
Given the opportunity, most people would want to be able to live forever. Death is such a scary and final thing, there are few who do not wish to avoid its grasp. That concept, more so than the actual product, is what is being sold in this ad. With their recent advertisement, pomegranate juice company, Pom, suggests that their product will enable the consumer to “Cheat Death”. The advertisement uses text and visual representation to present this message, by also showing a bottle of the product with a cut noose around the neck of the bottle. The advertisement was found in Health Magazine, so it is specifically targeted to people who are either trying to start leading healthier lifestyles or those maintaining healthy lifestyles. In this specific advertisement, Pom uses many different, and some questionable, methods to achieve their ultimate goal, which is selling the product by selling an idea that is so closely associated with a product, consumers automatically put the two together.

The first thing that catches the audiences eye in this ad, is not the product itself, but the big words in large black font directly next to the product. The words read “Cheat death. The antioxidant powers of pomegranate juice” (“Cheat death”). This is very intentional and very intelligent by Pom to set as the main focus of the advertisement. This is what is really being sold to consumers, the possibility of longer life, and the pomegranate juice is merely a means of getting there. While this tactic well thought out, and certainly effective, it is far from ethical. While it is proven that antioxidants found in pomegranates and other fruits do have positive effects on your health, they cannot by themselves extend your lifespan. This sort of empty promise occurs quite often in advertising, especially in health advertising. Advertising departments for companies with health-related products understand their target audience is built largely by people who want to lead healthier lifestyles but have neither the motivation nor perseverance to do so on their own. Many advertisements lead consumers to believe that their product will help them achieve their goals, while failing to mention that healthy diet and exercise are also key components in attaining a healthier lifestyle. By insinuating that antioxidants found in pomegranate juice will help consumers cheat death, this advertisement gives way more power to its featured product than the product itself can back up.

After being drawn in by the allure of the ability to cheat death, the viewer’s eyes then find their way to an image of the product itself. The magnum opus of the design team behind Pom’s advertising branch portrays a bottle of Pom pomegranate juice with a frayed noose hanging around its neck. This image reaffirms though visual representation everything that was directly stated in the text. The portrayal of the juice bottle as a champion of death uses the same tricks and concepts as the direct statement of “Cheat death”. It would be redundant to state the unethical characteristics of this image, but it plays just as large a role in deceiving the consumer as the text does. Although it seems absurd to comment about an inanimate object, the bottle seems very strong and healthy, unfazed by its clearly recent near death experience. The juice itself is a deep, dark red and in the middle of the bottle is a bright red heart. This subtle message indicating the heart health benefits of pomegranate juice is one of the few images that does not overstep its bounds in what it conveys to consumers, as antioxidants are proven to repair damage in the heart and reduce risk of heart attack. Another prominent message seen on the bottle is the “100% Pomegranate Juice” written directly under the label. This is one of two things seen on the front of the bottle, and is not placed there haphazardly. A big concern with many people today is what is in their food and drink. This verification of pure juice says to the consumer that the product is organic and natural, and if its natural it must be healthy for you. 

The background of the advertisement is just a straight white backdrop, leaving the entirety of focus on the text and image. The white helps make the black text and dark red bottle really stand out in the ad, but it also plays a bigger role. There are two ways that the significance of this white background can be interpreted. One being that the white represents the purity of the product, and the purity of the consumer’s health if they continuously buy the product. This is something that the ad can make the audience think subconsciously, associating the product with cleanliness, and perfect health without even thinking about it. The other way the background could be interpreted is the “white light” that is popularly believed to be seen right before death. The audience of the advertisement sees the white light, but the bottle of pomegranate juice is there to stop them from following it. While it may be a bit of stretch, it is still reasonable to believe. There is a lot of money being paid to advertisers, and they put a lot of thought into every aspect of the ads they create. The sole premise of the ad is that Pom pomegranate juice can help you cheat death, and the intention is that the audience should be reminded of that everywhere they look, even when they are not reading the text.

While some of the methods used raise some doubts as to the ethics behind the creation of this advertisement, the ad is still very effective and does the job it was designed to do. The main tactic used, that of creating a link between the advertised product and a unanimously ideal situation, is becoming more and more popular in the ad industry. The ad goes beyond text and blatant imagery to achieve this affect and uses subliminal messaging to affect the subconscious of the intended audience, creating a stronger desire for the product. The overall purpose of this image is to persuade viewers that Pom pomegranate juice can help them cheat death and live longer, which is something few people would reject given the opportunity. 
