What's In Your Martini?

The advertisement I have chosen to analyze makes use of a common theme in the advertising world, sex. It depicts a woman laying in a martini glass with the words, “What's in your martini?” printed just below her. The ad also has a red background, a color often associated with love and sensuality. It's obvious that this ad creates desire by implying that men who drink Three Olive Vodka are more attractive to women.

Further analyzing this ad brings up several key points which solidify this argument. First, the woman is positioned in a very provocative way. She is laying on her back with her legs crossed and a slight smile on her face. Also, she is staring directly into the camera. This makes the male reader feel like the woman is looking directly at him. As a result, the reader associates the idea of women being interested in him with Three Olives Vodka. The second key point aiding this argument is the deep red background. Not only is the background red, the color of passion and love, but it fades to white in the center of the ad. This draws the viewers attention directly to the woman sitting in the martini glass. It also gives a sense of purity and innocence to the woman because these ideas are often symbolized by the color white in our culture. When the viewer's attention is drawn to the center of the ad to the provocative yet innocent woman surrounded by the passionate color of red, the viewer feels a direct connection with the woman that creates an unobtainable desire between them. However, it's no coincidence that unlike the woman in the martini glass, Three Olives Vodka is an easily obtainable product. The third key point upholding the argument is the simple text in the lower left hand portion of the ad which reads, “What's in your martini?”. It's obvious that no man literally has a woman laying in his martini so this question radiates a certain sense of sarcasm. Upon reading this slightly snide comment the reader is naturally put on defense. It makes the reader think to himself, “Well, why don't I have a woman in my martini glass?” The subconscious answer to this question is, “...because I don't drink Three Olives Vodka.” Consequently, the reader now associates the ability to theoretically “have a woman in his martini glass” with Three Olives Vodka. In essence, all of these points make the viewer feel like he would be more attractive to women if he were drinking Three Olives Vodka.

Another ad which uses the same techniques to create the same desire is for Chopin Vodka. The ad shows a beautiful woman in black and white with an organic background of branches behind her. Similar to the previous ad for Three Olives Vodka, the model is looking directly into the camera. This mimics how the Three Olives Vodka ad makes the viewer feel like the model is looking directly at him and creates a direct connection. Hence, the Chopin Vodka ad also makes the viewer feel like Chopin Vodka will make him more attractive and desirable. The Chopin Vodka ad also mimics the Three Olives Vodka ad in the way that the model is positioned in a very provocative way. Her head is slightly tilted as if she is truly inquiring about the reader. Once again this makes the reader associate women being interested in him with Chopin Vodka. The black and white also gives a classy sensual look the same way the red background of the Three Olives ad gave it a passionate and sexy look. Although there is no text, the ad still evokes questions from the reader which are similar to that of the Three Olives ad. It makes the reader ask questions like, “Why don't I know any girls like that?” or, “What makes her so beautiful?” Undoubtedly, the ad helps the reader answer these questions by placing a bottle of Chopin Vodka along the bottom of the ad. By analyzing this ad, we can see that it makes use of a lot of the same techniques as the Three Olives ad and promotes the same idea that the product will make the viewer more attractive to women.

The outcome of these ads is one that is common in the advertising world. It is the creation of a desire in males to obtain the beautiful woman in the ad because of a false connection between the two. Although this desire is truly unobtainable, the ads make the viewer believe that if only he had the company's product he could be more attractive and suave and ultimately get the girl. Everything from the way the woman is dressed and positioned, to the color of the background of the ad is an effort to make the the viewer want the woman. The advertisers do this knowing that in the end the desire for the woman will actually be replaced by the more obtainable desire for the product. They also realize that they have tricked the male viewer into believing that the product will make him more attractive to women.

