Smart Water vs. Evian

Smart Water vs. Evian

            When making an advertisement for a certain product, the creator must take into account several aspects.  Who do they want to appeal to?  What aspects should be included in order to appeal to that certain audience?  What’s the most affective way to try to sell their product?  Several brands tend to want to attract a certain type of person, whether they are male, female, athletic, elderly, and so on.  One product that tends to use this phenomenon is bottled water.  You may think, “Eh, water is just water.”  But in fact, bottled water brands aren’t all just trying to sell their water to anyone.  We can see that this is very clear in the advertisements for the brands Smart Water and Evian.

            When looking at the Smart Water advertisement, it is very clear that they are trying to appeal to a male audience.  The color scheme includes shades of grey, along with some dark blues.  These colors are most often associated with males, making them a smart aspect of this advertisement.  Additionally, the wording is in a font that would be appealing to a male audience because the letters are blocky and easy to read.  Also, the picture depicted on the advertisement is a strong, muscular male, who appears to be doing pushups.  His eyes look determined and his muscles are strong and sweaty, which could be an emotional connection, or pathos appeal, to some of the male audience in which the ad it trying to impress.  Men want to be tough and powerful, and by seeing the strong man on the advertisement the audience may be able to relate, or envy the character. 

            Another way in which the article appeals to a male-based audience is the addition of the phrase “don’t hate the player (or the electrolyte-enhanced hydration)”, underneath the blocky words SERIOUS BALLER.  By adding the electrolyte fact, they are appealing to the audience by giving a logical fact about the product itself, which is known as logos appeal.  Placing an actual picture of the product in the ad is also another successful way to use logos appeal, which the Smart Water advertisement does. 

            Oppositely, the Evian brand attempts to appeal to a much more feminine audience.  Right at the sight of it, one can see that it uses lighter colors, including baby blue, white, and some pink.  Additionally, the lettering is thinner and has a slant, making it appear more feminine than the thick, block lettering of the Smart Water ad.  Instead of featuring a male, the Evian ad uses a thin, blonde woman, wearing only a pair of mint colored underwear with her back the camera.  She is gazing out at snowy mountains and appears to be meditating.  She has a very womanly figure, and appears to be very relaxed, which is attractive to a feminine audience.  Overall, the ad appears to be much more tranquil, bright, and feminine in comparison to the Smart Water ad.  It too uses an actual picture of the product, with its pink wrapper, on the ad to have a form of logos appeal.  Also, the logo on the advertisement says, “Naturally balanced. Naturally pure.” Women in general are more into natural, healthy products than males.  By adding that slogan, it can emotionally appeal to a feminine audience by insuring them that what they will be drinking is something pure and natural, which are both key when discussing food products in regards to women.

            Culturally, men and women have different takes on food, and are influenced by food differently.  Men seek the more powerful foods, such as meats, and food types with strong levels of protein and things like electrolytes, as referred to in the Smart Water advertisement.  Women, on the other hand, are more about healthy, organic foods with a natural aspect.  They seek foods that are not harmful to the body, and that can allow them to keep a thin, womanly figure.  The two water advertisements do a fantastic job of demonstrating this occurrence because they both use successful features that appeal to their specific, targeted audience, from the featured characters, the slogans and lettering, and even the bottle wrappings themselves.  It is through advertising techniques like these that food product ads are created, all with the same goal in mind: to sell as much of their product as they can to a certain audience.