1.

0October 2008

AbsolutAdvertising

is a publicpromotionof a productthat is meantto enticeconsumers

An advertisement to buyor

usea specificproduct(Advertisement).
Alcoholis a widelyadvertiseditemwith numerousbrandsand

typeson the market-ln 20O6alone,the averageteenages12-20sawapproximately

550alcoholrelated

In that sameyear,roughlyevery30 minutessomeone

ads{Schwartz). waskilledin analcoholrelated

accident(Howard).Absolutis oneof the leadingadvertisers

of alcoholandmoreprecisely
vodka.There

run since1980,primarilyin print form.These

havebeenover 150OAbsolutadv€rtisements

aresimpleandall havethe samebasiccomposition

advertisements All of the print
with manyvariations.

adsincludea pictureor silhouetteof the signatureAbsolutVodkabottleanda two to threeword

aboutthe productor its

captionwith the word Absolutandoftensayingsomethingcomplementary

that will be analyzedisthe '?bsolutTragedy."advertisement.

consumer.Theadvertisement Thisad

consistsof a blackbackground,
a whitecirclein the center,a largebottleof vodkain the upperleft hand

sideof the ad with a lastdropof liquidcomingout of the bottlealongwith the statementwritten in

largewhite lettersacrossthe bottomof the advertisement.

Theoverallmeaningof thisadvertisement
is to conveyto consumers
that AbsolutVodkais such

a goodproductthat it is a tragedythat the bottlewouldbe out. Whenfirstglancedat, the eyeis

immediatelydrawnto the largebottleon the left handside,then downto the drip,andlastlythe

Thefine print is hardlynoticedand ratherdisregarded

statementon the bottomof the advertisement.

by viewersof the advertisement.

 ?

useto createcontrast,evokecertainfeelingsanddraw
Colorsarea uniquetool that advertisers

the eyeto a certainpart of the advertisement.

In the originaladvertisement,
the background
is madeup

of a greatdealof blackanda largewhitecirclein the centerthat fadesout into the black.According

to

KateSmith,a colorexpertand strategist,blackis a symbolof elegance whilewhite is a

andtimelessness,

symbolof purity(Smith).Theseunderlyingmeaningsare keyto this advertisement, the Absolut

because

Companyistryingto conveytheir productasa pureandelegantdrinkthat is consumedby suchtype of

people.Thewhite showsthat AbsolutVodkais superiorandpurecomparedto other brands,andin

general.Thefadingof the blackinto white in the background

helpsto drawthe eyetowardsthe center

andthe largebottleof vodkaandthe lastdropof liquid,whichis locatedin the centerof the white

this is the product

circle.Thebottleisthe mostprominentfigurein the ad whichmakessense,because

that is to be sold.According the blueletterson the bottlewerechosenbecause

to absolut.com, the

waterandpurity.Thisad not only usesthe meanings

shadeof bluerepresented of colors,but also

Thead usesthe conceptof

andcontrastof its colorchoicesasa wayof communication.
brightness

contrastby makingthe blackverydarkanddensewhilethe while is the total oppositeandverybright.

Theonlyseparationbetweenthe two extremesis someblendingthat bringsthe two togetherto makea

Thiscontrastalsoexistsbetweenthe white letteringandthe darkbackground

flowingbackground. at

the bottom,thereforethe eyewill noticethe wordsquicklyandtheycanbe easilyread.

alsousesothertacticsto createa visuallypleasingandenticing

TheAbsolutadvertisement

suchasfont, balance,andalignment.In the advertisement,

advertisement the font FuturaExtraBlack

BTis usedfor the two word statementandthe websitenamewhileExmouthis usedon the

Condensed

bottleof vodka(About).TheFuturefont is boldand blockyso it drawsthe eyein andis easyto read.The

Exmouthis a cursivescriptthat is usedon the bottleandgivesit a sophisticated

look.Thisparticular
 exhibitsonlysomebalance;the web addressin the upperrighthandsideattemptsto
advertisement

balanceout the bottleon the left, but thereis moreunusedspaceon the rightsidethanthe left,which

Thisemptyspacemaypossiblybe to drawthe eyeon the last

makesthe ad appearquiteunbalanced.

of the ad simple.Overall,the originaladvertisement

dropof the vodkaandto keepthe message is an

effectiveway in whichto drawin newor previouscustomers

to buyandconsumeAbsolutVodka.

