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

SHE SURE LOVES THOSE SOCKS

American Apparel advertisements are known for having photography with more of an artistic sense rather than the typical fashion photography you'd usually see while flipping through any magazine in particular. They'll have the models standing by random objects, bending in weird positions, and doing awkward things to grab the viewer's attention. But if you'd ask people what was the first thing they thought of when the advertisements came to mind, most would probably say that they are very, very provocative. Many of the ads containing acts of nudity some would say is borderline pornographic. Even though not much is revealed in the ads in mainstream magazines, the shocking ads can easily be come across while surfing the web on more independently owned sites or art magazines. They don't make it hard for the viewer to get what they want. But isn't that the company's motive? To somehow get out the word to the customer how daring they can get? To show customers how unique their clothes are to get them to purchase the material?

   The advertisement to your left is obviously one that would create desire for many people. It shows a beautiful young woman who is completely naked besides for her socks and underwear. It is commonly known throughout the world of marketing that sex sells. Our society loves scandalous and dramatic things to involve themselves with. We want to be brought away from the typical life we live. The woman in the advertisement is giving off this mysterious aura. The looks on her face is telling me that she is hiding some sort of guilty pleasure as she grips her knee-high socks. Her stomach and breasts are hidden, the message is hidden. It begs the viewer to venture on. In the bottom right corner of the ad, it says her name is Laura Pheonix. Actor, director, "look her up." Not only are they selling the socks, but her name and body as well. The three smaller pictures on the left show three different shots taken close up to her face. She is biting her lip, with her eyes closed, gasping for breath, etc. It is clear that she is involved in some sort of sexual activity and the socks are making the experience that much better.

   The advertisement says, "safe to say she loves her socks." which is clearly trying to get the viewer to say, "if I buy these socks, I'll have good sex too." Even though it sounds kind of ridiculous, people will often fall for it. American Apparel ads many of the time show the model wearing only one or two articles of clothing from the store, baring the rest of their body nude. Some ads showing a group of models where maybe even a few of them are completely naked. Many people probably wonder why they do this and why they don't dress the models in full outfit to show how the different articles of clothing can be mixed and match. This is their trademark. They want to boldly express one thing to show how amazing it is. They want to explain to the audience that their clothes are just that comfortable and unique. That you can just walk around in a pair of underwear, or socks, and not want to take them off. Even when you're having sex. The advertisement on your right is another example of one of their provocative ads. It shows a woman only in leggings, bent over, and covering her breasts with her hands. She could easily have face her back to the camera and turned her head but that's obviously not what they wanted.

   To sell sex and clothing combined is the company's motive and they'll get as risqué as they can to prove a point, right? It's been done for many other companies such Abercrombie & Fitch and it obviously works because they've been doing it for years and years. The reason they make ads that mainly "tease" the viewer are so that the viewer will buy the product and find out what will happen for themselves. It's the hidden message they leave up to the audience that drives them crazy. The funny things about these advertisements containing nudity are that these companies have become some of the most popular. Could this be a pattern or just purely coincidence?

Light & Luscious

The tobacco industry is one of the largest industries in our society. Camel cigarettes is one of the most popular brand of cigarettes on the market, offering over 30 different cigarette designs and flavors. Although Camel has all these flavors, their target audience is focused primarily at the male gender. In order for them to continue to captivate their consumers and broaden their market, they designed a type of cigarette that is aiming at the other half of the tobacco consumers. Through the uses of a specific color scheme and marketing placement they have devised the perfect way to attract their costumers. The new Camel No. 9 offer a “light & luscious” taste, all wrapped up in two perfect little packages, waiting to be bought and shown off by the ladies.

