Signifier: Vitamin Water and Steve Nash
Signified: It shows that Vitamin Water will do whatever it takes for them to succeed in creating sales and trying to reach all kinds of markets. These ads surround one prominent athlete who recently retired in point guard Steve Nash.
Image: In this print ad it is asking how “Nash” are you? In these you make videos to prove you are and you upload them to the Canadian site for Vitamin Water and people vote on the best so you can be in a video with him. In the main commercial, there is a Facebook plug where you can go to their page and make your own flavor. In all of these ads, it shows off Steve Nash’s unique sense of humor and personality trying to sell all kinds of Vitamin Water products with other famous people, and he takes you behind the scenes in some of the videos too. It also goes behind the scenes of his off-season training as well as the winner of the video contest’s commercial. They also do a spoof of “The World’s Most Interesting Man in the World” with “The World’s Most Ridiculous Man in the World.” In one of the commercials he is a Canadian celebrity talking about vitamins and water with an appearance by 50 Cent. That leads into the Facebook page of Vitamin Water. He also does one where he is talking about how great he is and another where he is on Spaceman being interviewed.
Denotation: This is an ad for an energy drink called Vitamin Water made my Energy Brands or Glaceau which is under Coke. It competes with Gatorade and the other main energy drinks.
Connotation: Energy Brands aka Glaceau is its own successful company under Coke where it just doesn’t make Vitamin Waster it makes Smart Water. It did these ambush campaign of ads, small ads here and there about the behind scenes of the company and Nash’s life. It centers on the product along with his huge sense of humor in the ads. They also star other famous people as they were trying to make it more mainstream like Gatorade. Rapper 50 Cent owns 30% of the company as part of his endorsement deal.
Icon: Vitamin Water has always has its clear bottle with white caps and paper wrapping with black and white lettering with alternating colors for the kind of flavor it was. It is simple lettering of its name is well known and at the same they used a future Hall of Fame basketball player in Steve Nash, who already had countless endorsements deals and commercials on the airways.
Diachronic Analysis: Founded in May of 1996 by J. Darius Bikoff with an electrolyte enhanced line of water called Smart Water, Energy Brands initially distributed its products to health food stores and independent retailers in the New York area. Adding Fruit Water and Vitamin Water to its line in 1998 and 2000, respectively, the company expanded to nationwide distribution in the early 2000s. By 2002, the Glacéau line of waters were the top selling enhanced water brand in the United States, with the company’s Vitamin Water being its best selling product. In 2006, the company earned US$350 million in revenues. The company then began its global expansion, launching its products in the United Kingdom and Australia in 2008, France in 2009 and Argentina in 2011. Energy Brands is owned primarily by Bikoff, employees, and small investors. The shares eventually were sold to India-based Tata Group in August 2006, which held the shares until May 2007 when The Coca-Cola Company purchased the company as an independent subsidiary, leaving its actual operations with its existing management including Bikoff. It was sold for $4.1 billion in cash. In 2002, Energy Brands’ Glacéau drinks were the top selling brand of enhanced water. Vitamin Water is considered the most successful of the four products. On April 2, 2009, Glacéau Vitamin Water introduced a new line for the weight-conscious market called Vitamin Water10 that has 10 calories per eight-ounce serving, and later Vitamin Water Zero, a calorie-free drink, down from the older line that serves 50 kilocalories.
Ideology: These viral commercials are part of a viral campaign that was to get all walks of life to drink their product by using the brand name of 50 Cent or Steve Nash to get the product out there. They aren’t as was well known as other drinks energy drinks so this helped get them more visibility with everything that Nash could give them. Vitamin Water was launched, adding vitamins and natural flavors with Smart Water and it was designed to “fill the gap” between soft drinks and water for people who knew they should drink more water but weren’t. With fewer calories than soda, the company states that the drink both hydrates consumers and provides nutrients they are likely to be missing. Also, by using a famous Canadian athlete and celebrity it helped make it more global and the fact Nash is from South Africa makes its reach more global.
Codes: As most products with a famous spokesperson, the goal is to get the public to go “wow my favorite athlete or actor endorses this I must get it”. Personally Steve Nash is my favorite basketball player so I was very tempted to buy this drink. They want you to try to have any connection to your favorite athletes or famous people.
Jingoism: Vitamin Water was originally targeted at adults but now after this campaign it is for all ages of people looking for a healthier energy drink to have. It is targeted at the whole country, as well as Canada, and all over the world. It now can target all basketball fans with Nash or all rap fans with 50 Cent.