Selling Women their Vices

Most women have some sort of vice that they would like to get rid of. One of the worst habits a person can have is smoking. Drinking alcohol can also become a bad habit for anyone. Advertising agencies know that smoking and drinking are two vices that many women have so in order to sell these vices, they turn these bad habits into something fun or even elegant. They use different methods to reach their audience and make these vices seem not so bad.

The first ad is by Pabst Brewing Company. It depicts two couples bowling and uses a poem to capture the reader’s attention. There is also the Pabst Blue Ribbon logo and the bodies of the people are ribbons. After the poem, there is a paragraph used to sell Pabst Blue Ribbon to the reader by talking about the history and taste of the beer. This ad looks like it was designed to sell the beer to women by using words and images of fun, excitement, and achievement. The picture shows friends out having a good time bowling. There is also a poem that was written in a way to appeal to a woman. It is written about Mrs. Carruthers first time bowling, getting a good score, “applause from the boys,” and playing for a prize. (Pabst) Of course the prize is Pabst Blue Ribbon, with the blue ribbon that people equate to the top prize. There is also a picture of a bottle of beer, a glass of beer, and a bowling ball on the left side of the advertisement. The ad also describes the beer as a blend of “33 fine brews” and “there is no finer beer – no finer blend.” (Pabst)

The second ad is for eve cigarettes. With the name eve and the imagery of a female and flowers, this ad is specifically targeting women. It also features large words and a paragraph about the cigarettes. The images stick out as feminine...

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Works Sited

Barber, Benjamin R. "Black Friday...Gray Thursday." Writing and Reading: English 1020 and English 1050. Custom Edition for Terra Community College. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011. 390-392. Book. eve cigarettes. "Farewell to the ugly cigarette." 2014. Microsoft Word file.

Fowles, Jib. “Advertising's Fifteen Basic Appeals,” 2014. Microsoft Word file.

Lutz, William. "With These Words I Can Sell You Anything." Writing and Reading: English 1020 and English 1050. Custom Edition for Terra Community College. Boston: Pearson Learing Solutions, 2011. 398 - 404. Book.

Pabst Brewing Company. "Call it sheer luck…" 2014. Microsoft Word file.

Rushkoff, Douglas. "A Brand By Any Other Name." Writing and Reading: English 1020 and English 1050. Custom Edition for Terra Community College. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011. 385 - 389. Book.