Smirnoff advertising and how it may have been influenced by the Surrealist art movement
Smirnoff advertising and how it may have been influenced by the Surrealist art movementSmirnoff advertising and how it may have been influenced by the Surrealist art movement
Introduction
My study will to look at the ways in which Smirnoff Vodka has been advertised. I will investigate the advertising agencies that have been involved with producing the advertising campaigns and the processes, techniques, influences and other elements that have contributed to the creation of the adverts in various media forms. The investigation will focus on the current “Pure Smirnoff” campaign which utilises the illusion of an alternative image of the world when viewed “through the bottle”. Some of the recent television adverts are very fast moving and compelling to watch. They project a very fast moving international, jet setting style of life. They have a certain quality of a surreal ‘James Bond’ style film, with excitement and the fascination of trying to observe the “through the bottle transitions” that happen in an instant and then transition again before the understanding of the previous transition can be assimilated.
I have decided to look at Smirnoff as the basis of my project as I have found the advertising extremely fascinating and feel it is very dynamic and entertaining. I believe Smirnoff’s adverts have been influenced by the Surrealist movement and in particular by the artists Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali. This will be discussed later in my study, where I shall give my views and opinions.
Meaning and Use of Advertising
Advertising in its simplest sense means drawing attention to or notifying somebody of something.
It is possible to advertise by word of mouth without incurring any great expense. But if you want to inform a large number of people about something then you need to advertise in the more familiar sense of the word, by public announcement. By putting a notice in a local newspaper, on a poster, displaying it on a notice or bill board or putting an advertisement on the television, you are likely to attract the attention of more people to the information you wish to communicate. This has been Smirnoffs line of attack. The current “Pure Smirnoff” campaign has used cinema commercials and over forty prints and poster executions. This ‘Pure Smirnoff’ campaign has been running for over four years around the world and can be classed as a truly international multimedia campaign.
It should be noted, however, that by the very nature of the ultimate aim of such advertising campaigns to increase profit through increase sales, these motives produce areas of criticism. Not only is the desire for the product portrayed but also the lifestyle that surrounds the advertising campaign is also desired.
One of the major criticism of advertising is that it makes us too materialistic, by persuading us, for instance that we can achieve desirable goals in life through possessing things in a cycle of continuous consumption. But...
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