By: Nick LaVake
T.A: Laura Bennett

Selling the Outrageous

For years the goal of advertising campaigns has been to personify their product. That is, the companies wish to convince consumers that the products they buy will do more for the consumer than they are capable of doing. This sort of advertising has been used in America for a very long time and can be seen in almost every advertisement for consumer grade products. One such product is Planters Peanuts. In 2008 Planters aired an advertisement during Super Bowl XLII. This commercial followed the day in the life of one, less than attractive, woman. Hilarity ensues when she draws the attention of every many she encounters causing havoc in one way or another. The commercial concludes with a shot of the woman dabbing her skin with a Planters Peanut. This commercial uses ridiculous claims in order to sell the product but gains the attention of the viewer by the nature of its outrageousness. For this reason it would appear that companies have come up with ways of selling products without providing factual advertising.

Mainly because of it's creativity and enormous audience during the Super Bowl this advertisement became pretty well known. People often watch the Super Bowl solely for the witty advertisements and this specific one received a popular reaction. What is noticed when viewing this specific advertisement is the absence of a product until the very end of the commercial. I can therefore be assumed that the product itself has no importance in this advertisement to the viewer. Any product, albeit not a fragrance, could be switched in for the Planters Peanuts and the reaction by the audience would be the same. Planters Peanuts then are not building this reaction to the commercial. They are merely the punchline. In this way the audience is endeared to the product. They can therefore associate it with laughter and good times. Since it was seen by most people during the Super Bowl during which people commonly gather with friends for a party Planters Peanuts becomes subconsciously linked to a social gathering atmosphere. In other words, this commercial is silently saying, “If you're going to have a party, you're going to need Planters Peanuts.” You are sold. The focus of this advertisement is not to convince you that Planters Peanuts are the best peanuts on the market, they're telling you they are the ONLY peanuts for an enjoyable social gathering.
Now, this claim may seem quite radical. But when compared to other commercials it can be seen that this type of advertisement is frequently used. One such commercial was first aired during the exact same Super Bowl as the Planters commercial. This advertisement was a minute long action sequence of Shaquille O'Neal in a horse race. It consisted of quick cuts between the horses racing and the audiences' reactions. Shaquille storms from behind the pack of horses to eventually win the race. He mounts the podium and raises a bottle of Vitamin Water. The viewer reaction to this commercial is similar to the Planters commercial. Throughout the sequences we are unsure of what this commercial is for and for a while we stop caring. The Vitamin Water commercial is tense and engaging causing the viewer to worry more about whether Shaq will win the race than what he will endorse at the end. It could be argued that this portion of the sequence is not an advertisement at all but a short cinematic experience. At the end of this experience the character plugs a product thereby linking your emotional reaction to the experience with the product being plugged.

The style of advertising witness in both of these commercials is becoming more and more common in The United States and around the rest of the world. They are a sign of the conscious effort made by advertisers to avoid all questions regarding the quality of their products and simply assuming that we will buy them anyways. These advertisers believe they can use methods of psychology and emotional association to tap into the inner framings of the human mind and inspire consumption regardless of the product. It is a sign of the modern power of advertising in the early 2000s which is becoming increasingly frightening.

Nathaniel Winter

Film 115 Concept Project 2

The Saga Of Alcoholic Advertising


Budweiser sold over 100 million barrels of beer in 2002, because of its big name and its hefty advertising budget. The ad of the three models in bathing suits is a refurbished ad circa 2004; the original advertisement was similar and debuted in the mid 80’s and had the same concept. With market research being a staple of all large companies ad campaigns, Budweiser decided to re-shoot the ad for contemporary purposes by digitally enhancing the image and diversifying the models within the ad. Sex sells and beer companies have known this for years and they have their advertising techniques down pat.

Using sex symbols to sell a product is a common tactic. Selling the sex symbol as the product like in this ad where three voluptuous women are depicted, as a Budweiser label is just a savvy technique of homogenizing the female body. The advertisement associates Budweiser with beautiful women, and subconsciously men are led to think, “If I drink Budweiser ill be associated with beautiful women too.” In theory Budweiser is pimping they’re beer with images of fantasy and seduction. The woman aesthetically in this ad are placed in vulnerable positions, which is very typical in ads where the woman’s body is used to sell the product. These models are positioned in such a way that they appear enticing and helpless at the same time. They are luring you in to buy their product that is written across their ample bosoms.


