Jose Cuervo Especial ran an ad in Cosmo promoting their hard liquor. It shows a man wearing all black in what seems to be a night club. He has devil horns and a triton against the wall. He is surrounded by young women on clouds wearing all white. He is gleefully pointing to one of them, crawling over him with his finger, filed to a point. So what are they implying by their slogan, “It makes you irresistible”? Luckily, they end in small print by revealing the reality that “unless you’re already charming and handsome,” this campaign is “not true.”
The ad uses the symbol of devil vs. angel to represent the good girls wanting the bad boy. The women are fixed on him with a definite desire. They are fully clothed with only their arms and faces showing. This further emphasizes the prohibited situation, something that may appeal to a certain group of men, interested in what is off limits.
The ad is nostalgic in that it only shows the group having a good time, partying late. But what will happen the next morning? Will they still be having a good time with their hangover? Or will the night be lost in a whirlwind of memories? The bottom of the ad says “drink responsibly” as if that will stop them from having a good time. This nostalgia gives the product a better image than it deserves.
The hyperbole of being “irresistible” targets the desire of men across the nation, who look through the men’s section of Cosmo magazine. They will want to be that man surrounded by six beautiful women at a late night party. He looks as if drunk with happiness, as there is not actually any alcohol in the ad other than the promoted bottle added onto the footer.
One of the women has her hand on the man’s leg and another is holding his shoulder. This foreshadows what is expected to come later in the evening… sex. But the two women on the floor in front have their hands folded, kneeling as if in prayer. They represent a different type of woman that will also be after the same man.
The ad gives a false hope, connecting Jose Cuervo Especial to women not being able to resist you. A man encompassed by beautiful women in a black and white dreamscape of clouds and soft lighting. But will this ever be a reality of any man that vive Cuervo?