Camel’s standard marketing techniques are aimed at a very specific audience of the male gender. For many years the mascot for the Camel brand was a camel name Joe Camel. Even when the mascot of Joe Camel was used he still represented this man’s man figure. This is a poor choice for such a strong industry, considering the fact that about half of all smokers are female. This ad is a change from the companies standards because its specifically targeting females. In doing this it hopes to pursued women into buying this new brand of cigarettes. It reaches its consumers through ad placement. This ad is mostly found in a magazine like Cosmopolitan, Glamour, or Vogue rather than in Men’s Health or GQ. These are all magazines that target woman, but although this ad is meant for all woman it does have a main focus on younger woman. Tobacco companies need to focus their campaigns and make logical choice because of the fact that consumers die off and others manager to quit. Not only are they loosing consumers but also because their is no longer television commercials to reach audiences (the last commercial airing in 1971 for Virginia Slims), they have to put detail into every design and explore other marketing techniques. The design of the ad is the key to targeting its female audience, to beat out the brands like Virginia Slims and Misty which focus is primarily on woman.

Through movie, television shows, magazine ads, or any other form of advertisement throughout history until recent years has glorified smoking. This is how they lure in their consumers. They are not just trying to sell a cancer stick but the way of living. The main character in movies or television would normally smoke a cigarette, by having an idolized figure smoking it makes people want to smoke as well. The majority of teenagers started smoking because they thought it was the “cool” thing to do. The media made it seem as though everyone else was doing it so to fit in they had to as well. The Marlboro Man is an iconic figure, a cowboy out on his own doing what he wants when he wants. It gives this sense of individuality, that you can become your own person if you smoke these cigarettes. Although that is what ads like this promote, what you really accomplish by buying into these products is the exact opposite. You are becoming part of the consumer society becoming just like everyone else.


This ad stands out as being very feminine to reflect the packaging of the cigarettes. The ad uses subtle choices in color use to attract the attention of its consumer. The packaging of the cigarettes uses a hot-pink fuchsia and a mint-green blue lining and text on its black case for each of its two different flavors. These bright fancy colors attract the attention of females because the idea that “pink is the new black.” These colors reflect the colors that young woman find appealing in clothing and other products so by using these colors to show case their product it makes it as though the cigarette case is an accessory to a woman’s outfit. Designing a packaging like this makes picking out a package of cigarette more than just the brand and the type of cigarette you are choosing but the style. The ad also has elegant backdrop with a pink boarder the same color as the pink in the cigarette package. The cigarette packs are surrounded by pink flowers another symbolism of feminism. These cigarettes have a tag line describing their flavor as “light and luscious.” The diction in this phrase is also aimed at woman. In our society there are several food products that are describe as “light.” By using the word “light” it is as if smoking these cigarettes are better for you to smoke than most other brands. The word “luscious” makes it seems as though these cigarettes are full of rich flavor. This also adds a sense of class to the cigarettes, in a sense it represents wealth all in the brand of cigarettes you smoke. As if a pack of cigarettes had the same representation as diamonds do.

Lung cancer next to heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. A woman has a greater chance of getting lung cancer than she does breast cancer. With lung cancer affect men and woman of all shape and size, the tobacco industry has dealt with some scrutiny over their marketing techniques and placing blame on the companies for misinforming their consumers the dangers of smoking which lead to the requirement of placing a surgeon general’s warning on ever package. In this ad even the warning is aimed at woman. It warns of the dangers of pregnant women smoking and the dangers it could cause to the baby. This ad has down to the last detail woman in mind as its consumer.

Every aspect of the ad from its placement, design, and even the Surgeon General’s Warning is speaking to the other half of the cigarette smokers that Camel otherwise has disregarded. Its hard to deny that Camel No. 9 cigarettes are specifically designed to lure in the female tobacco consumer. It’s feminine design through its color scheme of light bright colors and use of the feminine symbolic figure of flowers surrounding the packages clearly mark these products to be property of women. The “light & luscious” tag line offers a specific appeal to a classy woman. The elegance in the design and marketing of these cigarettes makes them appear to be the perfect cigarette for a lady, making her stand out from the crowd.