The ad has been brought back into circulation, with the concept of beautiful women in swimsuits with Budweiser written across all of them, this makes them blend into the label. It needs a new design, this was the new millennium and it needs to be sexier and more noticeable. With aesthetics in mind this is where graphic designers and professional photographers come into play, turning advertising into a form of artwork, which today it has become. Budweiser is now a patron of the arts and a profiteer that is willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money on fresh new ideas to sell its product. Budweiser has competed with the best in the heated beer battles; advertising has become a contest between companies like Miller, Coors, and Budweiser to out do each other, with satirical humor or sex appeal.

Along with keeping up with the contemporary world of advertising Budweiser has kept its politics up to date too, yes I’m talking about race and that there are two white women and one black women in the new ad. Within out lifetimes it has been made a point to diversify and not to discriminate on television in magazines and especially in advertisements, which make up a large portion of our mass media today.

Approaching stereotypical methods of beer ads, the two genre’s that have been dominant since the beginning have been sex, and humor. I’m going to contrast the previous ad with this ad by Miller Genuine Draft. The characters in it are fully and conservatively dressed, their body language gives us an emotion but it is not provocative and alluring, the logo of the company isn’t sprawled across the ad and its very realistic looking. The ad goes on to describe a couple arguing over finances, and why the man has to give up buying beer, and his justification. This ad is targeted towards men and is very satirical. The ad makes fun of couples bickering over little things and gives the reader a laugh. The purpose of the ad is to create an emotion in this case a humorous feeling, and for the feeling to be attached to the product so that it’s memory is held with the reader. This particular magazine ad was in Sports Illustrated and meant for the reader to take the time to read the entire thing, because without the text the ad seems very bland and uninviting. But once the text is read the reader is brought into the joke and is related to average man in the picture. The picture is very basic on purpose, so the general audience can relate to the guy in the ad. It’s a technique that beer companies like Miller and Budweiser have also used in the past, creating satirical situations that are realistic to the viewers.

The evolution of advertising has generated many new standards in our contemporaneous world of mass media, from racial equality, advertising as an art medium to satirical comedy. They have all been canopied under the great name of American beer companies. Domineering in the world of advertising Beer companies are a force to reckoned with.

Movie Trailers

Advertising and subliminal messages have been pummeling the American people for as long as anyone can remember. These days the average American can’t even go 15 minutes without seeing at least one message. Every company, large and small, spends a huge portion of their money of catching the eyes and ears of the American people. It may seem like a waste of time to put so much money into something as trivial as a billboard ad, but studies say the little ads people see every day actually have a huge impact on what they buy. Everyone wants to say that commercials don’t have any effect on them, but who sees a Taco Bells commercial and doesn’t think to themselves, “Mmmm, that looks good.” Another form of advertisement that has a huge affect on the masses are movie trailers. The clip for the new the new James Bond movie, “James Bond: Quantum of Solace,” is a perfect example.
This is the trailer for Quantum of Solace, the sequel to last year’s hit James Bond movie, Casino Royal. The trailer starts off with little talking but soon switches to not stop action and gunfire. This trailer does a great job at appealing to all audience. The first and most prominent audience is the action movie crowed. The trailer is full of nonstop action. From gunfire to over the top special effects this trailer tries to show the upcoming thriller will keep even someone with extreme ADD at the edge of their seat. The trailer also has a lot of sex appeal. Sex appeal is one of commercialisms best friends. There’s even a saying to go with it, “Sex Sells.” Throughout the trailer it periodically cuts to hot women to catch the attention of all the men in the audience. , this trailer isn’t strictly maid for men. The main character (James Bond) also has his shirt of a few times in the trailer. The trailer also tries to catch the female viewers attention by adding clips that seem to hint that there’s a love story. Getting both genders interested in a movie almost doubles the profit the movie will make, but most action movies have a hard time getting women’s attention. Other aspect of the commercial that tries to catch the viewers attention is the music. The music fits perfectly with the trailer giving it a kind of tense feel that seems to build up till the end. This makes the viewer want to see the movie to see what happens at the end of all the suspense. The trailer for the new Bond movie shows a new twist on the Bond series but still tries to hold the aura that the originals have that keeps the fans coming back for more.

