A Rhetorical Analysis Of Altoid Advertisements

The advertisement invokes curiosity and uses sexual innuendos to tempt the viewer into buying the Altoid mints. The words written across the ad,”First time?”, implies two things; firstly that the two people in the ad are both trying Altoids for the first time and a hidden secondary element implying that the couple are attempting their first act of sexual intercourse. The text itself is a deep shade of red, and stands out strongly against the dimmer background of the advertisement, drawing our attention to it. The text also has a white underline to it so as to be calming and more aesthetically pleasing. The color also acts as a counterbalance to the intense red color and depicts the vibrant and pure color of the mints. The color red is used …show more content…
The apartment in which the ad takes place has a green carpet that covers most of the background, this is to help contrast with the red text and make it pop out to the viewer. The carpet, although not the most pleasant shade of green, is neat and clean, almost unused by the couple. The lighting in the household is directed solely towards the couple and also helps bring attention to the text of the advertisement, which is well lit. The doors are locked to help give the couple the privacy they want. The viewer feels voyeuristic, as they are viewing something forbidden, this has the effect of invoking even more curiosity from the viewer. Interestingly, by the door there is some dirt and grime, contrasting with the clean appearance of the room. Surprisingly, it is in this region of the door that we see a symbol of wealth and status, a golf club, which is remarkably clean and shiny. This contradicts the dirt and grime of the door and leaves the viewer wondering more about the couple.The combination of both wealth and poverty appeal to all spectrums of people. The furniture in the ad comfortably allows a third person to inhabit the couch. Furthermore, this invites the viewer to imagine that they are sitting in the couch and undergoing the experience of trying the Altoids. The walls are painted a light mint green color, this is a hint to the …show more content…
The couple stands out the background drawing the consumer focus towards the couple. Moreover, they are doing something highly suspect as the girl is attempting to resist the temptation of the Altoids. The girl has a sharp look of surprise and displeasure. The boy however is playing the role of temptress, providing the girl with the mints. He looks very pleased with his first attempt at consuming the mints. However, it appears that the girl who has not tried the product is saying “No”. This implies that having the mint is a pleasurable experience. The ad compares sex and using Altoids mints, both are private behaviors that are immensely pleasurable. This is further accomplished by using the text and private lover’s apartment room. The clothes of the lover are not suggestive, however, the couple still appears to be doing something immensely private and as can be seen from the boy's facial expression, pleasurable. The girl is wearing the same shade of red as the text, implying that she too will fall to the tempting flavor of the Altoids. The couple also appears to have neat clothing, this seems out of place in an apartment such as the one depicted in the ad. This invites speculation on the viewer's part as to what they are doing in the first place. This suggests illicit activity and cements the similarity between the advertisement and sex, this will of course help sell the