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