Absolut Impotence

The first thing that came to my mind is Absolut comic. The ad cleverly uses a quote from Shakespeare of how “Drink provokes the desire but takes away the performance.” The crumpled bottle relating to impotence allows the viewer to not understand the spoof ad mentally, but visually as well. It applies many rhetoric strategies to not only show negatives to drinking to the viewer, but does it in a manner where the viewer will remember. One, the ad uses strategies that implies persuasion in a ‘logos’ logical fashion. Drinking surely does create less performance when consumed, but no one take it to heart. When we are able to visually see a crumpled bottle, we are able to understand on a visual note. We are also able to see the ad speaking to us on an emotional ‘ethos’ note as well. We are all familiar with the advertisement showing the Absolut Vodka bottle. Majority of the commercials for this product features scenes and images of enjoyment and excitement. The irony in this parody creates an emotional touch that is so contradictory to the original, that it creates a humorous note. This laughter influences and persuades us on an emotional note. While the ad seems merely humorous, the message within seems to have a harder punch. Drinking is always what our society considers a good social event. Yet, hidden within, are possible outcomes of many negatives. We know that drinking can lead to addiction, abuse, death (drinking and driving) and impotence as well. Yet, the way these negatives are delivered never sticks to us; it’s always on a long boring column, or never emphasized too well. Yet, this ad that we are so familiar to was twisted in a contradicting way, and it reaches to us the way that the original ad reached to us. The influence of this new ad seems more influential than any other way it was proposed before.