Advertisements

With the increasing number of people in this hectic world, turning to alcohol for comfort, leisure or escape, the media too has become even more flooded with advertisements and promotions for the addictive beverage. Trendy magazines, such as Vanity Fair and GQ (Gentleman’s Quarterly) have had abundances, especially, of vodka advertisements. This essay’s aim is to compare and analyse three vodka advertisements from these two magazines, as they can put quite a lot of influence on the reader’s impression of vodka.

The first advertisement displays a very loud, attention grabbing Smirnoff green apple flavored vodka. The second features a very simple representation of Absolut Vodka and the third shows the classy VOX Vodka. Visibly, they differ greatly though they are all trying to sell the same product. Presentation is one of the main factors that all the advertisements contrast in and this is greatly affected by what kind of audience the designer is aiming it at. The audience’s age group, social group and sex are all factors that the designer will take into account before deciding how the product should be seen as.

For example, the first noticeable feature of the Smirnoff’s advertisement is the bright, lime green colour scheme, which certainly will attract a person’s attention, but will give them the impression of fresh, light, happy product. As a result of this, it is probably aimed at a younger, but not juvenile, range of people, most likely ages 18 to 27 years old. Of course it could also attract the attention of an older audience, perhaps those who are seeking to achieve youth again or are serious partygoers.

This bright, intoxicating approach suggests entertainment and partying, therefore, socially the appeal lies more in the single, middle class area and more for the female sex. This is mainly because the vodka is flavored so is considered light in alcohol content and is presented in such a way that it may not appear masculine enough in the average male’s view. However, the Absolut Vodka advertisement is defiantly aimed at the opposite sex to that of the Smirnoff one, solely because of the presentation of the product. The background is black, becoming grayish and finally white towards the middle creating a spotlight on the bottle.

Its colour scheme can often be associated with the fashionable style of suits for businessmen or just the general colour choice a man with taste would make. Referring to the theme of businessmen, the product has been presented in such a way that it implies kicking back after a hard day of work at the office and taking a few shots of vodka to relax. This is helped also by the advertisement stressing the product as simple, pure vodka, not a fancy or flavored one, so it would probably appeal to older men at least over the age of 30 to 45 years old.

The logo of the ad is in a huge print size at the bottom of the advertisement, saying, ‘Absolut Legacy”, a play on the name of the product and again implying an older theme. Similarly, the VOX vodka advertisement is not aimed at a younger audience, though, feasibly, it has a wider range of ages to appeal to, about 30 – 60 years old. It is possible that, rather then age boundaries, the advertisement is aiming more at social groupings. In this case, the main focus is a ski slope surrounded by beautiful mountains, forests and a warm, welcoming ski lodge at the bottom.

Generally, to go on skiing holidays, you have to be well off and so the advertisement is trying to tell its audience that VOX vodka is for higher-class society. There is nothing that points significantly towards one sex and seems more neutral then the other two advertisements, but the dark blue tint that covers the bottle and the rest of the page could show that the designers were heading towards a more masculine look. The blue tint and small areas of white not only co-ordinate with the design of the bottle, but it also suggests that it is evening and this appropriate for the advertisement because normally that is when vodka is consumed.

The way the designers show the audience that the people who do this kind of thing drink VOX vodka is by the two people skiing down the slope, their tracks creating the ‘X’ of the ” VOX”. It can also be interpreted as a path down to the ski lodge, which has a warm glow coming off it from all the lights and this has an underlying theme of drinking vodka is cool and will give a warm fuzzy feeling once consumed. The advertisement has an appeal to emotions and in this case, its desire.

The picturesque, perfect setting makes the vodka seem the same and sends out the message that who ever drink it will also gain this perfection and classiness. Completely the opposite, the Smirnoff advertisement has a theme of twisting and wildness. This is shown by the colour scheme that is split in two and is opposite on each side. The images show a twisted cocktail glass, which looks like a tornado and could suggest the sensation of drinking this vodka. Also, the slight twisting in the bottle and the fact the name of the vodka is ‘green apple twist’ could is there to stress this even more to the reader.

In conjunction to this theme of wildness, there is the partying and entertaining message the advertisement gives the audience. Coloring is an important feature as it also portrays this theme, but also says something about the product so it is displayed as light, sweet and fresh, the freshness helped by the condensation on the bottle and cocktail glass. The designers obviously tried to make it look as apple flavored and twisted as possible, which relates to product directly, but also relates indirectly to parties or enjoyment, portrayed by the cocktail glass.

This cocktail is not the actual vodka but is a mixture of ingredients that include the product that is trying to be sold and that is possibly why the page is split into two sections, dividing the end result from the ingredient, almost like a product illustration. Unlike the other two advertisements, Absolut vodka can be described and interpreted with one word and that is ‘simplicity’. The colour scheme, fonts, logo and layout are all very simple, but effectively present the product. The whole point in this is to portray the vodka as truly a ‘legacy’ in being just that, vodka.

