These close-up photos were taken on two different days than the original set of images.
In the center there’s a series of concentric circles that evoke a graphic device used to induce a hypnotic trance through eye fixation. The rings in lime wedge serve as a tie-in to the mesmerizing circles. Also, actually seeing lime wedges at a bar will serve as a trigger to the ad’s suggestion. More conventional posters showing Corona with lime, as are likely to be found in a liquor store, will produce the same effect.
The bottle contains the outline of a phallus.
No software “enhancements” or special lighting were appled to this or any of the other images at the Site. The graphics are actual ads, publicly installed and in use. A consumer digital camera is used and the pictures are taken from the street.
The ad starts off as a fairly typical alcoholic beverage piece. A relaxing Mexican beach appears to be pouring out of a bottle of Corona Extra. Shore scenes are often used to equate the product with memories or fantasies of romantic vacation adventures.
And then we follow Alice through the looking glass.
Alongside the Corona label is an image that looks like a cross section of a female breast similar to an illustration in a human anatomy text. To the right of the pouring beverage (in the picture immediately above that’s on the back of the truck, left for the side shown at the top of the post) is another breast with a prominent nipple. Looking at the last picture in this post (close-up of the bottle top), in the blue water above that breast there are two pairs of small splashes that look like bosoms. This representation is reminiscent of the familiar images of pouring milk. At the top and bottom of the picture is beer foam appearing like waves breaking on the shore. This ties in with the overt tropical paradise message of the ad. Looking closely, especially in the top set, we find a number of pairs of bosoms, each with a white spot for an areola.
The repetition of breast images certainly serves as a sexual spice. But, particularly in conjunction with the white beer “head” rising to the top like cream and the milk splashes, this landscape of bosoms also introduces the idea of breast-feeding and infantile regression. In addition, froth conjures up the unconscious thought of ejaculation, as does the liquid issuing from the bottle.
To the right of the pouring bottle, there’s a series of concentric circles that evoke a graphic device used to induce a hypnotic trance through eye fixation. As the delivery trucks drive through traffic, one needs to wonder about the ethics of displaying an image that’s intended to divert attention and to captivate by reducing awareness.
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Has anyone seen this Corona ad anywhere other than on a vehicle? I wonder if the vehicle installation was chosen to amplify, to relay, and to preserve the subliminal messages? In motion, the ad can assume an animated character and is amplified. Not fixed, but being in many places each day, the ad gets a wide audience and is relayed. A moving target, it’s unlikely that a viewer will have the opportunity to concentrate and interpret, and so the subliminal veil is maintained.
Here we have an Absolut billboard that at first seems to be very similar to their Lemon Drop Citron ad. Both feature a blond model and a bottle of Absolut on a table. Actually, the communications could not be more different.
In this Twist ad, the table is quite prominently set just for one. The room is characterized by a series of circles — large letter “Os” — that make up targets with the focus as dots at the center. The model is about to make music by herself with a phonograph — a machine that works by an arm acting on a round record. This particular record player arm is of a rather unusual tool-like appearance. The model’s skin-tight clothing is the same color as the circles and the target.
Unusually for a liquor ad, the model is not gazing longingly out of the picture at the viewer or above (or eyes closed) in rapture. Instead, home alone, the green-clad blond casts a worried glance to the right as if to make sure that she won’t be disturbed. What’s there to hide?
The Absolut Twist ad — unlike most other liquor pieces — is aimed at women. Beyond the brand, drinking alone is what’s being promoted. The message is that solitary imbibing is just another acceptable way for adults to entertain themselves.
