Suzanna Wright, Assignment 3: Analysis of an Advertisement

Denotative Reading

This image advertisement presents three figures in a large, white room.

The camera is positioned so that the figures are small relative to the size of the

room. The room’s sparse furniture includes one beige armchair with a green

pillow, one white circular rug and two white fireplaces. The fireplace in the centre

of the image displays a white statuette, perhaps a small winged gargoyle, on the

right side of the mantle. The fireplace is detailed in white moulding and it is

empty. The fireplace on the left side of the room is cut-off in the photograph but

we can make out another small ornament, maybe a picture frame with a yellow

shape inside, on the mantle’s right side. Both fireplaces have a glossy, slightly

reflective base. The floor is creamy and matte. The walls are covered in white

wallpaper with a delicate silver pattern. There are white mouldings at the bottom

and at the top, where the wall meets a flat white ceiling. To the right of the

fireplace, on the wall facing the viewer, is a small white picture frame depicting a

gray-ish form. On the adjacent wall, on the far right side of the image, is a

window. The window is multi-paned on a white frame. There is nothing visible

outside of the window. Several white boxes enter the room, barely touching the

frontal wall. Three are closed and one is open, its contents indistinguishable in

the shadows. The main room in which the viewer is placed is light in value and

evenly lit. The hallway that contains the boxes is slightly darker. Vertically

centred and horizontally to the left are the three figures. The furthest left is a

small, seated brown dog with a curly tail, a black snout and dark ears. It appears

to be a slim pug. In the middle stands a man with short ruffled dark hair and a

1
 Suzanna Wright, Assignment 3: Analysis of an Advertisement

Caucasian skin tone. He is wearing a peach-pink dress shirt, a pale green

cardigan with a hint of argyle pattern, grey slacks and black dress shoes. His

abdomen is round and protruding, suggesting that he is pregnant. His legs are

slightly spread and one of his arms holds his lower back, while the other holds a

woman’s hand. The woman is the furthest right of the figures. She is lean and

has wavy blond hair that reaches past her shoulders. She is wearing a thick

necklace, sheer grey stockings, grey stiletto-healed shoes, and a black dress that

has thin straps, a form fitting mid-section, and a pleated skirt that reaches her

knees. Her neck is slightly angled and she is smiling brightly. Her legs are

together and one of her hands rests lightly on her hip, while the other holds the

man’s hand. Each of these figures is looking directly at the viewer. On the bottom

right side of the image, white capital block font spells, “IN AN ABSOLUT

WORLD”. To the right of the words, in the extreme bottom-right corner of the

image, is a bottle of Absolut Vodka. The bottle is translucent and reflects on the

floor below it. High on the left side of the bottle, in smaller white capital block font,

is the word “THE”. If you include the text (blue capital block font) on the label of

the vodka, this line would read, “THE ABSOLUT VODKA”.

Connotative Reading

This image can be connotatively read as a posed photograph of a young

family moving into their new (perhaps first?) home. The room is sparse, perhaps,

because the couple has not moved all of their furniture in yet. The minimal décor

and dirt-free living space connotes the idea of cleanliness. This cleanliness is

2
 Suzanna Wright, Assignment 3: Analysis of an Advertisement

emphasized with the overwhelming use of white, for any speck of dust and dirt is

magnified on a white surface. The man and woman appear to be at ease with

one another as they are standing close together and holding hands, which

signifies that they are in a serious relationship such as marriage (though no

wedding bands are evident). Another indicator of their relationship is the dog,

which is traditionally a symbol of fidelity in Western art. The viewer can also

connote that they are a young couple early on in their relationship because of

their apparent lack of children with the exception of the one growing inside the

father’s abdomen. A second clue to this claim is the dog, for in our Western

culture, couples often care for pets together before committing to a child. A third

clue is the lack of picture frames and trinkets on the mantel. A growing family

often collects mementos such as photographs, cards and children’s crafts and

displays them on such surfaces. The couple also appears young because their

skin is smooth, their hair is not grey/white, and they are standing relatively

upright. The man’s outfit (dress shirt, cardigan, slacks) connotes a conservative

or preppy style. Other men that come to mind who may wear an outfit like this

include professors, fathers and Fred Rogers on Mister Rogers’ Neighbourhood.