As mentioned before, there is nothing really special or fancy about this vodka that the designers could use as an effectively striking marketing ploy. Instead they successfully catch its simplicity in a positive, pure light so that it could appeal to the specified audience. The advertisement will reflect, as the bottle is on the glassy tabletop it is photographed on, the simple life that some people crave and so it will appeal to them and they will be more likely to buy the product.

The main feature that stands out is the bottle, which has a block of text in a fancier font and also the only two colours in the whole advertisement. The first colour is yellow and highlights the phrase, ‘in accordance with more than 400 years of Swedish tradition’, and this again is stood out to stress the legacy of the product. On the bottle, the product name is in a larger print size then the rest of the text and is blue, which is the second colour, to make it command more presence in the advertisement. The logo of Absolut vodka is, ‘Absolut Vodka’, which also a pun, or wordplay, on the name of the product.

It is referring directly at the product, as its name is ‘Absolut’, but sounds’ like the word ‘absolute’, meaning the product is an ‘absolute legacy’. The logo is not the only text as there is a body copy on the bottle, which is on the actual bottle as well, but can be used here to an advantage, keeping the theme of simplicity yet portraying the required information to the audience in a subtle way. Mentioned previously, the name of the vodka is the most prominent as it is the most important piece of information.

The next most prominent is the word ‘imported’ so the company obviously want this to be stressed. The vodka’s country of origin has been mentioned five times in this one advertisement alone, so it must stand as very important to the company. Or perhaps the designers want to give the audience the impression that it is truly foreign so it is different and anything foreign is of the highest quality. In congruence with this theme class, as simplicity can be interpreted now a days as class, the actual language of the body copy is very formal, also reflecting the presentational features mentioned earlier.

As is the other section of small black text stating information such as the content of the vodka, other information about the product, the company and that the drinker should, ‘enjoy our quality responsibly’. However, the Smirnoff advertisement seems to have a lack of this small black text that is extremely common in the world of advertisements. Instead it just has one large logo, a short line of white text and a recipe in the form of a stamp, similar to those used for large sold items or for nightclub admittance.

This ‘recipe’ is not very prominent, possibly because they want it to seem that the vodka is the only ingredient required for the cocktail and not other things. One thing they have made prominent, however, is the theme of twisting as it is motioned four times and is physically shown by the glass and bottle. The colloquial style logo for the advertisement is, ‘Try something Twisted and do it responsibly’, the ‘Try something Twisted’, being in a large font and the words, ‘Try’, and, ‘Twisted’ are the largest stressing the alliteration.

The reason for including the, ‘and do it responsibly’, part was to create a better public image, however, they must have decided to make the print size a lot smaller so it isn’t the main focus, therefore they would not sound too bossy or innocent as this is a party drink and is defiantly not innocent. However, the VOX vodka advertisement only needed a large straight ‘VOX’ as part of the ski tracks to show that this vodka is not the wild, intoxicating drink that Smirnoff’s is, but the kind of vodka that is a style, perhaps even a lifestyle.

Again the language is more formal, as shown by the logo, which is in extremely small print size, ‘Distilled five times, VOX is the ultimate expression of vodka’. It portrays the vodka’s strength and implies superiority over other vodkas because of its class. Either that or it is saying that the way they portray the vodka is the way it should be and that it shouldn’t be seen as some common fancy drink. Looking a lot closer at the advertisement, there is some text at the top left of the page in a very small print size saying, ‘drink smart’.

In conclusion, all three advertisements have many similarities as they display the same products. They also seem to send the same subtle message to, ‘drink smart’, so as to create a good public image for successful business, but trying to take the focus off it as it may affect the reputation of the company and product. In the case of the Smirnoff advertisement this may be controversial as it is flavored and it’s bright colour scheme gives a light impression, but it actually has a very high alcohol content. This wrong impression could be potentially dangerous.

Due to their different target audiences, the way they have presented their product also differs drastically. They also seem to repeat and stress the same theme/themes so that people will associate that with the product. For example, the Smirnoff advertisement gives the loud, vibrant impression of fun and entertainment often associated with parties, therefore a good persuasion tactic for it’s young, single target audience. The Absolut advertisement, however, seems to be aimed more at older, office workingmen, so it has a constant theme of simplicity that they would see as a solitary escape from their stressful lives.

The VOX vodka tries a different marketing ploy and presents the product as more of a style for classy people, rather then an addictive, dangerous drink. They victimize nai?? ve people who strive to exactly that and this is how they sell product. The main thing that should be remembered is that the main focus is to strike the attention of people to sell their product, which happens to be very dangerous, and the cause of many accidents and deaths. All three of the advertisements try to influence the audience into forgetting that and to focus on the positive side of vodka.