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Exposing the Ad: How to Sell A Bottle of Vodka

An advertisements sole purpose is to bring out the best of any product so that they appeal

to a potential buyer based on whats being projected through the image. The majority of

advertisements can be deemed exceptional by most and usually incorporate some type of rhetoric

sales pitch to help catch the attention of a potential buyer. In Belvedere Vodkas case their

advertisement had a totally different and somewhat crude approach which backfired on them in

the end. Their advertisement was exposed in many ways by showing the audience that the

product thats being sold promoted a rape culture where women are inferior to men and that

drinking this alcohol will lead to women being overpowered by men.

In the original Belvedere advertisement, at first glance its pretty obvious that the vodka

product being advertised isnt showing any normal romantic moment between the couple. In fact

this advertisement is showing anything but what a passionate night between two lovers would

look like. When analyzing the advertisement its apparent that the women is being overpowered

by the man as if he was coming on to her way to strong or was in mid act of possibly raping her.

Everything about the image from her facial expression to the lighting used all point to the fact

that the situation shes in isn't going in her favor. In Belvedere Vodkas defense, they more than

likely meant no harm in the advertisement itself but the advertisements just too obvious with the

fact that its promoting rape culture.

The first hard evidence can be seen in the facial expressions of each of the people in the

advertisement. The man within the ad is obviously too drunk for his own good as its clearly seen

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in his facial expression. He depicts himself with low-hanging, baggy eyes and grimacing smile as

he is reaching out toward the women. The womens reaction to the scene in the advertisement is

what really gives this ad its underlying truth. The woman looks frightened for her life as if in a

state of urgency. Its apparent that shes trying to escape the clutches of the man that she should

be enjoying a nice cocktail with but rather is caught in a rough situation.

The lighting in this advertisement also played a major role in the mood that the

Belvedere Vodka advertisement brought upon itself which in turn strengthens the underlying

truth of the advertisement. When observing the image more closely its clear that theres

nothing good coming from the situation at hand. The photo is in black and white which adds to

the gloominess of the situation thats presented. Theres also an added effect of suspense

which seems to intensify the advertisements underlying rape culture meaning which wouldnt

have been so obvious if the picture had some color and depth to it. With a colored image more

emotion and feeling can be taken from the picture which can have a greater effect on the buyer

at hand.

Another influential part of the advertisement that built upon the underlying truth was

the wording of the advertisement and its placement in the advertisement. Belvedere uses the

words Unlike some people, Belvedere always goes down smoothly as the catch phrase to

hook the attended audience but unfortunately this catch phrase back fires on Belvedere. The

phrase Belvedere always goes down smoothly seems to contradict the actions that are

playing out in the image. The scene isnt depicting a smooth time at all but rather the violet

struggle between of the women who is far from having a good time. The way the wording is

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positioned in the image also adds to how the audience views the advertisement as a whole. Its

obvious that the advertisement wants its audience to capture the picture as a whole when it

first starts off with unlike some people as the first words of the picture but includes it in the

boarder of the picture rather than within the image itself. The sentence is then cut short with a

space in between the womens face which puts more emphasis on the emotions that the

women is experiencing as well as the situation at as a whole. This break allows the reader to

take a moment where the audience can view the advertisement and its content of the man and

women. It then proceeds to complete the phrase of Belvedere always goes down smoothly

which, as stated before, seems to contradict the whole advertisement. The combination of the

choice of words and the already rape promoting image continues to highlight the hidden truth

of the alcoholic beverage advertisement which is that drinking alcohol will lead to a women

being overpowered or possibly raped by an man.

With the new advertisement I wanted to change the whole perspective of the original

advertisement and make the theme of the ad less rape promoting and more centered on how

Belvedere Vodka can promote a healthier relationship with alcohol. When making the spoof

advertisement a variety of details were considered in creating the new advertisement layout.

This included a new representation of what the ad would be shown as, a colored filled image

rather than black and white, and a whole new catch phrase to help promote a healthier and

less hostile way of drinking.

The first priority was to reevaluate the whole image by finding a whole new image

altogether. I decided to focus on the main picture itself by taking all the aggression out of the

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advertisement and making the new ad more positive and alcohol friendly. I choose to set up my

new ad using the Slice-of-Life method which is a method of advertisement that illustrates a

normal life setting which I would use to my advantage in the goal to promote alcohol in a

positive manner (emporia.edu.Coulsonk). I first began with the same scenario of a man and a

woman together because I thought this would be crucial in emphasizing the new theme of

healthy alcohol consumption but this time I wanted to make it more romantic and comforting

rather than the sense of urgency that was found within the original advertisement. I took a

picture of the couple at a dinner table in front of a sun filled window and photo shopped a

bottle of Belvedere Vodka in-between the two to help emphasis what the advertisement is

selling and to make the new image more civilized as compared to the original ad.

