Word Picture

Nick Tong
English 113A
Professor Lawson
Date: October 8, 2014
Word count: 313
This advertisement provides an image of a very popular and ubiquitous glass bottled product
with its red bottle cap and its white-word red label that is well-known and consumed worldwide. Yet,
one's immediate attention is drawn to the picture showing a distorted, bulging, wobbly contour glass
bottle with the highly recognizable dark brownish sweet liquid inside. What is eye-catching is the stark
white background with this grotesque looking contorted dark ominous brownish bottle. Two labels
next to the dark bottle on the cover raised a direct question - Would You Believe I'm Just Big-Boned?
and a comment in smaller black print that 'the company' finally admits it has a fat problem and a
plan to fix it. This obviously doubtful message is reinforced with the words in red and white color
background that is the total reverse of the company's renowned color logo and label. The bigger
question raised in the reader's mind is whether the company is telling the truth and will behave as
promised like a good corporate citizen or is it lying through this deceptive denial and trying to absolve
itself in the consumers' subliminal minds.
This advertisement is on the front cover of a recent popular business magazine showing
distinctively and intuitively the dichotomy between public health and corporate irresponsibility in the
pursuit of profits. It implicates a well-known global company being a big culprit in making people fat
and unhealthy in their battle of the bulge. This is a very catching and clever advertisement to sell
magazines; but more importantly, it is the magazine's corporate responsibility to expose a serious
corporate malfeasance and deception and to impart to its potential readers instinctively that egregious
wrongs can be done by one of the oldest, most trusted and recognizable brand name in American
business.