Zachery Holder
Laura Bennett

Expensive Taste=uniqueness

The author Norman Douglas once said, “You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements.” A significant ideal of American culture has always been the idea of social mobility. America was founded on the idea that a person can rise beyond the circumstances of their birth and reach the highest levels of society. Advertisements of the twenty-first century often reinforce this age-old idea. I have chosen a Venus Jewelry ad for my primary analysis. The ad features a young woman emerging from a pool at what appears to be a palatial resort, being attended to by three servants. It comes from the Venus Jewelry website, whose catchphrase is “Bring out the goddess in you.” This ad is a visual reference to a well-known piece of art, a practice which is becoming more and more common in modern advertising. Many modern advertisements appropriate classic art forms in order to create a desire for wealth and social mobility.
This ad is a visual reference to Boticelli’s “Birth of Venus” (1486). Thus, the ad appropriates the classic image of Venus rising out of the sea and replaces it with a model coming out of a pool. The original painting featured cherubs hovering in midair clothing the naked goddess as she rode out of the ocean. In this ad, the cherubs have been replaced by a pool boy with a towel and a waiter and waitress bearing fruit and drinks. Though not simply a mechanical reproduction of the original painting, this ad still appropriates the overall aesthetic of the painting to convey its message, relying on the aura of the original to create desire within the ad.
Though the ultimate goal of the ad is to sell jewelry, the ad creates a strong desire for class and taste by associating Venus Jewelry with Boticelli’s world-renowned painting. Seminal artworks like “Birth of Venus” are most often associated with the upper echelons of the art world, a world of wealth, taste, and superiority. Thus, the ad is equating Venus Jewelry with not only Botticelli’s painting but with the art world and all of the upper-crust prestige that comes with it. This allows the ad to portray the desire of lower and middle class people to rise to the upper class. But not just the upper class, the highest level of the upper class. Someone with such a personal connection to such an important Botticelli painting would clearly represent the greatest level of culture. Since time immemorial, less “cultured” people have aspired to the top rung of society. It has always been a profoundly American ideal that, no matter who you are, you can leave behind a meagre upbringing and become a beacon of social superiority. This ad leads you to believe that all that is required to reach the top of the social mountain, all you need to do is buy Venus Jewelry.
Appropriating art works into advertisements has become increasingly popular in the twenty-first century. In my second ad, Dolce and Gabbana has dressed a group of models in what appears to be eighteenth century clothing and arranged them in a garden scene. The artistic appropriation of this ad does not come from a specific work of art, but rather from a general group of works. This ad is aesthetically very similar to the innumerable garden scenes and portraits painted in the late seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century.
Just like the previous ad, this ad relies on the aural power of the works of art from which it draws inspiration to create desire. Portraits from the time period this ad represents were essentially the domain of the upper class. Only someone of wealth and importance could afford to have a portrait commissioned. Thus, Dolce and Gabbana is implying in this ad that by wearing their clothing, you will be a person of wealth and importance. Therefore the ad also creates a desire for social mobility. The ad tells us that if we buy Dolce and Gabbana, we have the chance to rise beyond our current social status.
Advertisements in the twenty-first century often appropriate classic art forms to establish desires for social mobility and wealth. Such desires have been the driving force behind consumerism since advertising was invented. Advertisers know exactly how to play up people’s fears and insecurities regarding class issues to keep the money piling up for their clients. It is highly unlikely that the average consumer will break this trend any time soon.

Joseph Otterson
TA: Laura Bennett

Canadian Club Whiskey

The ad I have selected is from a Rolling Stone magazine, and it advertises Canadian Club Whisky. The ad is made out to look very authentic and retro with its grainy pictures and the sort of plain colored text that accompanies it. The photos show fathers in a rock and roll lifestyle. There is an old photo that takes up most of the space on the ad, and it shows a band with the father performing on stage in a suit. Underneath the picture is the text that speaks directly to the reader. To summarize, it says, “Your dad drank Canadian Club Whisky”. Underneath these texts are more old photos of bands and fathers. I think this ad is trying to sell its product by saying that you should follow your dad’s lifestyle, and you can do that by drinking his choice of drink; Canadian Club Whiskey.

