SKYY Vodka

by: Amanda Roudabush and Judith Cooley

SKYY vodka sells the idea of luxury through their print advertisements. The argument is whether or not you have to be rich and famous to enjoy the liquid luxury of SKYY vodka.

SKYY Vodka
Rhetoric is practical; its purpose is to effect the audience. The message of the ad can thus be analyzed as a piece of rhetoric and its veracity measured according to its epistemic principles to which to which the message should adhere. (Gunnar Andrn, the rhetoric of advertising)

Rhetorical Appeal and Argument

Ethos- the Vodka is asserting its credibility by showing the finer things , the city scape, expensive shoes; this all supports SKYYs claim that only the finest people drink SKYY. If you drink it you will become luxurious. Pathos- this ad appeals to the emotional side because when you see nice things you want them. From this ad we get the feeling this particular woman is living the good life. She has money, fashion sense, and is attractive all because she drinks SKYY vodka.

Bandwagon- implies that all the rich people are drinking Skyy, you should too.

Gestalt Theory
The sky line is a vanishing point. Her legs make a Z pattern, we follow them from the knee, to her raised foot, to her planted foot which leads us to the bottle as our ending point. The reflection of her shoe, mirrors the reflection of light in the SKYY bottle. Law of closure: although we cant see the woman, and although we cant see the whole bridge and city we still know that is what they are. Law of Invariance: we know that the bottle, legs, and city are all out of proportion yet in this add it does not detract from the appeal. Size- because the city scape is small in relation to the bottle and legs we assume by drinking SKYY you will be living large. The Mercedes-Benz: Fashion Week in the last quadrant (rule of thirds) also helps add to the glamorous idea.

Rhetorical Appeal and Argument

Pathos- it appeals to the emotional because humans, usually like whats good for them, so the real lemon makes us think its good for us.

Ethos- because the lemon is present in the picture it not only involves a natural element, but once again reaffirms the good for you aspect.
False analogy- because SKYYs citrus flavor tastes like real fruit it must be good for you, like real fruit is. But is SKKY Infusions Citrus really made from real lemons or just lemon flavoring? The ad makes us believe it is real juice. when this product is the best means for the satisfaction of some legitimate need or wish, and when the reasons given for buying the item are correct- then we will say that the advertisement is truthful. (Gunnar Andrn, the rhetoric of advertising)

Gestalt Theory
This is the most understated Skyy ad, it supports our thesis that anyone can drink sky to be luxurious, it is not a drink for only the elites. Law of simplicity: only a lemon, foot, and bottle make up this add yet it still works. Law of closure: the leg is cut off as is the bottle. Dynamic equilibrium: although the leg and bottle are not the same size the bottle is far enough away it balances the photo. Line- the heel of the shoe lands on the lemon forcing the viewer to understand, this is citrus flavored. It is almost as if you follow the heel of her foot back up to the Skyy label. Color- even though the bottle takes the back seat in this photo Skyy still pops because light colors come forward while dark recedes, illustrating the law of emergence.

Argument of Passion for Perfection

This ad is a sweeping generalization, the Inductive reasoning is that if you have a Passion for Perfection, then you drink SKYY vodka. The Over-Simplification of this ads wording leaves the viewer wanting to know more. The typical viewer might say, I have a passion for perfection, but what does that have to do with me drinking SKYY vodka? What makes SKYY vodka perfection? The main argument is that SKYY vodka is selling an ideal. In particular, their ideal of perfection. SKYY clearly defines perfection in a leggy model type who goes out to parties and only drinks SKYY vodka because no other vodka will satisfy her passion for perfection. This argument isnt based on fact but the Bandwagon approach seems to be working.

Rhetorical Appeal
The ad could be hinting at Logos but what it is really achieving is Pathos. SKYY wants to appeal to the logical side of their consumers, SKYY is perfection but they are really appealing to the emotional pathos. The Pathos displayed in the ad makes us think of a feeling or and emotion we as the viewer have had. The color blue makes us feel calm and lends itself to the feeling of safety and comfort. We remember that fun night when we were in our favorite cocktail dress or suit and the world seemed perfect. We might have been drinking SKYY but we cant remember. All we know is that we will drink SKYY to get that feeling again.

Gestalt Theory
The focal point of this image is the tower of glasses and the woman walking in front of them. We see the impact zone where Passion for Perfection crosses the grid lines. This emphasizes that SKYY vodka is the epitome of Passion for Perfection, amongst those who crave a sophisticated vodka. Relevance is important in this ad because there are some true statements contained within the image. SKYY vodka as a company has a passion for making the perfect vodka. This ad is vertically symmetrical. The grids of thee image go from the left with the tag line, to the center image of luxury, and end with the large bottle. These grids help to balance out the image. Value and Color are used to represent a cool environment. The light and dark blue color and corresponding gradations make you feel relaxed and maybe like you too can be cool enough to drink SKYY vodka.

Rhetorical Appeal and Argument

The argument in this image is that the luxury of owning your own jet comes with the benefits of drinking only the best vodka. SKYY vodka is thus equated to the lifestyle of the rich and famous. The syllogism here is really an enthymeme because we are missing part of the argument being presented. We have already assumed the wealth of the Woman and now we are led to assume that only the wealthy drink SKKY vodka. This ad appeals to pathos because it is preying on the emotional side of the viewer. Who doesnt want to live in the lap of luxury? Well if you want to be rich drink SKYY vodka and you too can feel like a million bucks. This ad also offers us a Hasty Generalization, we are not given any evidence that all women in white get off their private jets and have a SKYY vodka martini waiting for them.

Gestalt Theory
The Harmony of this image is evident in the similar color patterns, scale and overall design. The white and tan work together to make the scale seem proportionate rather than a vast difference in sizes. The overall design is balanced as well which makes the image appealing to the eye. The Persuasive design helps the viewer to move smoothly and easily through this image to understand the message. The clear Z pattern starts at the top left and the plane, goes down the railing, back to the left then lands on the outreached hand with the bottle of SKYY vodka. The Size of the various elements reinforce the message we see. The sand dunes recede while the woman walking down the stairs comes forward, but the bottle of SKYY vodka is popping out even more than the woman. The SKYY bottle is the emerging element in the overall image

Conclusion
SKYY vodka uses sex and dynamic backgrounds to sell their product. They persuade the consumer to buy into the life of luxury that they are selling.
The art of finding (or observing) in any given situation the available means of persuasion. -Aristotle SKYY vodka uses visually stimulating ads to show the consumer that they to can be rich and elegant. All they have to do is DRINK SKKY vodka!

Advertisement Sources
1. SKYY Vodka becomes an official sponsor of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2013 Collections, www.theevent.co.za, www.opusbeauty.com 2. Skyy Infusions Citrus 2008 magazine print ad, vodka , www.popsop.com

3. SKYY vodka Passion for Perfection campaign, 2012, www.msn.juiceonline.com

4. SKYY VODKA (#43 "DUBAI") (sexy legs) -- 2007 Magazine Print Ad, www.kootation.com Where would SKYY ads be found-Cosmopolitan and Maxim