The advertisement I have elected to examine is from an old Absolut vodka campaign, the principle characteristic of which campaign was the use of a particular vague but provocative noun following the word Absolut in the slogan. Some examples include: original, envy, security, and perfection. The ad I have chosen uses the word attraction, which I regard as harboring a specific, problematic message by way of an implied double meaning.

It is a curious fact about our culture, that alcohol as one of the most symptomatically dangerous drugs is also the most readily accessible. There is little doubt that alcohol can be and often is, especially among youth, the staple basis of a good time, at home with friends or out on the town. But often, too, this good time is accompanied by something far more sinister: bad decisions, the various manifestations of the darkest parts of ourselves, violence, memory loss, all of which obtain license from the disinhibitory effects of drinking.

The darkness masked in the ad of attraction is among the worst consequences of drinking, namely, the complication and misdirection of sexual energy to the point that the sanctimony of another individual is violated. One cannot in good conscience proclaim that alcohol is the cause of what we now refer to as rape culture, but in those instances that are so described alcohol is central to the discussion, too frequently as a vindication and an excuse for the heinous act. The word attraction, extolled in the advertisement, likely as a substitution for disinhibition, conveys the subliminal acceptance of this possible consequence of alcoholic indulgence. The very same disinhibitory effect of alcohol that loosens the tongue and contributes to the ease of interaction is also the feature that quiets the morals, dulls the understanding, and obfuscates our notions of consent and respect.