Hpnotiq Magazine Ad

An optical illusion. A classy image. A piece of art. It truly is hypnotic or in this case Hpnotiq.

The advertisement was last seen on Rolling Stones 40th Anniversary Issue (May 3-17,2007) on page 53. The uniqueness of this ad was that it broke away from the lazy and often used stereotypes of sexual pleasure. Instead it relied on the fundamentals of design and layout.

While the assignment was to find a magazine ad and critique it based on the principles of design and content, it was this unique ad that truely appealed. An appeal that calls for the simplicity and not overt use of sex or celebrities. What we have here is an interesting brand, a unique product in an iconic magazine.

Hpnotiq is a blue alcoholic drink concorted by Raphael Yakoby. Yakoby in a New York Post article in 2007 explained that this uniquely blue drink was inspired by a perfume bottle of the same color (Straker, 2007). Starker (2007) reported that "a year later Hpnotiq, a blend of vodka, cognac and fruit juices, was a nightclub staple, and he (Yakoby) went on to sell the brand for a reported $50 million". The background to this unique brand does not end there, Wingard now the owner of the brand took the colored drink and marketed it uniquely well. This I would argue is down to translating its unique concept onto print.

Using Dr. Cannon's design critique list which was adapted from Bivins & Ryan (1991) and Nelson (1994), this post aims to deconstruct the design elements used in the artifact.

1. Emphasis

Bivins & Ryan (1991) contends that "every design needs a focus" (p. 53). This ad is no different, the dominant image is the blue optical illusion that takes up three quearters of the page. Serving as a "focal point", the eye is drawn to the center of the image and to that very edge where the viewer might get sucked into perhaps be absorbed to the point where it is best to retreat. The emphasis then is gained through optical illusion. The optical illusion creates the feeling of an extra dimension, one where the perceived image becomes overwhelming so much so that teh viewer has to find a way out of the blue and white triangles back towards the headline. Bivins & Ryan (1991) labelled this emphasis, "isolation" (p. 54). This is where the background is stripped away hence the whiteness.


2. Sequence

The disoriented viewer follows the pointed triangles up to the center of the optical illusion. Trying to escape it, the viewer looks up and is pointed back to the center. Perhaps frustrated. The viewer now zooms out to focus on the headline "It's HPNOTIQ." An obvious play of words to support the 'hypnotic' effect from the optical illusion, the viewer might perhaps scream out that there is something wrong with the spelling. It is not what one is used to, the genius of the headline is its similarity to the perceived caption of the optical illusion. It really is hypnotic, the unique font plays homage to the modernity of how the image is created. In that the image is computer generated hence a modern font is needed to convey this modern theme. The tagline points to the serving suggestion of having it with tequila and right below the expected image of the HPNOTIQ bottle and the tequila with a lime slice both perfectly focused with slight shadow. Perhaps another modern theme, that both images can appear that way. Looking at the ad again, and the slight grayish line of words appears the the left of the image crawling upwards. This usually is where the credit for the photo appears but in this case , it first emphasized the viewer to stay focus and to drink responsibly, then describes what the product is and the copyright year. Due to its propotion in that its font is relatively small, this side caption pales in comparison to everything else in the ad. This is important as the sequence dictate that the important notices are in a bigger font which brings us back the headline and its propotion.


3. Propotion

Most of the image is taken up by "white space". (Bivins & Ryan, 1991, p. 71). The propotion of the optical illusion takes up 66%, the headline and tagline takes about 12% and the image and the Web Site take up the remaning 22%. This perceived propotion takes into consideartion that the two images are propotionately in tune in that the image of the drink is one-third that of the optical illusion. The white spaces between the images are kept close enough that they don not overlap each other but linked nicely and balanced through the center.


4. Balance

The ad is asymmetrically balanced in that it is top heavy and bottom light but it has "unity" in that there color theme is this cyanish blue (Bivibs & Ryan, 1991, p. 56). This ad is almost like a top-heavy "T-shape" ad (Bivins & Ryan, 1991, 60). The use of shadows on the right and bottom of the optical illusion image helped to balance the left sided crawling words and the headline below it. The bottom image of the tequila glass that is off-center is balanced out by the bottom of the HPNOTIQ bottle. The lime on the glass is the true center of the ad, acting as an anchor for both the optical illusion above and the other elements present in the ad.


5. Unity

Re-emphasizing "unity" which is the "cohesion and overall coherence of a layout's parts" (Bivins & Ryan, 1991, p. 56). The ad emphasizes a unity of "color" (Bivins & Ryan, 1991, p. 57). In emphasizing a blue theme, the shades of blue acts as a relaxent. The cool feeling emmitted becomes its primary goal, its secondary theme is its anchor in the lime that exludes freshness. The light blueness of the ad coupled with the white space becomes key in uniting the emphasis of simplicity in layout, modernity in font use and uniqueness of key image to form an ad that is in a class of its own.


6. Content

Personally the ad communicates an appreciation of art. The image could be framed and displayed as in a gallery. The uniqueness of the ad adds to its mystique. What is this blue drink that might induce hypnopsis? The sense of curiosity might then spur sales among two target audience - the classy who enjoys art and the curious who are drawn to the blueness of the drink. Blue after all is the color of "spirituality" and "peace" (Dabner, 2005, p. 35). Also, blue is a dye color that is not found in nature. This ad then communicates to the viewer to relax, enjoy the art and indulge in a unique and refreshing drink.


7. Now

The lastest on HPNOTIQ is that it is positioning itself to become a drink mainly for middle-age females and that they are using generic female drawings to emphasize their new target audience.