Alcohol abuse in teenagers is a serious problem. Before graduating high school, students will spend about 18,000 hours in front of the television—more time than they will spend in school. During this time they will watch about 2,000 alcohol commercials on television each year. Alcohol advertisements reach youth not only through television, but also through other varied media, such as billboards, magazines, sports stadium signs, and on mass transit such as subway systems. In all, youth view 45% more beer ads and 27% more liquor ads in magazines than do people of legal drinking age.
This is a commercial advertisement of Bacardi. How attractive are the alcohol advertisements to teenagers? What elements in the advertisements do teenagers find the most attractive? How can we eliminate the negative influences of alcohol advertisement on teenagers?
Blog prompt #1: As we discussed today in class, women are used throughout advertising to help gain the attention of the viewer. The "Sex Sells Sex" article said, "traditional notions of femininity and heterosexuality is a critical sales strategy". The woman seen in the advertisement at first does not seem feminine because she is engaging in an arm wrestling match. However, when approached by a new opponent, she distracts him by means of caressing her foot along his leg to his upper thigh, allowing her to beat him. Clearly, this is a blatant sexual act. With the contrast of a masculine event like arm wrestling and the femininity of the attractive young woman, what do you think the intention the producers were?
ReplyDeleteI think the use of the blatant sexual act in this advertisement wants to let viewers establish a connection between this brand alcohol and sex. It implies viewers that Bacardi can make you find hot girls/men. That is my own opinion.
DeleteMost of the alcohol advertisements that are seen in the media show someone who's fierce, similar to the lady in this commercial. From what I see, fierce people deserve a strong liquor, like Bicardi. A naive teenager could see this advertisement and want to imitate them because of the image. Who wouldn't want to be considered a tenacious person as well as someone who is congratulated by everyone around? It's true that by presenting these advertisements to teenagers, they are more likely to imitate the people they see. It's difficult to block these images whether putting a parental lock on a television or restricting their internet access. There is always a way for them to gain access to these broadcasts without hesitation.
ReplyDeleteIn order to be successful, any advertisement, including one for alcohol, needs to have multiple factors that appeal to the viewers. Here, there are several things teenage viewers are meant to "assume" about the product. Firstly,the man drinking the product is portrayed to be a 'mans man'. He is shown to be very muscular, popular, and from the way he dresses well off, if not rich. All these aspects appeal to the younger viewers as things they want to achieve, and the product as a way to do just that.
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