Creative Director of Ad: Randy Rohn
Published: Bardstown, Kentucky
Year: Unknown. Before 2009.
Denotative Examination: This picture displays three key visual elements. On the left, the audience of this visual sees a somewhat unattractive and awkward girl. The image is in black and white. The girl's smile also appears to be forced and unnatural. On the right the audience sees the same girl seven years older. The girl in this image is not wearing much clothing and is much more sexual than the one on the left. She also appears to be very confident. Her facial features are more model like and fierce. The image is in color. In the center of the advertisement is a bottle of Evan Williams Bourbon. This is an alcoholic beverage which is aged 7 years before it is placed on the market.
Connotative Examination: The black and white color scheme used in the image on the left gives a reserved and safe appearance. To contrast this, the image on the right in color has a more adventurous and wild vibe. The contrast in color scheme is also used to create a distinction between the times that these images were taken. Black and white is typically seen in older photographs and films whereas color is a newer and more exciting development. The Evan Williams brand prides itself on the maturity of its Bourbon and the fact that it is aged 7 years. The maturity of the Bourbon is what makes it taste so good. That exquisite taste is worth the 7 year wait. Similarly, a women also betters with maturity. Women become more attractive and sexual. The words located near the woman's stomach say "The longer you wait, the better it gets." This phrase is being used to describe both the bourbon and the girl.
The Deadly sins portrayed in this advertisement include lust and gluttony. Lust is portrayed in this Ad through the girl on the right and her over sexualized image. The inclusion of this provocative image is to make girls viewing the ad want to be like her and to make boys viewing the ad want a girl like her. Gluttony is described as "over-indulgence" and "excessive to the point of waste." It is important to also consider that Christians find withholding food or beverage from those in need to also be a sin. In the advertisement the bourbon is being with held from the public for 7 years, considered to be an excessive amount of time by some. The over consumption of alcohol is also considered to be gluttony. The advertisement is aimed at selling alcohol and doesn't warn audiences about the over consumption of alcohol.
The intended audience of this advertisement is men and women above of legal drinking age. Women are targeted with the lure of maturity that the advertisement claims that the drink brings. Men are targeted with the sexual lure of the women in the advertisement. The advertisement is targeted to people of a middle class economic background. Evan William's Bourbon is priced at around $15-$20 for a fifth. Not the cheapest liquor in the world but also not the most expensive. I would say the target age range ranges from late twenties to upper thirties because of the emphasize on the product's maturity. The audience's cultural knowledge is probably more party based and focused on having a good time.
Mass media uses lust and sex to sell this product. The use of language in the advertisement also has an impact on the audience. People want a more mature alcoholic beverage because it is supposed to taste better and make one appear to be more mature when drinking the beverage. I think it's interesting that this ad focuses on the benefits of aging instead of the negatives. In society today, many want to avoid aging. Nobody wants wrinkles or to appear too old. Of course it is also important to note that the girl in the advertisement is only aging 7 years. She is most likely aging from her teenage years to her early twenties which is when one is considered to be in their prime physical condition.
I liked the way you commented on both lust and gluttony in your post. Also, the analyzing of the color was really interesting. I never thought about how the color would bring forth the idea of a "better" reality or situation.
ReplyDeleteI find this ad really intriguing actually, mostly because of one of your last comments. You point out that our society normally sees aging as "bad," and the first time I saw this ad, I immediately thought "the longer you wait, the better it gets" was not quite the best slogan for a lustful ad considering most of the intended audience don't find the elderly sexually appealing. I also see what they were trying to do with the use of color; however, I think the picture on the left looks like it was taken from a time long before the picture on the right, making the ad unrealistic as the girl would be much older. This also makes me think about how visual our society is and how we value things such as photographs based on their color and clarity, things that are more eccentric. This serves as a metaphorical representation of our society compared to the ones before us: we have a need for overdone, extravagant things whereas our ancestors are content with what's not "perfect," such as a grainy black-and-white photo. This also makes me wonder whether this ad would be effective on people from past generations.
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