The ad is using the technique of speaking to “you” directly. So these pictures of dad’s in a band are supposed to be your father. The pictures and text show the type of lifestyle that your dad had. He was in a rock and roll band, and he “had groupies”. He played solos, and when he drank, he drank Canadian Club on the rocks. The lower left picture shows a dad passed out on a girls lap. That picture suggests drinking and sex, two prominent lifestyles of a rock and roll lifestyle. The picture to the right of that shows a band dressed in hippie clothing with long hair. This gives a whole other feel to that rock and roll lifestyle we all know compared to the big picture at the top. All of these pictures are trying to portray how your dad lived in his generation, and to accompany the lifestyle; his choice of drink was always Canadian Club.
The text’s and fonts in this ad say a lot about the point they are trying to get across. I think they are going for that rugged, traditional manly lifestyle. By saying “He drank cocktails. But not in martini glasses,” they are saying your dad was not a wimp. They say “Damn right your dad drank it” to tell it like there is no doubt about it your father was a hard whiskey drinker. Your father was very popular and sophisticated. “People paid to see him”. The choice to put the text “Canadian Club” in cursive gives the product a classical look to it and suggests that high-class people drink this drink.
The desire being created through this ad is the want to be like your father was. They first do this visually through identifying the type of lifestyle your father had as I explained earlier. This also has an aural sense to it because the period your father lived in while being a rock star relates to this choice of drink giving it traditional value. They use this father son connection to try and evoke a certain stylistic expression that accompanies people who drink this product. If you drink this product, you will, in a sense, live like your father did. You may not become a rock star, but the closest way to follow your father’s lifestyle is by drinking Canadian Club Whiskey.

Another ad by Canadian Club Whiskey uses essentially the same techniques as the first ad for selling its product. However, this ad gives the father a more rugged manly look. The old grainy picture at the top shows the father playing a game of billiards. “He didn’t wheel his luggage, drive an automatic, or drink anything rimmed with sugar.” This text is saying that the father never takes the easy road in life, and to accompany this rugged sophisticated lifestyle of his, he drinks his Canadian Club Whiskey. Both of these ads are using the same techniques to sell their product, but just in slightly different contexts. They are both trying to get you to follow your dad’s lifestyle by drinking this whiskey, but they are just changing the lifestyle that your father has. In one ad, the father is a rock star, in the other he is a rugged, simple, yet sophisticated man.

When a boy grows up, his dad is a big role model to him. He will watch him fix something in the garage with power tools and do all things that give him man-like qualities. All of these things, the boy hopes to do on his own one day. The advertising company knows this, and they use this to their advantage by creating this father-son connection that we all have through their product. They speak directly to the viewer, making it feel like they are important, and that the text has specific relation to just them. You may not be like your father was in so many ways, but one way to be like him is by drinking this whiskey, and that is the main idea and desire that drives this ad.

Kyle Probst
Laura Bennet

California Wishing

Mitchell Keller
TA: Laura Bennett

Advertising guru’s have continually attracted the eyes and ears of the American people with catch phrases, well placed music, comedic satire, and self-questioning. If an ad fails to draw the attention of a targeted individual, it is considered a failure. Hours are spent determining what people buy what products and also what drives these people to buy them. In some regards it may be considered an art, let’s face it; there’s a visual and audio display that often leads to contemplation. Some would argue they are demeaning and treat the American people as idiots or mindless sheep. One company, however, does attempt to take advantage of the fact that people, in some instances, are in fact clueless followers. While I will try to remain unbiased about my opinion of American Eagle Outfitters, it’s obvious its ad campaigns have continually followed a certain structure and often times repeat themes time and time again. The American Eagle Outfitters ad shown below uses young men and woman, the beach, and up-beat-music and text to create desire for friendship, fun and relaxation, and a “no-worries” attitude on life.



In this advertisement the viewers see a group of friends playing Frisbee with a dog on the beach as well as playing volleyball and participating in other physical activities. All of the action is fast paced, and the young adults are constantly smiling. In one moment, a man picks up a girl and carries her into the water, and then they playfully run back to the sand as waves come crashing in. The ad is trying to portray the enjoyment an individual may be experiencing with his or her own friends, or, possibly creating the desire of having these kinds of moments. While the intention may not be to appeal to kids who hang out on the beach all day, it certainly creates the feeling of wanting to have a day on the beach with a golden Labrador and some of your closest allies.

