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.
No comments:
Post a Comment