Visual Analysis of Vans and Vodka

The first ad that I picked was the Vans ad.

1.) One image depicts the pair of shoes in a dark room with a light shining on them. It has the shoe model written below the shoes and the Vans logo above the shoes. The image on the right is of Dustin Dollin, a famous pro skater. He is siting down with a skull in the background that consists of spots similar to the shoes he's wearing along the border of the image. Dustin Dollin has always been a partier, some would call him wild and reckless. The shoes are his model so they represent Dustin Dollin, he's sponsored by them because he's recognizable to skateboarders for his talent.
2.) It's Dustin Dollin, the shoes are his model. The professional skateboarder is always wearing Vans in all of his videos and contests. Without connecting Dustin Dollin they would lose their target audience, skateboarders.
3.) The skull is suppose to symbolize hot Dustin Dollin is a bad ass. He's an amazing skater, a crazy partier, and a great representative of Vans. Their target audience is skateboarders, who tend to be more attracted to darker images such as this skull rather than bright colorful flours in the background. Skateboarders get hurt, "skate or die" expression is well known among skaters. They want to skate as well as they can and put the dangerous fear of injury aside, the skull represents the danger and if they replaced it of course the tone would change. The target audience could change as well depending on what they replace the skull with.
4.) Young skateboarders in middle school and high school who like to listen to loud rock and roll are Vans target audience in this Vans ad.

The second ad I picked was the Russian Vodka ad.

1.) They probably think that the colors and variety of flavors are appealing.
2.) I would say that the target audience is young adults looking to go out and do something new. It seems like the ad implies that you will find what you like whether that's a drink or a person so I don't think it necessarily is targeting women or men, but young adults in general.
3.) The young women are at a high end bar and appear to be looking at someone, towards the audience or whoever is reading the ad. It seems like these women go out a lot and go to new places. It's implying that you will find what you like by experimenting with flavored Russian Vodka.
4.) I think the text is directed to the reader, not necessarily women or men. I'm not completely sure, but maybe that's how it was intended to be.