Essay on personal musings and reflections

¶ … Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum advertisement in the recent issue of Miami New Times is dark. A black candle on a black candlestick smolders in the air, presenting one of only three traces of light colors via its cream colored smoke, billowing about. Directly above it, the white phrasing of "Introducing a darker, bolder spiced rum" leaps out at the viewer, in stark contrast to the opal shades that characterize the rest of the advertisement. The final light shade on the ad, the label for the bottle of Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum, displays a grinning, sword clutching captain standing on a barrel mounted atop the distant cliffs of some shore. Other than the warm, reddish tinged liquor cooling on a couple of ice cubes in a transparent glass, everything else depicted in this ad is black. The table containing the bottle, the glass and the candle is black, a chair, looking as though it were recently pushed back, is so dark it is hard to discern in the room that is undeniably ebony.

These simple, stark colors and the haunting, smoke filled imagery of piracy and hard liquor they contain are all a very clever, well-designed marketing tools attempting to cash in on the 'bad boy' image and persona that will appeal to certain consumers of liquor. If the imagery, the colors, the smoke filled room and the Captain himself do not make this point apparently clear, there is one final aspect of this ad that truly emphasizes this is a liquor for men who buy into the miscreant conception of manhood. Both the label on the bottle and the fine print at the bottom of the ad state that this is Caribbean rum with select spices and natural flavors that is DOUBLE CHARRED (these two words are capitalized). Whereas most conventional rum is 40% alcohol by volume, this particular one is 47.3%. And whereas most liquors are 80 proof, the writing on the bottle and in the fine print at the bottom of the ad pronounce that Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum is 94.6% proof.

The supreme irony of this dramatic advertisement is the fact that that the fine print at the bottom also contains a message that appears contrary to the principle theme of the dark page: "Raise a glass. Always in moderation." However, the message of the ad itself is certainly conveyed a lot more prominently than this small writing in the bottom left hand corner of the page. When considering the marketing appeal of this particular print advertisement, it is necessary to examine the motif of piracy and the grinning, armed figure of Captain Morgan that this particular company has banked on. Pirates and the figure of Captain Morgan, in particular, are noted for a liberty and an autonomy in which they simply took whatever they wanted, whether they had to despoil people to do so or not. It is this autonomy that the figure of the Captain has been branded with, and which is denoted both in his name and in the rendering of his image as a marketing tool to appeal to the same sense of strength, freedom, and unmitigated reliance on action that the manufacturers of this ad are attempting to appeal to in viewers to get them to purchase this product.

The dark coloring of the page, and the smoke filled haze that harangues about it, was purposefully designed to adhere to this form of sensibility in the viewer. The branding of the product and the tones of the ad both emphasize the fact that this is no mere alcoholic product for average men and women. The subversive figure of the Captain that stands in stark contrast to the subdued, shadowy elements depicted on the page represent an appeal to the most macho of men, those who are perhaps wild and free like the Captain, and who can appreciate a drink that at least makes them feel as wild and as free as the brand they purchase it from.

A number of the specific elements contained within this advertisement play into the bad-boy stereotype and the representation of this particular product as indicative of a rebellious nature to attempt to get men (and perhaps women to purchase it for men) to buy it. As previously denoted, the most overt element is the picture of the smiling captain, his sword drawn, adorning the front of the bottle of Black Spiced Rum. Other elements are distinguishably more subtle, such as the fact that just below the neck of the bottle there are two swords crossed with one another encircling the letters "CM." Additionally, the cork of the bottle is present on the table, carelessly strewn near the glass as if the liquor was consumed in haste. The top of the cork bears the same insignia. The viewer is essentially looking at five swords, one fairly noticeable in the captain's hand while the other four are significantly more covert -- yet still emphasizing the cavalier feel and attitude of this ad and the liquor it is selling. Also, to the left of the bottle lies some sort of instrument, slightly discolored as though from age or extreme us, which is dulled to the point of bluntness at one end and long and pointy at the other end. This instrument could very well be a sort of antiquated bottle opener used to pry the cork loose. Still, its shape and texture are long and sharp like yet another sword, which adheres to the connotations of the maverick captain and the pleasures that drinking this substance presents itself to provide to viewers.

Even the candle on the table seems to adhere to the notion of antiquated, corsair-like imagery which is the selling point for Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum. First of all, the very usage of a candle itself is somewhat curious, since there are a plethora of lamps, lights, and other sources of lights that are a lot more accessible for illuminating a room in contemporary times. But the candle has significance because it is used to keep a room dimly lit -- and once extinguished, as the candle is in this particular advertisement, it yields an eerie, smoky glow that is attuned to the dark imagery and the motif of piracy that Captain Morgan has branded. Also, the usage of the candle is nostalgic as well, since this sort of light was available during the historical era of pirates. In this sense, using the candle creates more of an authentic, pirate-looking feel to the page. This feel is the basis of the bad boy persona that Captain Morgan has chosen to sell its brand. Not surprisingly, this feel is well represented in this advertisement that is for a "charred," even darker, more potent liquor. Therefore, the imagery in the advertisement is dark, charred, and befitting of a corsair.