Advertising in the Modern Era

1.0 – Introduction Ads.

Short for advertisements, they conquer the modern world, seen on televisions, heard on radios and glanced at on roads and highways. The following assignment will attempt to cover the techniques and tactics used by advertising agencies and companies to persuade a person to purchase a product, which is the main intention of the world-wide advertising scheme of the 21st century. Two ads will reviewed, both advertising separate alcohol companies, one being beer, and the other one being tequila. Using these two separate ads, the report will compare, analyse and contrast the two ads effectiveness in the advertising world.2.

0 – Descriptions Obviously in order for an advertisement to be successful, it needs to be appealing, and this is sometimes achieved simply by the visual layout of the ad. The first beer ad advertises Tuborg premium beer, whereas the second ad displays ‘Jose Cuervo Especial’, a type of Mexican tequila. While the Tuborg ad is presented on a black background with green acting as the primal colour of the ad, the tequila shows off a black and white background, with the actual product highlighted with an outstanding yellowish gold colour and a slogan ‘Pursue your Daydreams’. A similarity with the ads, is that they both show the genuine product (the actual standard beer and tequila that can be purchased) as well as showing both the product and company name on the two bottles.

However, not only are both ads completely different in colours, they both contain different symbolism. The Tuborg ad uses the feature film ‘Lord of the Rings’ as a reference with its slogan ‘Lord of the Drinks’, whereas the Tequila advertisement doesn’t opt for the witty symbolism, but instead a happy, fun vibe which implies to the buyer that this happiness results from consuming the product. The tequila also uses real people to its advantage, instead of the beer advertisement which uses extreme special effects. A logo and slogan are used on both ads, but the picture is the main focus of the visuals.3.0 – Analysis4.

1 – Appeals As already mentioned, both ads are advertising two different alcoholic beverages. The beer ad uses the movie ‘Lord of the Rings’ as a reference, and very cleverly uses it as a persuasive tool. The advertisers clearly not only want people to automatically assume Tuborg is ‘King of the Drinks’ and therefore better than all others, but also want it to be heavily associated with the movie phenomenon ‘Lord of the Rings’. This is effective because customers (especially fans) will relate the beer to the movie, and a simple relationship between the product and the buyer is established. The Tequila ad simply attempts to relate the product with happiness, and uses a very basic technique. The picture shows a man and a woman both laughing and smiling and when this occurs, it is seen as though it is as a result of consuming the product, and automatically appeals to anyone eligible to purchase the product.

4.2 – Target Audience The obvious target audiences for both these products are adults above the age of 18 who drink alcohol. Both males and females who are adults are generally the people who would be purchasing both of the products. For the beer ad a typical male movie is referred to, which could suggest that the beer, which is also a typical male drink, is mainly aimed at a male audience. However, the Jose Cuervo advertisement contains a male and a female, which could suggest that the target audience is both males and females. The drink in this advertisement is also tequila, which isn’t typically known for being favoured by one sex.

4.3 – Representations A general representation of the beer ad is that of predominantly men, where as the tequila ad represents any adult who enjoys drinking that type of liquor. Men are generally represented to enjoy action/fantasy movies such as ‘Lord of the Rings’, so Tuborg has made a product that not only already appeals to men, but appeals just that little bit more with the integration of relating to the movie. Men and women ultimately want to be happy, and Jose Cuervo Tequila has also represented this on their product, appealing to both sexes. Interestingly enough, the tequila ad represents the target audience as wanting to have fun and enjoy themselves, and also spurs the customer on with the slogan ‘Pursue your Daydreams’, suggesting the only way to achieve your dreams is to purchase the product.

The beer ad on the other hand represents a stereotypical male who wants ‘the best’ of everything. The Tuborg ad has the slogan ‘Lord of the Drinks’, suggesting that the only way to have the best beer is to buy that beverage.4.4 – Language and Visual choices The two ads contain two very different layouts, the beer ad using a redundancy of dark colours, and the tequila ad using softer and warmer colours. The beer ad symbolises the front cover of ‘Lord of the Rings’ and uses a depressing colour of black as a background, but the bright green colour of the beers spanning across the advertisement captures the eyes, and suggests a restful, refreshing and pleasant alternative.

This may suggest the beer as being some sort of ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, and also makes it the stand out object of the ad. The tequila uses a neutral grey picture, but at the bottom reveals the drink that is highlighted with a cheerful and stimulating yellow/gold colour which gives off a sense of warmth. This is automatically appealing to any customer, especially since the rest of the ad is grey, and the drink may be the ‘solution’.4.

5 – Positioning and view of the World The view of the world presented in these ads are very different from one another. The beer ad presents that there is a solution, and that there is a drink out there that reigns supreme as being the ‘Lord of the Drinks’. This may even stop the customer from thinking twice, and just buying the beer because it’s the ‘best’. The tequila ad however, presents the world as maybe a little bit dull, but the cheerful taste of Jose Cuervo tequila brightens up the world, and is the solution to happiness.

When the advertiser can successfully position the consumer into thinking that the product is a solution (which both ads suggest), then it is easy to sell the product to the average person. With the two overwhelming slogans of both ads, the viewer is easily positioned to accept that both drinks are essential. The tequila being essential for happiness, and the beer being essential if you want the best beer that there is.5.0 – Conclusion Both advertisements use visual features, catchy slogans and effective pictures to put the viewer in a position where they feel obligated to purchase the product.

For the Tuborg beer ad it was a simple case of getting the message across to the customer that Tuborg premium beer was the best, and they also used a typical male movie as a reference to create even more appeal. The tequila ad uses a grey background, with a yellow product to symbolise that the drink is essential to hapiness. It does this also by adding two extremely happy people to ad, inferring that the reason they are happy is because they purchased the product. The advertisers in both cases use effective methods to appeal to the public and positively advertise their product.