A major factor that I considered when choosing the new image was that the couple had

to be showing some time of joy between each other which would help set the mood of the new

ad apart from the hostility in the old one. This resulted in a more optimistic outlook on what

alcohol can be depicted as, as well as making for a better advertisement. With that, it also

appeals to a grander audience of men, women, and couples of all ages (that are within the

drinking age) which could increase the potential sales of the Belvedere Vodka product.

The second major change was the transition from the traditional black and white

advertisement to a color filled advertisement. Colors have a way of adding more emotion to

any picture which can assistance in creating a mood of a picture with lighter colors giving a

more content vibe compared to darker colors or just pure black and white which typically set a

more bland attitude. The color in the new ad helped set the image apart from the old one as it

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brings more life to the advertisement which had a huge impact on catching the audiences

attention. Ultimately, the new color-filled photo helped set the mood of the scene opposite of

the old ad resulting in a more stress-free environment.

The third major change that I applied into the new ad was the choice of diction which

would be used to help sell the Belvedere Vodka to the intended audience. In the old ad their

poor choice of wording was a major contributor in strengthening and identifying the underlying

truth of what the old advertisement was saying so it was ideal that the word choice in the new

ad steered clear from anything that might promote rape culture. My goal was to include the

brand name of the vodka as well as a positive catch phrase that would really compliment the

alcohol and the new image. What I decided on was Belvedere Premium Vodka; Always Keeping

the Good Times Alive. From this the audience can first recognize what the product is thats

being advertised which is key to selling any type of product as well as catching the attention of

a potential customer. It also helps reinforce the fact that Belvedere Vodka promotes a positive

time between anyone who purchases it.

From here the last major change that I applied to the new advertisement was the

placement of the new sales phrase and the font that would be used. In the original ad, the

placement of the wording looked very unprofessional and didnt seem to relay its intended

message at all which seemed to do more harm than good for the ad. In the new spoofed ad I

decided to place the first part of the wording Belvedere Premium Vodka at the top-center

of the image for multiple reasons which would be beneficial for the new advertisement and

selling the product all together. The first reason why I formatted the image this way was that I

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took into consideration that most people have been taught to read from the top of a paper to

the bottom, so by announcing the products name that is being advertised at the top first, itll

give the advertisement a greater chance of being recognized. The second reason was that from

there the audience will continue read the ad down to the image of the cheerful couple with

their bottle of Belvedere Vodka and finally concluding at the bottom of the ad with Always

Keeping the Good Times Alive. This way the intended audience is able to view the whole ad

and get the most out of whats being presented.

To finalize the ad I decided to get creative with the font of the wording to make it pop-

out at the audience as compared to the original advertisement which used a bland text and

colors to make for an even more unoriginal ad. I decided to get fancy with the font since the

advertisement was selling a premium vodka brand why not make it more fancy and eye-

catching. I decided to use Lucida Calligraphy for the wording as the new font to help

spice up the ad as a whole which finally completed the newest Belvedere Vodka advertisement.

Advertisement is an incredibly important aspect of any business that is used to promote

products through visuals and texts for the sake of collecting as much attention as possible.

Unfortunately, in Belvedere Vodkas case, their advertising backfired when their ad exposed an

underlying truth of how their alcohol promotes a rape culture. Many aspects of their ad such as

the image used, the color scheme of the image, and the catch phrase used all had a major part

in exposing a deeper meaning in the advertisement. By collectively taking all those factors into

consideration a new and improved ad was created to help contradict the idea that drinking

alcohol will promote a rape-like culture among men and women. The new advertisement

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showcased a more relaxed, color filled image of a couple sharing a bottle of Belvedere at the

dinner table with the line Belvedere Premium Vodka. Keeping the Good Times Alive. In

conclusion, the new ad now represented a more modest way of drinking as compared to what

was depicted in the original ad and shredded any remaining impression that alcohol promotes

rape culture.

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Citations

"Common Advertising Executional Styles." Emporia. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.

.

Morgenstern, Madeline. "This Is the Offensive Rape Culture Ad a Vodka Company Pulled." The

Blaze. N.p., 25 Mar. 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2015.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/03/25/this-is-the-offensive-rape-culture-ad-a-vodka-

company-pulled/>.

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