I'm Addicted

While in Dublin, Ireland over the summer vacation, I witnessed a series of ads for a radio station known as Radio Nova. I had more or less forgotten about the advertisement until now, but they stuck in my mind which says a lot about the advertisement's effectiveness. The particular advertisement I chose out of the series was especially striking and memorable.

The girl, Fiona, is predominately displayed in the ad and my eye was immediately drawn to her and the devious grin displayed across her face. The use of this grin makes viewers feel like they're being let in on a secret, before jumping to the text. The "Fiona, 30. Addicted to Sex" is the largest piece of text and what one's eye jumps too after glimpsing at Fiona. At first I was shocked and surprised that such a confession was being splashed across billboards throughout the city. However, my eyes then travel down the remaining red section. I read "on fire" and also glance to the icon, which was that of a common radio station before making the connection.
This advertisement is one of my favorites. It is funny, shocking, a clever, which is a real change from many other ads I see on a daily basis. The use of colors is fantastic, as it provides stark contrast between the big, clear image of the girl, the content of the ad and the radio station that is actually trying to make the point. It also creates a logical transition between each step in grasping the point of the ad before appreciating its humor. Red, as we read in the “Visual Arguments” chapter of Everything’s an Argument, is a powerful color that naturally sparks a lot of emotion and is eye-catching.
A lot of social ideas are captured in this advertisement and the campaign surrounding it. Those who made it knew that the ads would be seen and talked about because the idea of someone being addicted to sex would be shocking and attention-grabbing, so much so that viewers would want to hear more about this cheeky girl shown across buses and billboards. The fact that it is a girl is also interesting because in general, our society associates that problem with men and considers it unladylike for a female to acknowledge something of that nature. However, the realization that Fiona is only addicted to the song is meant to be something of a comfort and makes everything okay, and even funny. Though the idea that an ad of this nature to be shown across the city, where even kids can see it, could be a bit unnerving, the ad is careful to make a point that Fiona is 30 in big print. This is saying that these addictions should be mostly relevant to that age group, but also limits the audience that the radio pulls in for itself. Overall this ad is truly eye grabbing and definitely meets its goal of pulling people in, only to use humor to attract its intended audience and making them think even before checking out the station.