The beach itself holds a strong message for viewers. The area is highly secluded and the only people we see are the four of five friends that came together. Connotatively the beach says “relaxation” and “fun”. Especially considering the massive uprising of “beach life” in today’s young American culture, it seems evident the AE Outfitters ad is jumping on the Orange County bandwagon as well. Sitcoms and clothing stores have, in too many ways, linked together (Hollister does so with MTV’s Laguna Beach) and this ad tries to relate the feelings of relaxation and “easy-goingness”, seen on TV, with the lives of possible customers. Essentially, the advertisement wants its viewers to believe that, while there may not be any warm saltwater oceans in Wisconsin or Wyoming, there are American Eagle Outfitters, and we can all dress in that relaxed beach atmosphere simply by putting on their clothes.

Finally, the beach uses a catchy song and phrases in order to portray the infamous feeling of hakuna matata, or more simply, “no-worries”. The song has a fast and repetitive guitar rift with imperfect and lazy vocals whining on top. The song gives the “driving in the car” kind of feel, or something that would be played when someone is in a more positive or active mood. The lyrics in the song even say, “Well it’s all going to be alright, hanging around, hanging around.” Now, if viewers didn’t get the idea of being easy going and not having a care in the world, the advertisement goes one step further by displaying it in text. With the song still playing, the words: No Cares No Worries. The Day Unfolds, pops onto the screen. Without being redundant, it is quite clear that AE Outfitters is attempting to sell the idea of mental freedom from the problems in our lives. With some “kick back” music and rather blatant text, AE brings in customers believing that the product may bring peace of mind. However, this style of commercial has not been the first time American Eagle Outfitters has used these specific desires as selling points.



When comparing the second commercial (above) with the original, it’s hard to tell a difference. All of the facts from before are present, yet again, in fact, one may find enough evidence to say that it is the same exact beach used in the first ad. We see a group of young adults parading about what looks to be a photo shoot for American Eagle itself. However, we have reason to believe these models really are just friends and see them engaging in sports activities on the beach. Some moments are painfully repetitive, especially when we see another young man lifting up a girl near the water and also witness a man skipping stones into the ocean, another activity the teens engaged in for the first ad. Finally, another active and upbeat song is played in the background with the same style of disjointed vocals as the original.

While it may be easy to pick on American Eagle for the repetition, it can be witnessed in other campaigns as well. These two are simply easy examples of the methods use by advertisers today. It shows a great amount of the redundancy in these ads and leads me, as a viewer, to assume that it must actually be working. For some it’s easy to look past the obvious implications in the ad but for me I simply see the selling of a lifestyle that has been completely fabricated by sitcoms. So ironically, people are buying into a life that isn’t even real, but instead an exaggerated representation of what life on the coast is actually like. Yet, the longer this notion survives the more people tend to adapt the lifestyle, despite it’s fallacy. So with a thumbs up from writers and directors of these sitcoms, American Eagle Outfitters continues to sell California desires with attractive people, the ocean, and music.

