advertising

We are all experts in analyzing commercials, simply because we are almost always bombarded with them, everywhere.  Commercials are easier to analyze than pop culture because ads are always straightforward in that we know what the objective is - to sell a certain product.  The commodification of culture is much more opaque, but is reflected in how advertisers use our culture to sell things to us.

We expect ads to be stupid! Because we are expects we are able to cut through the BS so many times. Ads instead try to distract us with tongue-in-cheek images and characters with the expectation that we will find this amusing instead of just dumb. Flavored vodka ads are a perfect example of both these things as the product itself is new and a representation of a new kind of lifestyle. Using pop culture as evidence, Americans value wealth, beauty, youth and making adventurous, fun memories for ourselves.

As experts in commercialism we can see that a certain ad is quite ridiculous, but on some level these scenes become internalized. The ad would not be effective if we didn't have the same desires as the characters represented. It is now popular to sensationalize wealthy ne'er-do-wells celebrities and desire this same sort of selfish, careless lifestyle. Whether we think the ads are stupid or not, they reflect a certain cultural climate of distraction. This is much like how alcohol itself can be used, as a distraction.

These vodkas appeal to the youth market. With so many candy-like flavors, it would seem these brands are explicitly trying to recruit children as consumers of hard liquor

-whipped cream -marshmallow -smores -fruit loops -bubble gum -mt. Dew -super cola

A popular marketing tool is making ads similar to music videos. Rapid jump-cuts and montages keep the attention of someone who is bombarded daily with ADD inducing images (the MTV demographic). Combine this appeal to young viewers with the obvious sexualized situations inherent in alcohol advertising and we see the hypocritical paradox present in American pop culture. Ads portray the product as youthful, glamorous, fun and new. TV tells us that Kim Kardashian and Lil' Weezy are somehow worthy of our adoration. Killing our braincells with S'mores flavored liquor seems to fit right in with this view of the world!