The second trailer, Batman: The Dark Knight has a lot of the same aspects as the Bond trailer. Both of them start of slightly slow but quickly move into intense action. They both have theme music that seems to build up as the trailer progresses. Also they both play the sex appeal card, Though the dark knight doesn’t use it nearly as much, by have good looking people of both sexes as the main cast for the movie. Though the dark knight took a little darker, it still seems to be appealing to both sexes. It would seem that most action movie trailers take a very similar approach when advertising to the masses.
Advertisement is a huge part of consumerism and every day Americans daily. The trailer for Quantum of Solace is a perfect example of have commercials try to get into our heads and make their products seem like just what everyone wants. Over the years commercials have become very good at pleasing almost all of the human senses, and getting into our heads without even knowing. Some might say that these action movies trailers even make Americans looks like fools who can’t hold their attention unless there’s an explosion every two seconds. But then again, I can’t judge because I like a full throttle over the top action movie just as much as the next guy. As much as commercials get critiqued by politics and the media, there’s no point in complaining. Advertisements work, and as long as it gets people to buying their stuff, advertising is here to stay.

Zach cosby
Laura

One-of-a-kind Conformity

Advertising companies have mastered the art of appealing to society using visuals, catchy phrases or music, humor, and even personal critique. A company may spend weeks pouring over one magazine advertisement or one 30 second commercial in order to make it appealing enough to catch the viewer’s attention and potentially sell a product. In today’s culture, it is “cool” for people to be individual and outside of the norm. Ad companies use this appeal, making their products seem individualized, in order to convince a viewer that he or she can be unique with their product (that many other viewers will also buy in order to be unique). To appear as non-conforming individuals, people strive to wear unique clothing, to do unique things; even to smell unique! Ad companies, in particular perfume/cologne or clothing ads, often take advantage of these mindless (non-)conformers. The commercial advertising Tom Brady’s Stetson cologne uses visual and sonic elements to give a male viewer the desire to have a carefree and rugged lifestyle, to always have a girl by his side, and to be completely free, individual, and unique.

Using fast-paced and high-tempo music as well as “western-type” visuals, the cologne ad creates the desire to have a rugged lifestyle with no cares in the world. As Tom Brady speeds down a dusty open road in a nice car, the music blares loudly, creating a feeling of manliness or of being completely carefree. Blasting music while driving is often viewed as something for the “young and reckless,” which essentially means the “cool kids.” Clearly, this commercial is advertising Tom Brady’s Stetson cologne as something someone carefree and rugged, or “cool,” would wear. To add to the rugged feel of the music, the commercial includes “western-type” images. “Going west” symbolizes people breaking free from their normal and potentially unsuccessful lifestyle, and finding success and happiness starting from scratch in a new place. Naturally, with the long and open dusty road that Tom Brady is driving on, his almost-but-not-quite-clean-shaven-face, and his cowboy hat (which flies off his head), this commercial gives this happy and successful feeling of being a rugged adventurer. This commercial creates the desire in a man to be “cool” in a manly way, which means being rugged and carefree, willing to seek out adventure. According to the commercial, Tom Brady’s Stetson cologne gives a man this rugged confidence.

Along with appealing to a man’s desire to live a rugged lifestyle, this ad also gives him the desire to always have a girl by his side in order to be “cool” and happy. The entire commercial is fast-paced (which parallels the music), and Tom Brady and the girl in the passenger seat of the car are constantly having a good time. Repeatedly, the girl looks over at Tom Brady and smiles or laughs, indicating that she is wholeheartedly enjoying his company, and eventually she touches the back of his head to show her affection. Today’s culture tells young adults that to be happy, it is necessary to have a significant other. This commercial implies that wearing this cologne will make a man more “cool” and desirable, and therefore, that he will have no trouble finding a girl.

