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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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