A majority of people drink or have drank alcohol before. Whether it’s while on vacation, at a party or celebrating an occasion, there are many situations where you will encounter drinking. Although many people enjoy drinking, there are many dangerous things that can occur from over drinking. In this advertisement, a teenage girl is laying upside down on her bed looking weak and ill. Faintly, you can see a picture of what looks like an operating room. The ad states, “don’t drink and drive.” This advertisement is showing the aftermath of a drunken car wreck. There are doctors and equipment operating on the girl. This image demonstrates what can occur if you have a night of too much drinking. It is convincing individuals who are consuming alcohol to drink wisely and to not overdo it. In the bottom right corner it says, “there is something worse than a hangover the following morning, regret.” This quote really stood out to me, as I know many teenagers who have done things that they have regretted in the morning, many drunk car accidents, after a night of heavy drinking. They used such a deep quote in order to scare the audience away from performing such actions.
There are two quotes in the textbook that relate to this advertisement. One states that “we live in a culture that stresses individuality, encourages us to believe that every person has unique qualities, and puts forward the view that we have control over who we are, what we do, and how others see us, but this view is questionable” (189). This can relate to a drunk driver. We live in a society where believe that we have control over our actions and ourselves. Therefore, we should be able to control ourselves from making such horrible decisions and instead making the right decisions. Another quote on page 190 says, “…actions are predetermined or subject to influences beyond our conscious control.” This quote is discussing how our actions can be influenced by other factors affecting the quality of the decisions we make. Again, this is stating that we have power over our decisions and should be avoiding these mistakes.
Although the person in the advertisement is a white female, I do not believe that it is focusing primarily on Caucasian girls. Although it has been proven that males can drink more and handle their alcohol better than females, it is still possible for regrets to happen to boys. I believe that this ad is focusing on either males or females, of any race, primarily around the teenager-young adult age. The audience is left to use their imagination to create the story behind such a terrible incident. With idea of drinking and driving is connected to a girl who is critical condition after a horrible intoxicated crash, it leaves the viewers thinking about what could have led up to this.
This advertisement is not trying to sell you a product, or try to convince you of something, it is simply just attempting to save the lives of you and many others. It is trying to pass on a helpful message. They want to demonstrate that although drinking may be enjoyable and a good time during the night, the morning can be the total opposite. Things happen that make individuals regret what happened, so think about if it’s really worth it. I do believe that this ad did a very good job using their strategic methods to represent partying and drinking, which is a norm in our society, especially with students. The girl in this ad looks like she would be about the age of a university student; therefore it helps portray the message. The targeted audience are the ones that the media is trying to connect with. Many students are interested in alcohol and partying, so when they see this ad, it will be something they are interested in and will be willing to try to understand. The idea behind this article was portrayed through a meaningful photo with a quote that will leave the audience thinking whether it really is worth it in the end.
O’Shaughnessy, Michael, and Jane Stadler. Media And Society. 5th ed. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 2012. 179-191. Print.
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