Image Attribution: “The Vic Downtown Cafe Coffee Advertisement” by The Vic Downtown is licensed under CC BY-NC. 377 Victoria Street, Kamloops, BC, Canada (See interactive map)
Ethan Greenwood
VISA 1500
Dr. Terry’s Atkins
Assigment 1 Part A
This advertisement is seated at the entryway to The Vic Downtown Café. The sign contains a variety of images of coffee beans and beverages and the text “Roasted Here, Always Fresh”. It was created, presumably, to entice passerby’s to come in and enjoy one of the fresh, tasty beverages pictured. This type of advertisement could be classified as “display advertisement”; an advert that is attempting to sell you something.
The sign itself is quite striking, featuring several high quality images of coffee neatly arranged into segments that depict different stages. From left to right, top to bottom we see: a portafilter filled with ground coffee, a cup being filled with espresso, a latte, a cup of coffee and a pile of coffee beans.
Each photograph is crisp and high quality and appears warm and tantalizing. In the bottom left corner we see the logo for the café “The Vic Downtown” in distinct yellow and black. I think the layout is a tad haphazard, but the overall mood of the sign is clear: hot, fresh coffee “always”.
With the images in mind, it’s clear this advertisement is attempting to make the cafes drinks seem as delicious and inviting as possible in order to increase sales. Each and every image evokes a deep sense of warmth. The step by step process depicted of coffee making is used to add a layer of transparency. If the high definition images aren’t enough to lure in customers, the added text makes a promise of quality and freshness in each bean and each cup.
Personally, as an avid coffee-drinker, I am always on the hunt for the highest quality cup of coffee, and this sign definitely takes effect on me. In fact, I couldn’t resist going in to get a cup after documenting the advertisement. I think anyone who enjoys coffee would be enticed by the coffee beverages on the sign. One critique I would have is the sewn together appearance of the images; they aren’t in discord per se but it feels almost “Frankenstein’ed” together.
The placement of the advertisement right at the entryway is clever, as it forces any patrons to be further enticed to purchase a beverage. However, the overall neutral nature of the images does make them less visually striking against the muted backdrop. Overall, the advertisement does conjure a feeling of warmth and irresistibility in me.
I did research the café and found their website in which they state “our coffee is … organic, fair trade, women cooperative beans…” (The Vic Downtown, 2020).I think this is incredibly important due to the highly exploitative nature of the coffee industry. Direct trade, single origin coffee helps to foster a transparent brand relationship between roaster and producer, which in turn encourages consumers to look more carefully at the coffee product they are purchasing (Bager & Lambin, 2020).
To conclude, while I think this advertisement appears a bit haphazard with little to to no care for composition, it’s clear what this company is saying: great, fresh coffee served here. The message is simple, transparent and lacks the theatrics that many other adverts might employ.
Works Cited:
Beverage and Treat Menu. (2020). The Vic Downtown. Retrieved September 24, 2021 from https://vicdowntown.com/menu
Bager, S.L., Lambin E.F. (2020). Sustainability strategies by companies in the global coffee sector. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(8), 3556-3557.