Music Without Limits

Andrew Megow

Music should not be just a tool for conforming and fitting in with the norm. Music should be free to do as it pleases and have limitless possibilities, and music without limits is what the company Rhapsody claims to provide. The commercial ad that I have chosen is for a website company that advertises the selection of over one million songs wherever we are, and whenever we want, with genre after genre of music to fill all of your music needs. The idea that we now have all this freedom of music has come into the advertising companies' minds and they're selling yet again. It is hard to realize we are merely conforming now through being an individual, listening to different genres of music, and the desire to choose what best fit our personalities.
The ad that I've picked is a commercial on the internet and television which features a woman on the roof of a building in Manhattan. The sound we hear is the usual ambience of the city streets below, nothing special. As she looks down she notices several large bubbles floating amongst the skyscrapers. With a look of confidence in her eyes she leaps from the building and the closer she gets to a bubble, the closer music starts to be apparent amongst the bubbles. Landing safely into one of these majestic bubbles the woman is entranced by the "wall of sound" the bubble features inside. The particular song is a R&B song entitled "Squeeze Me" by the band Kraak & Smaak, which has a funky beat that delights the woman. After a while she presumedly gets bored and falls out of the bubble into another bubble passing by. The bubble has the same feature, a surrounding wall of sound, only this bubble features the alternative pop rock music of David Bowie's "Sound & Vision". It ends with the bubble rising into the sky along with several other bubbles each containing their own person bewildered by the sound inside. The ad kept up with me displaying the websites affection for the individual up until that last scene where it was apparent the women wasn't the only one who knew of the website or in her case, had their own bubble. The idea of individuality is apparently not what the ad is aiming for, by showing other people with their own bubbles. How can one impress others if we're all the same?
In the 20th century, we were told what to wear. We were told what to listen to and symbolically, what to think. During the late 20th century it was well known people were fed up with the idea of conformity, so the idea of one single person, or an individual taking a stand in front of all the popularity of conforming, was a real shocking and rebellious thing for the time. We have one big difference between the early 20th century and the present, and that is choices. So many products are offered to us via the television and internet and other selling devices and through all those millions of choices it was now possible to represent yourself as an independent person and feel good for possessing an identity. For a few brief moments the individual was king of the world rebelling against everything advertisers stood for, until the advertisers got smart. Advertisers began to promote the idea of having hundreds of millions of choices and these choices are brought to us with the courtesy of such companies. In my ad, Rhapsody's goal is to give you millions of songs through Rhapsody with songs of different genres and styles. The actual song may not be owned by Rhapsody but in a way you are listening through rhapsody. Choices are represented in the commercial through the woman's action to jump from bubble to bubble. If each bubble is unique in it's own way, then it is possible to change bubbles if boredom shall arise.
Apple Dictionary defines the word "Desire" as "A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen." Dreams are desires and dreams can be a sense of fantasy and wonder. The ad of which I picked depict the scenario of being able to leap off of tall buildings and land in bubbles that we may be able to hover above the streets of a city. It is no argument that this thrilling, exciting, wonderful idea would be an experience of a lifetime, so it's no wonder that most people would find this commercial overwhelmingly appealing. Therefore it is no surprise when imagery stays in our self conscious and we think back to Rhapsody and it's magical bubbles. Overall I feel the desire it's trying to reach to us is the idea that we all want music that excites and inspires us to do great things. With the freedom of music you could almost do anything, and never be afraid to turn down certain oppurtunities. No one in their right mind would jump off a building in order to get in a bubble, but with the freedom of all music just a click away, dreams will become reality. Dreams reflect on our personalities and if a particular person is not into the whole "dream" escape scenario of commercial, never fear, Rhapsody's second commercial gives the comfort of choice we all share.
The second ad of which I speak is not visually pleasing in terms of imagery, whereas the latter of which I spoke was. My second ad is a more informative commercial for Rhapsody which promotes the freedom of choice. The one million songs concept is still present but now through Rhapsody we have the ability to listen to the songs we want wherever we want. It goes on to list the certain locations where we might listen to Rhapsody whether it be the house, the car, or your ex-grilfriends house, but wherever you go, Rhapsody can be with you at all times. There seems to be a sense of security being brought to us via Rhapsody and it just feels like there's nothing to worry about, because the company has got you covered.
As we look at the overall feel of Rhapsody I will admit I don't see it a threat to my psyche nor my sense of intelligence, I find Rhapsody to be innocent at most and think it is just trying to stay alive with the rest of the music websites. It's something never quite thought of when some analyses one music website that they are merely conforming to the other websites that offer one million songs and different genres and styles. All claim to be the ONE site that will offer many DIFFERENT genres of music that best fit YOUR personality, and these philosophies are fought between the companies and chain down to the public in the run of things. Is one website better than the other? Most people would say yes but to me, I feel there's a little bias there. Conforming is the name of the game and I feel the majority of the websites are the same. They just have different wallpaper backgrounds.

