Heinekin coliseum ad not so brilliant.

In this ad, we clearly see an arrangement of Heinekin brand beer bottles arranged into a structure that looks like the roman coliseum with the words, “History is made in Rome,” at the top. This ad is trying to associate the fact that it was made in Rome with the mighty Roman empire, making anyone who drink it feel mighty and special through association. But does this approach work completely, or will some people actually be turned off by the image that is intended to sell their product.
The immediate rhetoric tool we see here is ethos. By making the stack of beers look like the coliseum, (arguably the most famous and recognizable structure in Rome Italy,) we automatically know that the beer comes from a great place, rather than showing a picture of a regular factory or a run-of-the-mill distillery.
This also ties into the pathos of the advert. By associating Heinekin with the strongest reminder of the Mighty Empire of Rome, we get the feeling of power, something all of us struggle with and want somewhere inside.
Using logos, we draw the conclusion that by drinking this beer, we too, can feel like an emperor of a kingdom! Just look at the majesty of the image! Doom and gloom clouds surround the structure, but from the middle of the building, a pillar of light spews out, splitting the heavens themselves! Surely this captures the might of the Heinekin beer product!
Well, it might, had the advertisers considered kairos. While the Roman Empire may be associated with might, the coliseum has a different meaning entirely. For the few of you who don’t know, the coliseums were Roman sports arenas…where millions were SYSTEMATICALLY MURDURED FOR THE PURPOSE OF SHEER ENTERTAINMENT!!! Had this ad been published back in the year 100 B.C., this might have had a positive effect on an audience of Roman citizens, who enjoyed these games quite often. Nowadays, though, that kind of stuff just doesn’t fly. When we see the coliseum, we aren’t reminded of power or victory, we’re reminded of bloodshed and genocide! When I first saw this, I didn’t think it was advertising beer, I thought it was a PSA about how many lives are taken by beer, as if to say, “More people have died in car accidents caused by alcohol than died in the gladiator games!”
To add to this, the Heinekin logo is small and neatly tucked into the corner, where it’s cool greed color blends in nicely with the brooding dark-blue background, so there’s a chance someone just passing by this logo won’t even know about the brand name if they don’t take a closer look.
So all in all, we are given an image associated with the most barbaric sport in the world, and a message that, weather intentionally or not, links your product to certain death. This pretty much ensures that anyone who sees your advert is likely to not want to drink beer at all, let alone your brand specifically. But hey, at least they won’t be buying from your competitors.