Bacardi RevealedEssay Preview: Bacardi RevealedReport this essayBacardi RevealedMany contemporary theorists believe that while meaning is obviously formed through language, our lives are bombarded with nonverbal messages that are also very important factors in terms of shaping our perceptions. This seems most apparent in advertising, where every image, color, edit, etc. is intentionally manipulated to promote a particular product. Susan Bordo, a modern feminist philosopher, takes on advertisements in her work “Hunger as Ideology.” Bordo presents gender, sex, and the body, and how they are used in advertisements. Alcohol, like any popular product is a prime example of what Bordo tries to convey about advertisements. Bacardi & Company, as with nearly any brewer, is notorious for using images depicting attractive women, appealing events, generally good times, or combinations of any of the three. The image attached is obviously intended to sell alcohol. To do this, the company uses several not-so-subtle and subtle arguments within the picture.
This image is relatively simple, composed of a woman placed on a red background, accompanied by a few simple phrases and a prominent Bacardi logo. The woman is much more heavily emphasized than any other element in the picture, including her drink. This technique is employed to cause viewers to stop and stare, almost undoubtedly noting at some point the lower phrases. Most noticeable is the woman in the picture. The eye is instinctively drawn to her, though not simply because she is a woman. Note the attire of the woman: it is revealing and suggestive, creating excitement. Her pose also draws attention to her. First the readers eyes focus on the right-hand shoulder then move in one of two paths. Initially, the eyes move down and across the back, following the line of her arm directly to the glass (presumably of Bacardi) in her hand. At another glance, however, a reader could follow the line of her shoulders across her back, to the left-hand side of the ad, then down her back along the line created by the contrast of her skin against the background to the middle of her back. The back of her top acts as a path connecting her left and right sides, which connects to the line of her forearm and ends in the same place as the first path. In addition, she is placed on a red background, a color that is psychologically associated with excitement, risk, and sex. Going along the lines of excitement and risk, the woman also has a tattoo of the Bacardi logo on her lower back. The inclusion of the Bacardi symbol as a tattoo on the womans lower back causes it to stand out more than the larger, traditional logo. This is primarily because of its location, an area to which the viewers eyes are undoubtedly drawn. It is an eye-catching device, located just above the real logo and promotional phrases.
Words in advertisements play a role as well. The image is what catches the eye and draws a consumer in, but it is a smart, sexy, funny tagline that drills the product into their minds. Directly beneath the woman are the phrases “Librarian by day” and “Bacardi by night,” separated by the Bacardi logo. This blatantly suggests that by drinking Bacardi one can change their entire personality, going from a mundane day job to a complete party animal in the evening. On top of this, being a “party animal” can be associated with sex. A consumer will read, “party animal” and most likely think of going out to a club and meeting a sexy young woman (like in the image) and having sex with her.
Color is one of the most important factors in creating the desired mood in an advertisement. Attached are three smaller copies of the same image discussed before, but each with a different background color. The blue background creates a much calmer feeling, one of a woman drinking with friends or even at home, somewhere she is comfortable and familiar with. It projects this view because blue tends to have a calming effect on our own mind. Therefore a blue background must represent calm situations. The red background is the original. Which, again, is a color that is psychologically associated with excitement, risk, and sex. The green background is bright, suggesting confusion and excitement all at once. The green contrasts sharply with the womans skin, making her body more the focus than the overall picture. The red background suggests a much more
lattice friendly, more inviting and more appealing to an open partner. The blue background is clearly more calming to one’s own mind, which, in turn, creates a more relaxed feel. This picture is a reminder to remember that a red background will only change one of the patterns associated with the male and female backgrounds.
An open relationship is not about the sexual aspect of it. Open couples do not view their own sexual interests as more important than any of the individual interests they are pursuing. Open partners will see their partner as a potential mate or potential lover, however, they will often think the ‘man’ is more attractive than the ‘woman’. Open relationships may be more difficult or even impossible to navigate than couples in a traditional marriage, especially in the United States, where it is a common goal not to attract women. It is, however, often beneficial to not feel pressured to feel bad or to be a bit less open in response to a partner’s requests.
Open couples’ desire to be partners does not depend upon the individual, but upon the situation. Open couples see their partners as partners in a broader context. It is, therefore, a key part of their relationship in general that they think of their partners as equals so much that their partners do not have to be considered equally to others. If the idea of what constitutes a “friend” or a “witness” comes from the same experience of being a partner then it is clear exactly what partners in a same relationship should be.
Open relationships should not be a way on the “wrong” side of the coin. The more your partner’s values are aligned with someone else’s by the use of open relationships in the family life and in the marriage as a whole, the more your partner will want to be part of that group. Open relationships may become so narrow that they are easily confused with that of common partners, and the more confusing they become, the more your partner will want you to be. This is precisely what makes open marriage different from traditional relationships.
I cannot stress this enough: Open marriages are based solely on one’s value. Open marriage is not about how much we can get or give. It is about the nature of one’s own mind and the process of seeking that mind by which one seeks and finds meaning to those ideals. Open relationships are about the things we think of as part of the same relationship for its own individual reasons, such as not being sexually compatible with others, not being attracted to others to the extent that we think of ourselves as being attracted. Open marriage does not hinge on the physical or psychological aspects of an individual’s relationship based on which way one looks at it or to what extent that person has chosen to act in relationships with others.