Ad Analysis

For this analysis, I chose an ad from WIRED Magazine, issue 17.09, for Grey Goose Le Citron vodka. In it, actor and filmmaker Edward Burns is shown hosting a party with friends. The side panel on the left discusses his "entertaining principles" for these get-togethers.



Though in the ad Burns is quoted saying "I hang out with so many different groups of people," there does not appear to be much variety in this ad. The only apparent ethnic minorities (one black man and one black woman) are fair skinned, demonstrating a white standard of beauty. Everyone appears to be dressed to an upper-middle-class standard. All the women in the ad are smiling and dressed in dresses or skirts and high heels. There does not appear to be much variety in their heights or sizes. Each woman appears to be paired with one man. One of the men is paired with two women. Not only does this exemplify that "[i]deal beauty standards are... heterosexist, and racist" (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 208) but it also promotes the acceptability of male promiscuity.

The ad is also definitively patriarchal in that it is "male-dominated, male-identified, [and] male-centered" (Johnson 73). While this is to be expected from a magazine that caters to an audience that is 75% male ("Condé Nast Digital"), the patriarchal implications of the ad are very subtle. In each pairing, the woman is fully focused on her male partner, facing him and giving eye contact. The males, however, are looking away in four out of six pairings. In some cases they appear to be basking in female attention, particularly Burns in the focal point of the image. This is a very subtle, passive display of dominance over the women.

The ad is trying to sell not only vodka, but a good party. The idea is that these simple tips and this simple beverage will make for a good time for everyone. The image seems to be equating a good time with heterosexual mating, in a sort of commodification of sexual relationships (Kirk and Okazawa-Rey 208). No one is interacting directly with a person of the same sex, and there is no variety of emotion or levels of subjective fun. There are no wallflowers, but neither are there any crowds. All participants seem to have the exact same understanding of what a "good time" is, making the ad highly unrealistic.


Word Count: 508

"Condé Nast Digital and Condé Nast Magazines." Condé Nast Digital. May 2009. Condé Nast, Web. 8 Feb 2010. http://www.condenastdigital.com/mediakits/wired/index.html.

Johnson, Allan. "Patriarchy, the System." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 73. Print.

Kirk, Gwyn, and Margo Okazawa-Rey. Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 208. Print.