The ad I chose for this blog was the Absolut vodka ad that depicted two black Absolut vodka bottles that are meant to represent the World Trade towers in New York, with the tag line “Absolut 9/11” underneath the two bottles. This ad stirred up a lot of commotion among journalists and bloggers when it was introduced to the world in late 2007. The photo was taken somewhere in Germany, and no one is really sure as to the purpose or meaning of the ad, or who actually took it.

            This ad has some interesting visual aspects, and it uses one of Burke’s tropes, the metaphor. The tenor in this metaphor is the World Trade towers, the vehicle being the two Absolut bottles. The two black bottles are placed next to each other to represent the towers, which are set against an all-black background. This shows the dark nature of the ad, and the all-white tag line shows the contrast in the ad. This ad is very simple in its visual nature, but carries a message that is far from simple. This ad also uses positive and negative space, with the background being completely blank. The tag line in this ad is the key text in the photo, because it transforms two ordinary black bottles into the towers. Gestalt’s principles take over from there, which form the shapes of the towers in our minds. This ad also uses the rules of thirds and alignment. The centered nature of the ad forces the viewer’s focus on the bottles, and the symmetrical placement of the bottles follows the rule of alignment.

            This ad, controversial as it is, is coherent in its theme. By looking at the ad, the viewer is very clear on what is being represented, yet not so much on its message. Who took this photo and why? What was meant by the tag line “Absolut 9/11”? These are questions that only the creator can answer, which causes much speculation by the general public. This advertisement shows how text influences our thought, and shows how a simple visual representation can transform with written text and the right placement.