The advertising of alcohol

Ahh... school projects. Don't we just love the way all our teachers starts handing them out to us like free chocolate slabs...


Yeah right! So I was quite surprised when I we received the english projects to find that I was very excited for the assignment ahead. I have a really brilliant team: Rayne, Kristen, Saarah and Hannah. I really am eager to work with them, knowing our final presentation will be amazing.

Our task is to look at advertising and critisize it, analyse it and look at it from a new perspective. We have chosen alcohol as our focus and will be looking at the history of alcohol advertising during the 80's and 90's.

Our group met together one Saturday and looked at various brands and companies of alcohol. We distinguished the different marketing strategies of each. I was particularly interested in the Abosolut Vodka advertsements, as they attract their target market by encompassing an idea, emotion, place or time in the bottle in their adverts. Basically they are selling a lifestyle and the message is that these lifestyles go along with the brand: Absolut Vodka. This marketing strategy appeals to a broad market as it attracts everyone from bookworms (Abosout Book) to musicians (Absolu Rock). As interesting as that may sound, I came across some that confounded me: Absolut Clarity for one. I mean, how on earth can you have clarity while drinking an alcoholic beverage like vodka? I laugh at the irony of it all.

This is the type of thing that people are brainwashed with everyday: it is okay to drink alcohol because it makes you like those rich, fabulous people in all those funny made-up advertisements. WAKE-UP PEOPLE! Those fabulous people are actors who are paid to pretend that they are happy, successful people to fool you, the consumer into buying products you don't need. No, you don't need alcohol - you won't die without it but there is certainly a better chance of you dying a younger death with it.

So over the next few weeks I will be blogging, or rather, complaining about alcohol advertising that I see around me in the media or during research. In this way I will constantly update my research on the project and blog about my progress too.

But for now: I have Maths homework to do.

Ciao: Laylah Ryklief