Even though the ad alludes to the idea that a man needs a girl by his side to be happy, it also creates in him the desire to be completely individual and free. In the commercial, the implication that a man needs a girl is not detrimental to the appeal to freedom, which connects to individuality. In today’s culture, individuality is “the new conformity;” people desire to be unique, but they achieve this uniqueness by emulating the actions or styles of another. Individuality also implies that a person feels free—free to do whatever he or she wants, however he or she wants to do it. In the commercial, a sleek and beautiful wild horse gallops next to Tom Brady’s speeding car, symbolizing power, strength, and freedom. The fact that the horse and Tom Brady are running side by side (or rather, driving, in Brady’s case) gives the impression that they are equals—equally happy, equally powerful, and equally free. There is no one else around, implying a certain uniqueness to Tom Brady’s experience while he is wearing his Stetson cologne. This uniqueness is implied in the idea that to be individual and free, one must remove himself from society and “find his own adventure.” This commercial for Tom Brady’s Stetson cologne creates a desire for a man to “find his own adventure”—to be free and completely individual (which, ironically, can be done by copying what Tom Brady is doing in the ad).

[The next commercial's link to embed has been disabled by YouTube. Please click HERE to view the commercial. I apologize for this inconvenience].

Another ad which obviously appeals to ruggedness, having a girl, and being individual and free, is this Levi’s commercial done to the song “Walk the Line.” Although this commercial is different from the Stetson commercial in that the music is not blaring, it is similar in that the music still implies a sort of carefree lifestyle that accompanies rugged confidence. The man in the Levi’s commercial isn’t “going west,” nor is he alone as he walks through the urban setting, but he is still set apart from everything else just as Tom Brady was in his Stetson commercial. The Levi’s ad implies that this man who is wearing their slim straight jeans is so “cool” and individual that he can’t be stopped by fences, a basketball scrimmage, construction, or a traffic jam. He is so “free” that he can just climb over the fence, walk straight through the basketball game, ignore the rubble from construction, and even walk over cars in the traffic jam. All of this is leading up to the one thing he is heading towards: a girl. This directly parallels the Stetson commercial in that the man is a rugged and free non-conforming individual, and this makes him cool enough to have a significant other who is happy with him.

Both the Stetson cologne commercial and the Levi’s commercial appeal to viewers, giving them a desire to have a carefree and rugged lifestyle, to always have a girl by their side, and to be completely free, individual, and unique. Using visuals that imply set-apartness from normal society, these ads convince viewers that their products are different, unique, and one-of-a-kind. The ad companies have successfully done their job if, while watching a commercial or looking at an ad that is advertising a "unique" product, the viewer believes he or she could potentially be totally individual and set apart from society because of that product.

Bryn Unger

It’s So Easy; a Child Can Choose It

The eternal battle between Pepsi and Coke has led to some really interesting advertising campaigns and some cool commercials. This battle has gone on for over a hundred years and many techniques have been used to boost one company over the other. Pepsi went through a period during the 80’s, 90’s, and early 2000’s when they used children in their advertisements. One of its most famous ads of that time employed that little girl, Hallie Kate Eisenberg talking like the Godfather to get her Pepsi. One of my favorite ads is the Pepsi commercial when a young Jimi Hendrix chooses to buy a Pepsi instead of a Coke and sees a Fender Stratocaster in a pawn shop window next to the Pepsi machine. Many Pepsi or Coke ads show someone choosing the one brand over the other to establish their superiority. In this ad with Jimi Hendrix, he has to choose between the machines. Although he looks from one to the other, the decision doesn’t seem to be too hard for him and he runs to the Pepsi machine. Pepsi uses children to show how much people enjoy drinking Pepsi and how simple the choice is to make by showcasing children’s innocence and how they act on uninfluenced desires. They also often use celebrities to influence people’s choice as well.