parody,the samebasicformatwasusedwith manyof

Onthe otherhand,in the advertisement

In the parody,the meaningwaschanged

the samequalities,but it conveysa verydifferentmessage.

whileleavingthe sametwo word slogan"AbsolutTragedy."Theparody

into the total oppositemessage

ad hasmanynewfeaturesincludinga wreckedcarin the centerandsloganin the upperrighthandof

the ad wherethe web addressusedto be.Thesloganis "An ABSOLUTLY

fun eveningcanturn into a

advisesits audiencethat the alcoholicbeverageis no longerto be

Thisadvertisement
TRAGEDY."

enjoyed,but that buyinganddrinkingit mayleadto realandterrifuingconsequences.

In the parodyad,the colorschangemeaningbecause

the overalltone andfeelof the ad has

morewith deathandfear,whilethe white is still mainlyusedasa focal

changed.Blacknow is associated

point;it takeson a meaningof faith,because

the ad impliesdeathandtragedywith the carwreck.The

car beingred drawsthe eyeto it first,andstandsfor fuar,blood,and death{Smith).Whenfirst looking

at the ad,the viewe/s eyesare drawnto the wreck,to the slogan,to the bottleof vodka,andlastlythe

Theparodyad alsohasa largeandeye-catching

subscript. sayingthat iswritten in redto drawattention

and createsthe feelingof fearandanxiety(Smith).Thesloganis written in the samefont asthe saying

on the bottomso that the ad wouldhaverepetitionwhichtiesthe advertisemenfs

messages
together

(Visual).With both the carandthe sloganbeingin red,the viewerof the ad associates

the slogans

with the wreckedcar.Thewordsabsolutelyandtragedyarewrittenin capsso that theystand

message
out to grabthe advertisements
viewers'attention.Thesloganis what holdsthe true message
of the

andneedsto be noticedquickly.lt warnsof the conseguences

advertisement that oftencomewith

drinkingandbaddecisionmaking.Colorcontrastis demonstrated
in this ad because
the white andblack

are oppositesandthe red appearsvery boldlyagainstthe blackandwhite background.

Throughsmall

the composerwasableto rnakean advertisement

changes that hastakenon a totallynew meaning.lt is

clearfrom this advertisement

that its authoris warningagainstdrinkinganddrivingandthe

consequences
of drinking.

Throughvisualand print advertising, areableto conveytheir productin such

alcoholcompanies

thinkthe productwill makethem betterin somewayor havesomesortof good

a waythat consumers

effecton them whilein realitythis is not the truth. Alcoholadsoftenconveyfalsemessages

and images

Theyareableto do this by knowingthe basicsof visualrhetoricthat creategood

to the consumer.

advertisements. parodyone canseethat alcoholmessages

Throughthe advertisement canbe altered

into a positivemessage
that warnsof the dangersof drunkdrivingwith the sameknowledgeof visual

rhetoric.
 WorksCited

AboutAbsolut.14 Sept20A7.G & N CreativeServices.

1 October2008

<http://absolutad.comla / >.
bsolut_about/history/story

Webster's
"Advertisement." Revised Dictionory.MICRA,Inc.07 Oct.2008.<Dictionary.com
Unabridged

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/advertisement>.

'Absolutegetsinto the spiritof nameplaywith newads." (16January2005).

Howord,Thereso.

2 October2008<www.usatoday.com/money/advertisements/2007-01-16-absolut-usatx.htm>

schwartz,
John."THEMEDIABUSINESS: Alcoholadson TVfindtheirwayto teenagers,
ADVERTISING; a

studyfinds,despiteindustryguidelines."
{14September2AO7l.2October2008<http:l/query.

nytimes.comlgst/fullpage.html?res=9A06EED7153DF938A25751C1A9649C8863>

Smith,Kate."Color:MeaningSymbolism,
and Psychology."
Sgnsationalcolor.com
2 October2O0B

< http://www.sensationalcolor.com/messages-meanings/color-meaning-symbolism-and-

psychology.html>

VisualRhetoricGlassaryof SelectedTerms.PurdueWriting Lab.20 September20O8.

Advertisement
Sources:

< http://absolutad.
Absofute Vodka.Advertisement, com/absolutgallery/singles
/pictures/?id=1760&

_s=singlep29 October20O8.>Copy
Write 2005.

< http://www.ca_r-accidents.comfatal-accidenls-crash.html>
Car-Accidents.com. 15August2006.