Our study asks the question: How do people, randomly chosen within the Swedish culture, interpret two international, promotional movies from two of the largest brands in the energy drink industry; Red Bull and Monster Energy. Specifically, we are looking to identify how culturally characterized attitudes and values are embedd- ed within the interpretation. How different signs within the promotional movies are given specific meanings by the interviewee, based on the socially acquired para- digm. Through six (6) qualitative interviews, we study the reception of the movies with the goal of receiving a deeper interpretation were values and attitudes are evi- dent. Using Stuart Hall’s theory about preferred reading we could then structure the identified culturally characterized values and attitudes in what Hall calls dominant, negotiating and opposing interpretations. This study shows how culturally charac- terized affective values and attitudes are reflected in the interpretation made from Red Bull and Monster Energy's two promotional movies. It also manages to show how the dominant paradigm has an impact on both the text and the interpretation.