The ad starts off setting the stage in Seattle in the early 50’s with a little boy walking down the street eating a slice of pizza. We don’t find out until he sees the guitar that it’s Jimi Hendrix. This celebrity endorsement reaches out to influence kids and adults alike. Children see this kid who buys a cool guitar instead of a nerdy accordion and want to be like that kid. Adults see the future rock legend being brought to his destiny with a soft drink. Even though Jimi Hendrix is not actually in the commercial, this representation of him is just as powerful, if not more than, his actual self. The idea of fate is also brought into this commercial and it works hand-in-hand with the celebrity endorsement. It’s not only creating the desire to be like Jimi and buy Pepsi, but it’s creating the desire for fame, the desire to be called to greatness. As soon as they show the Srat, Purple Haze, one of his most famous songs, plays in the background and the voice-over tells you that, “Nothing sounds better than pizza and Pepsi.” It’s like he sees the guitar and has an epiphany, seeing his prospective future. The commercial is inferring that Jimi’s life was influenced by his decision to drink Pepsi. And while the ad doesn’t directly infer that this could happen to the viewer, that desire is created. People crave to be extraordinary and here was the moment in a kid’s life when he went from ordinary to extraordinary. This idea of fate also gives an explicit negative connotation to its competitor by setting the coke machine next to an accordion shop when accordions are old-fashioned and colonial-sounding; far from “cool.” The text then comes in, saying, “Whew…that was a close one,” and points out that, if Jimi had chosen to drink Coke, the Jimi Hendrix that we love and respect would not have been the same.

It’s important that Pepsi is using the portrait of Jimi Hendrix as a child. It’s not only because that’s when he was introduced to music but because children do well to influence all ages of viewers. As I mentioned above, children see one of their own having fun or looking “cool.” They can identify with the character in the ad; someone their age who may have their interests in mind. Adults see children in ads differently. Children still have an innocence and have more simple views on what they want and what they don’t want. They tend not to evaluate the pros and cons of a situation; they act more on their gut. This simple desire-based decision shows adults that Pepsi is what these kids really want to drink. Kids want what they want and they won’t let obstacles stand in their way. This second ad illustrates that point beautifully:



The simple, light music in this ad also adds to the image of children being innocent. In this ad, the little boy buys two cans of Coke just to be able to reach the Pepsi button on the vending machine. He then leaves the Coke behind and walks away sipping his Pepsi. This ad is more representative of how children are insistent on the one brand. In the Jimi Hendrix ad, he doesn’t sacrifice anything, but his insistence on drinking Pepsi brought him positive consequences. He runs across the street to get to the Pepsi as fast as he can. He knows what he wants and he makes sure he gets it, just like the kid who can’t reach the Pepsi button. He doesn’t even think about drinking the Coke, he just needs something to boost him up so that he can get his Pepsi. In the ad that I mentioned earlier with Hallie Kate Eisenberg she orders a Pepsi, but the sneaky bartender gives her a glass of Coke instead. When she takes a sip, she is dissatisfied with him and her voice turns into a Godfather-like voice which she uses to get him to serve her a Pepsi. This also brings up the point that even children can taste the difference between the two cola brands and prefer Pepsi. Both Jimi and the other little boy obviously know the difference as well. This creates the desire to buy what more people prefer. If these kids are so enthusiastic about getting a Pepsi, there must be something about it that makes it better. Not only is the desire for conformity created, but the desire for quality as well.

Advertising has used celebrity endorsements from the beginning, and it’s a commonly known strategy. The implications of using celebrities in commercials are so obvious to us. However, the use of children in ads to bring out our simplest desires is a little more subliminal. We react differently to children showing us what to buy, even celebrity children. We don’t think about them manipulating us, even though they have the power to do so very easily. Pepsi employed this technique a lot throughout their history in advertising.