TA Laura Bennett

My first Ad:


My Second Ad:

"Spray more, Get more"

Chris Schasse
TA: Laura Bennett



This commercial starts out with someone running through the woods, which right away captivates the viewer, setting them up for some kind of epic drama. Then it shows that the person running is a very athletic, muscular and skinny woman in a bikini, with a very determined look on her face, as if she were hunting something. The rest of the commercial is various other women, depicted like the first, all seeming to hunt the same thing, competing in the race to get there. Finally, they show what the woman are running towards, which is an average man, depicted as a god, spraying two cans of axe all over his body with a huge smile on his face. This commercial is doing something very interesting. It is sets up all the women as very strong and athletic and determined. But it is sets up this man as, through the power of this bottle, having power over these women. It is giving the viewer (a male) a desire to have many 'hot,' athletic woman flock to them by simply spraying a bottle.

The first thing this ad does is creates an "epic" mood; "epic" as has been defined over the years by Hollywood. They start out with just the footsteps of someone running, and go to show a woman standing tall in a forest as the music slowly fades in. The music I could best describe as the "screaming monks" genre, and gives this commercial a very spiritual aspect to it. The quick cuts and the good form of the women running and the first woman looking back constantly contribute to this "epic" feel. Chase sequences like this have been, since popularized in the 1920s by D.W. Wright, the most suspense and dramatic sequences in film. The woman is then joined with more women, and the camera keeps cutting from close-ups of individual woman (all depicted as strong and skinny) to long shots and extreme long shots showing the vast amount of women, all running in the same direction with the same determination. This is a technique of cutting from close ups to extreme long shots was again perfected by D.W. Wright back in the 1920s. The music builds through the whole commercial and climaxes at the very end.

It is interesting that the women in this commercial are depicted as strong and independent. This is a contrast from the 50s when woman were depicted as nice, submissive housewives or as conformists as with the dames. But the women in this commercial are all very diverse and of different ethnic groups. The fact that the "desired woman" has made such a switch since the 1950s is mostly because of the large feminist movement that has happened over the last century. But the women in this commercial, though depicted as very strong and individualistic, are put under a kind of "trance" by this man, and are perusing him with all their abilities because of their desire for him. So this man, who is not depicted as extraordinarily strong, has power over these multitudes of beautiful, sexy, and strong woman, all because of two bottles of Axe Body Spray.



This second commercial (Also by Axe) shows another phenomenon that is subtler in the first commercial. The man is walking around, seeing beautiful women walk by him, and undressing them with his eyes (the second time he looks at them they appear in a bikini). Each time he smiles at them and gets nothing back from them. Then, in a supermarket, he quickly sprays some Axe Bullet on himself and walks past one of the women he was previously undressing with his eyes. The woman stops and looks back at him, depicting the man in a leopard speedo (inferring that SHE had undressed HIM with his eyes.

What the second Axe commercial is creating is a desire much more subtle in the first commercial: the desire for a man to have a woman look at him the same way he looks at her. The man wants the woman to want him as much, or more, than he wants her. The man wants to be in control of the woman through this desire, and he wants to be in control of the strongest, most athletic, most confident and smoking hot babe (or, in the first ads case, multiple ones).

It is also very interesting how the men in both these commercials are depicted. They are not depicted as extraordinarily strong or very confident or well put together. They seem like pretty average dudes. But these average dudes become something greater when they spray the contents of this bottle all over them. The man in the first commercial is depicted as a man who has stumbled upon a magic bottle that makes him a god (this is shown by the way the light comes from above him in the very last shot, and the way he sprays the bottles, and his overall demeanor). The man in the second commercial is depicted, after spraying this bottle, as a pimp or a playboy, or someone who woman desire.

So, to bring this all together, these commercials depict the "desired" woman as strong, confident and individualistic, differing from the 1950s when they were depicted as submissive cookie-cutter conformists. But what these commercials do is tell the viewer (a male) that their product has the power to harness these beasts, to control them, so that they only submit to you. This fulfills the desire in men to be strong (by having a strong woman submit to them). Through these commercials, Axe is indirectly saying "Our body spray will make you desirable, and not only that, it will make you strong and confident, and not only that, it will make you a god in which woman flock to and worship.” The real question is if these commercials are more offensive to men or to woman, or if it is just offensive to society in general, or if they are sincerely good commercials, since Axe Body Spray is the most sold body spray, and the movie Idiocracy was a good prediction of the future of our society.

First Post!!!

Yeah! Now you're all goona conform to my individuality, because I have the first post!