The woman’s outfit (necklace, slinky dress, stockings, high heels) connotes the

image of a stylish partygoer. A Western viewer may be able to imagine her

laughing charmingly at an art opening or cocktail party. Both of the couple’s

outfits, as well as their tidy personal grooming, suggest that they are financially

well off in an upper-middle class. Their status can also be interpreted through

their spacious new house. This home signifies to be new because it is clean and

3
 Suzanna Wright, Assignment 3: Analysis of an Advertisement

unmarked. The floor is free of stains and the walls and furniture are scuff-free.

The boxes in the upper right corner suggest that the couple has only recently

moved in and is probably not even finished unpacking yet. The text at the bottom

right corner of the page stands out because it is made up of bright white capital

block letters. The bottle and its label become part of the text because the bottle’s

size is not consistent with the scale of the rest of the image. However, it does not

look awkwardly superimposed because of its light reflection. Because of the

identical font, the viewer immediately associates the words “IN AN ABSOLUT

WORLD” with the Absolut Vodka bottle. Together it reads “IN AN ABSOLUT

WORLD (…) THE ABSOLUT VODKA”.

Ideological Analysis

In this advertisement, the word “ABSOLUT” equates the word “perfect”.

The image of moving into a new, spacious and clean home, as well as the image

of being a part of a hip young family hails Western ideologies. It is a spoof of the

conventional family portrait. The man, woman and dog are all neatly posed and

the photographer has chosen to liberally include much of the house in order to

show it off. The one big exception, however, is that it is not the woman who is

pregnant, but the man. Instead of being bogged down by an endless rotation of

the same few maternity outfits, a clump of scrunchies tangled in her hair and a

case of terminal backaches, the woman is what Western society would deem

successful and “beautiful”: tall, slim, wavy blond hair, bright smile, looks good in a

black form-fitting cocktail dress. In her place, the man carries the childbearing

4
 Suzanna Wright, Assignment 3: Analysis of an Advertisement

load. He holds his lower back to support himself the way a woman typically

would. Though Absolut Vodka is targeting all young consumers to buy their

products, this advertisement focuses on the desires of heterosexual white

Western women. Its message reads, “In a perfect world, men would bear children

so that women could go out to swish parties and drink Absolut Vodka.” This

woman is the ideologically ideal to Western standards. Besides being “beautiful”,

she is also “modern”. She is no longer domesticated, but is free to go out and

pursue a career without leave. She appears to be breaking the patriotical power

structure. Absolut Vodka’s latest “In An Absolut World” campaign intends to

present an ideal world where the underdog is celebrated. I accessed the

advertisements easily online as still images and as video. In another ad from this

campaign, police and protesters solve their conflicts with pillow fights. In another,

a politician’s false promises are exposed by his growing Pinocchio nose. In these

two examples, Absolut Vodka is suggesting that their brand is on the side of the

people – the protestors and the citizens. Other ads in the campaign are simply

fanciful, such as the video ad where astronauts transform the moon into a giant

disco ball for the partying people of planet Earth. In the case of our assigned

advertisement, Absolut Vodka is sympathizing with women’s traditional role in the

Western family. They are marketing to the young and the hip. Their consumers

will feel relieved at the new campaign, thinking that a brand is finally on their

side. In actuality, Absolut Vodka is not supporting their consumers but is

contributing to their manipulation. Their advertisements are suggesting that they

are rocking the status quo, but in reality they are supporting the current

5
 Suzanna Wright, Assignment 3: Analysis of an Advertisement

relationships of power. As a huge corporation, they rest on the shoulders of

capitalism. They want to sell more vodka than any other brand and will not

hesitate to be hypocritical in order to remain on top. This advertisement is

implying that this situation is the ideal, and aside from the switch in gender roles,

all of the other factors stick to the common ideologies we are fed in North

American contemporary society. The couple is heterosexual, Caucasian, young,

and of an upper-middle class. Their home is excessively large and impractically

white. This is a scene that is meant to look “normal” and it is only because of the

reversed pregnancy that it strikes us as “different” and hence attracts our

attention. If Absolut was being genuine in their campaign, they may have showed

a mix-raced family, a queer family, an overweight family, a poor family, a trailer, a

duplex, a shelter… the possibilities and combinations are endless. However,

these are not necessarily the people Absolut is marketing for. Absolut Vodka may

be advertising that they are rocking the boat, but it is obviously not enough to

cause any shift in status quo or in Western ideologies.