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 This
advertisement for Westin Hotels and Resorts appeared in the March 2008 issue of
Self magazine. It is drastically different than most of the other
advertisements that I analyzed because it does not feature any people or the
product that it is attempting to sell. The Holland America Cruise Line
advertisement did not feature people until the ad was opened up more, but
people were present, unlike in this ad when people are not present in the ad,
except for in reference, which is perhaps more powerful. The snow angel is the
remnant of a person, a crater designating that a person was there at one time.
Accompanied by the words “morning stretch,” this image initially created
confusion for me. However, in the paragraph at the bottom of the ad, the first
words are “The everyday takes on a new perspective,” which indicates that this
advertisement is for something that is not new, and yet there is a new way of
thinking about it: a hotel where you can work out and maintain your fitness
routine, even on vacation or a business trip. The hotel is not focused solely
on physical fitness, but on fitness and sharpness of the mind as well as the
body.
As I mentioned
previously, this ad also does not feature the product it is trying to sell –
not the hotel, the equipment available, or a photo of the trainer – simply snow
and a snow angel, yet many Westin Hotel locations are not in areas where it
snows. Both Pajnik and Lesjak-Tusek as well as Dyer point out that “In its
absence a product can be demonstrated to be indispensable or of even greater
value” (Dyer 170). Is this true in this ad? Pajnik and Lesjak-Tusek suggest
that many modern advertisements are not featuring the product, they are
“instead promoting satisfaction, happiness, a feeling of freedom, and beauty
that the consumption of the commodity promises” (279). I think that the
absence of the product in this ad in combination with the promise of happiness is
more powerful and persuasive than an image of the product because the product
being sold here is not particularly unique or exciting to look at; however, the
image in the ad is interesting and captures the viewer’s attention.
This advertisement
interpellates the same individual as subject that the magazine does: the health
and fitness interested woman. Unlike the others, this ad does not emphasize
any kind of relationship – family or couple.  It doesn’t exclude either from
accompanying this fitness-oriented individual on their trip, but the vacation
is for the fitness-oriented woman to continue to stretch and keep in shape both
her mind and her body, even while on vacation – alone, with a boyfriend/husband
(I do not mention partner here because Self magazine is targeted at the
heterosexual woman), or the entire family. This is the preferred reading of
this advertisement – although I think that there are many preferred readings
(Rose 98). No promises are made about furthering, deepening, or renewing
relationships – merely offered is the opportunity to stay in shape and not lose
your fitness routine while on vacation.
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