DVERTISING;lcohol dson TV ind heir wa y o teenagers,
study inds,despite ndustry uidelines." 14 September AO7l.2 October 008
Smith, Kate. Color:Meaning ymbolism, nd Psychology." gnsationalcolor.com October O0B
< http://www.sensationalcolor.com/messages-meanings/color-meaning-symbolism-and-
psychology.html>
VisualRhetoric Glassary fSelected erms.Purdue Writing Lab. 20 September 0O8.
Advertisement ources:
Absof te Vodka. Advertisement, http://absolutad. om/absolutgallery/singles pictures/ ?id=1760&
_s=singlep 9 October 0O8.>Copy rite 2005.
Car-Accidents.com. http://www.ca_r-accidents.comfatal-accidenls-crash.html> 5August 006.
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