Consumer Culutre blog

The abbusters mock ad absolute end, showing the chalked outline of a bottle, attempts to “sell” the viewer the idea that there are very serious consequences to drinking that are often overlooked in mainstream advertising. This image clearly matches up with the ideology of culture jamming, very closely mirroring the techniques used by the BUGA UP and BLF. The ad draws on the ingrained image of an alcohol bottle and a typified accident scene environment, particularly the chalk lines that imply a body, to impress upon the reader its message. Both in name and form the ad mimics the Abosult vodka product’s ad line, which typically have a clear bottle of the vodka framing a typical life scene or current political image. The absolute end ad differs from the atypical Absolut vodka ad by framing the non-descript piece of asphalt where a heavy drinker might meet their inglorious end, rather that some culturally relevant image as the Absolut ads tend to do. This grim image stands in sharp contrast to the vibrant scenes generally shown in alcohol advertisements, focusing on the possible reality that drinking may incur as opposed to the perfect moments that a person can have if they just buy the right beverage.