Tiffany Marshall
English 101
November 20th, 2012
Bacardi, The Life of The Party! Many businesses today promote their products and get them noticed through advertising. There are different ways of advertising, like commercials or just a page in a magazine. In 2011, more than $400 billion was spent in just advertising. A good portion of that is for alcohol ads. Bacardi spends approximately $100 million a year on advertising. Bacardi is the largest family/privately owned alcohol company in the world today (Andrew Sorkin_). I would say Bacardi’s advertising plays a big part in making them as successful as they are. Before I talk about their advertisement, you’re probably wondering who the Bacardi’s are and how they became as successful as they are today. The Bacardi’s are one of the most successful rum companies in the world today. The company has been a part of the family for many of generations. According to Suzanne Mcgee, the company was first founded by Done Facundo Bacardi and then just went down the line from there (1). They fled from Cuba after being exiled from the leader of Cuba and went to about 18 different countries before they finally ended up and stayed in Puerto Rico (1). They said that being exiled led them to strive and drive to expand their business (1). Although Puerto Rico was their main site of production faculty, Bermuda is the location of their legal headquarters (1). Ever since they had started their business, they have been on top as one of the leading rum companies all over the world. As said before, I believe Bacardi’s success comes a lot from their attention grabbing advertisement. There is one ad that had really caught my attention and made me want to try the beverage for myself. The ad is one that they made to celebrate their 150 years of business and success. The appearance of it is supposed to be made to look as though it’s from the past, like it is 1957 all over again. All of the women in the ad are drop dead gorgeous. They all have on dresses that are both elegant and a little sexy. Their make-up make them look as though they are models, and their hair is done with perfection and in a style that you would have seen women in the 50’s have. The med in the ad are all very handsome and are wearing suits that look expensive and elegant also. The setting seems to be in a bar or a club. Also, there are several drinks included in the ad which I assume to have Bacardi in them. Some of the drinks are different in a way; Two of them are darker, one with a lemon in it and the other with a lime. The few other drinks are clear, like water, and filled with a bunch of limes. Everyone in the ad seems to be enjoying themselves, whether flirting at the bar or taking a picture. I think this ad really did a good job at getting mine and other attention and really making us want to try the beverage for ourselves just because I want to have as much fun as I see the people in the ad are. This ad does a great job at getting its audience to notice the joy in it. I feel like it makes the audience want to drink because of the way everyone is having fun in the ad. An example of this is everyone in the ad is smiling. They all seem to be enjoying themselves while drinking their beverages. In the ad, there is a man in the foreground that is laughing with two beautiful women on each of his arms. To the male audience, this might make them feel as though they may become a “ladies man” if they drink Bacardi. To the right of this man is another man with a beautiful woman on his arm. They both seem to be playfully laughing at a woman being picked up by a man in kind of a seductive way. The woman being picked up represents to the female audience that if they drink Bacardi they will be irresistible to men. This would work for me because I am a woman. In the middle of the couple acknowledging the woman being picked up is what seems to be a flight attendant kneeling down with a huge smile on her face. She represents that you can be professional and have fun at the same time. It seems as though during the day you are a hard working woman or man and by night you are a fun and happy partier. It does a great job at making the audience want to feel as though they are the people in this ad. Not only does the picture of all the people capture the audience attention, but so does the little story they have in the bottom right corner. It talks about how Bacardi has been at parties and starting them even through prohibition. They want to make the audience feel as though nothing can stop them. It also states how if you drink this you will be bumping elbows with rebels and royals. Bacardi stated this so that people would read it as if they are saying that everyone, no matter who they are, drinks Bacardi and that you should too. I feel as though this little story really captures the audience and makes them want to join the rest of the royals and rebels and just have a good time. With all of this added to the ad it really helps by getting to the audiences emotions. It makes them want or need to be like the people in the ad. The woman want to feel sexy and irresistible and the mean want to feel rich and admired by women. The audience acknowledges that fact that Bacardi has been there for them even through prohibition and they feel comfortable drinking the beverage knowing that they are as deliciously successful as they are. When I look at this ad I want to drink Bacardi because I want to have a good time and still be successful as the people in the ad look. So I give a pat on the back to the maker of this ad for really capturing me through mine and others emotions and making us want to be like those people in the ad Bacardi, showing it in this ad and others, mainly captures their audience with sex appeal. In this ad, yes the women look elegant and professional, they still look sexy. They are all wearing dressed and have a sort of empowerment to them. In another Bacardi ad, they just show a girl’s lower back with a Bacardi symbol tattoo. The location of the tattoo and the body of the woman really captures the men audience attention because, to them, the spot of the tattoo is so to say “hot”. This ad also appeals to women because it makes them want to feel as sexy as the women in the ad. In another ad, it shows a woman dressed in a police uniform on a horse with her hand raised next to another pictures of the woman in just a short skirt and tank top riding on a man’s back in the same position but smiling. This makes the woman acknowledge the fact that just because their professional doesn’t mean they can’t be sexy and have fun by night. Other ads would do as well as them if they would take this route of capturing their audience through sex appeal. The insight I get from this ad is that no matter what decade it is, whether from the past or present, Bacardi has been the life of the party. They want their audiences to relate to their ads or want to be like the people in the ads so that they will buy the product. The women are symbols of professionalism and sexiness. The men are also symbols of professionalism and what I would call “studs”. It relates to how we all like to hang out in today’s society and just get drunk together. It shows a social environment that brings people together that we want to be in. The insight is mainly that Bacardi wants people to enjoy themselves no matter what hard situation, like the prohibition, is going on at the time. So is this ad effective? I would say so. It has sex appeal, professionalism, clear and precise language, and show’s people have a good time. The audience can trust the company because of how long it has been around for and how successful they are and how far they have come. In today’s world, I feel as though no matter who you are, everyone wants to have a good time. This ad makes people want to feel as though they are professional, yet know how to have a good time. So yes this ad is effective and other alcohol companies should use the attention grabbers that Bacardi uses.

Sorkin, Andrew. "Bacardi to Buy Grey Goose, Stirring More Talk of I.P.O." New York Times. 21 2004: n. page. Web. 3 Dec. 2012
Mcgee, Suzanne. "The Bacardi Story: From Exile to Icon Status." Ocean Drive. n.d. n. page. Web. 3 Dec. 2012.