Megan Linner
TA: Laura Bennett

Subliminal Advertisement

Sprite’s Sub[lymon]al ad campaign is a satirical take on subliminal advertizing. With humorous as well as visually stimulating imagery, the ad attempts to use subliminal messaging to make the viewer want to buy sprite. Subliminal messaging is an actual practice in which a message in embedded within another medium and is unrecognizable to the conscious mind. More importantly however, the message is received by the subconscious and unconscious mind and is supposed to affect a person’s thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. In the instance of the Sprite ad, the message being portrayed is Sprite is an irresistable explosion of delicious lemon and lime flavoring.

At the beginning of the commercial, a female voice informs you that for best results, one should not blink. This emphasizes the essence of what subliminal messaging is. By letting information go from the screen directly into your brain, you can be entirely receptive to the message they want to get across to you whether you are aware of it or not. The message that the Sprite commercial is transmitting is that of the flavor called “Lymon.” Lymon is the combination a lime and lemon. Unlike real subliminal advertising, the Sprite commercial informs the viewer of what is taking place by titling the commercial “Sublymonal Advertising.” The letters in L, Y, M, O, and N in the word "sublymonal" flash green and yellow at the title screen. The color Green throughout the commercial represents the lime flavoring and the color yellow represents the lemon flavor. On the black screen, Sprite cans and logos jump around the screen in a sort of ghostly array. They happen too fast to read or process, but your brain takes in the information anyway.

The first scene in the commercial is in a wooded area at night time. Flashing onto the screen is a painted green sumo wrestler running through the woods screen left. A male voiceover says “Lime.” Another sumo wrestler painted yellow runs screen right and the same voice over says, “Lemon.” The camera switches back and forth between the two sumo wrestlers and the voice over repeats itself with the match of action. Upon a moment of thought, one could associate the feeling of running almost naked through the woods at night with the feeling you might get from drinking sprite. A cross cut occurs and the viewer is sees a green Volkswagen bug speeding screen left followed by a yellow bug speeding screen right. This shot is supposed to remind you of driving really fast on an opoen highway and associating that feeling with drinking Sprite. The cars are racing toward each other on a barren highway on a coastline. In the background is the ocean. The ocean is supposed to give the viewer a sense of freshness associated with Sprite's refreshing taste. The scene cross-cuts back to the sumo wrestlers running through the forest and once again the voiceover reminds the viewer of the lemon-lime flavoring. Suddenly a new character is added to the commercial when a teenager dressed in a “Dumb and Dumber-esque” baby blue prom tuxedo appears randomly on a tree stump in the middle of the forest. The kid in the forest represents the consumer audience in the ad and his humorous demeanor gives us a chance to laugh at ourselves. Quick flashes of manikins wearing safety goggles foreshadow the ensuing crash. It cuts back to the cars, then the wrestlers. In slow motion the wrestler’s big bellies converge on the poor guy’s head. The cars converge in on each other creating the essence of Lymon. A big yellow explosion occurs and the words lymon flash on the screen. We the viewer is submerged under a sea of green fizzy water that is lime. All of these things happening are supposed to stimulate the viewer’s senses and remind them of the way that sprite stimulates the sense of taste within your mouth. After impact, the expression on the tuxedo boy’s face oddly enough is refreshed and relieved as if he just quenched his thirst with a cold bottle of Sprite. In the end of the commercial, the screen reads: “Message Complete.” This is followed by a quick flash of some C.I.A. looking guys who snap their fingers in your face further satirizing the conspiracy theory behind subliminal advertizing.

Although this ad is meant to be satire, it does a good job of using actual subliminal advertising to portray its message. By watching the series of impacts between cars and sumo wrestlers with the colors yellow and green being highlighted throughout, the message is received that Sprite provides an explosively refreshing mix a lemon and lime flavoring. And the visual stimulation that is used throughout the commercial while the viewer may not understand it, is pleasing their sense of sight. In theory, the viewer’s subconscious mind will translate this into an association with sprite and the pleasing of the

Jack Kirby
TA Laura Bennet