B321
Analytical Assignment:
A
comparison of the representation of women in fragrance advertisements from the
1920s, 1970 and 2012
I have chosen to
compare three advertisements that span nine decades: Djer Kiss (print, France), Seven
Winds by Du Barry (print 1970) and Premiere
Gucci (moving image 2012). I have noticed that there has been a huge shift
in the way that women are represented in perfume advertising: whereas Djer Kiss constructs a fairy tale world
of delicate enchantment for the target buyer, Seven Winds openly states that a modern woman spends her time
dreaming about securing her ideal man and promising the perfume as a means of
securing him. The television advertisement for Gucci’s Premiere is completely different as it could only belong to the age
of high profile celebrities and the obsession with movies.
As we can
see, the advert poster of Djer Kiss is
a very fairy, feminine and frothy piece of work. The woman in the poster is
depicted as a fairy queen, with very beautiful wings and all kinds of jewellery
that every woman in that era of time wanted. There is a rainbow set behind her
coming out of a pot of gold, and if you look closely, there are small elves
carrying gold in their bags climbing towards the fairy, and ballerinas dancing
in the air, making people fancy about a life in a fairytale.
If you look
at this advert very closely, you could see this is also a very beautiful art
piece – a combination of blue, yellow and white; raindrops turning into
ballerinas; rainbows and pots of gold; with little elves picking them up with
bags, climbing towards the fairy queen – this advert is clearly trying to
describe a classical fairytale, making women in that era of time fancy willing
to spend money to buy the product, because they
want to be like the main character in the advert – the fairy queen. The
curly fonts add to the magical feeling of this advert.
However, we
can see through the words, this is a very old fashioned advert, since the
images and words are not contemporary. 'How unwise to use Rouge - improperly!
How unkind to nature to be without care in the use of face powder!' In this
slogan, not using face powder is to be said as ‘unkind to nature’. Compared to this generation, today's female
consumers are far too sophisticated for this style of communication. The words
are clearly very old fashioned, and the message of the brand is based on the actual
product, while today's advertisements are more aspirational, based in reality,
rather than fantasy land as
we’ve just seen.
Seven Winds is an advert
published in the 1950s. There are several factors that point to a real contrast
of that era, and the present day.
In the
1950s, the primary aspiration of women, as depicted in this print advert, was
to be a home maker, and secure the man of her dreams. This is suggested by the
fragrance that escaped from the bottle contains an image of her ideal man. This
is in stark contrast to the 21st century, when women are independent
in their own right, and their self-worth is not based on having a man.
In terms of
visual treatment, the model used in this ad is much older than the 18 or 19
year olds ‘fountain of youth’ that is the staple of advertising imagery today.
In the 50s, the influencers of society and advertising, were middle aged, which
is why the model featured in this ad is of that age bracket. This shows a
progression from a fantasy (princess image) through to a closer reality (middle
aged women), but still within an idealistic dream of a perfect husband. This
progression continues all the way through to the latest ad, with the use of a
much younger (early 20s) model. And there is no coincidence that the 20s
generation is much more influential.
Her hair and
makeup is conventional and ‘safe’, whereas todays will be more shocking, edgy
and provocative. The typography seems particularly dated compared to nowadays.
The whole proposition ‘For the woman who wants to be loved’ smacks of
dependency (on a man), not the independence of today’s women.
Gucci Premiere is a moving image advertisement
introduced in 2012. The medium for this ad is broadcast television, rather than
static press, which allows the advertising message to be much more impactful and
engaging. The look, style and feel of this advert is completely different from
the previous two.
The whole
feel of this advert is very bold and brash. The main colour theme is gold,
aspiring to luxury, wealth and fame. The fame link is shown through celebrity
endorsement by using Blake Lively. Also, interestingly, the celebrity and fame
image is further endorsed by Blake Lively walking through an alleyway of bright
film lights, depicting a film set in the middle of a desert. The big fan used
to blow the dress and the hair harks back to the glamour of film icons like
Marilyn Monroe. She’s depicting an extremely confident woman who is in control:
whenever the camera follows her, she is centre shot. There is a fleeting
appearance of a man, he’s clearly a bit part player compared to the central
‘woman in control’ character. Contrast this to the previous advert with the
woman hoping and dreaming to secure of a man, to make her complete.
Blake Lively
is in a fabulous gold dress, hair and makeup exquisitely done, pictured
standing in a penthouse apartment looking out over a cityscape of bright
lights. This communicates wealth, success, achievement and independence. The
fact that she’s barely interacting with anyone else in the advert reinforces
her independence and sophistication.
The music
used in this advert is ultra-contemporary, with a dance vibe and a modern
incessant beat. There’s no voice over until the very end, with a confident and
modern woman’s voice. It’s noticeable that there is no overt attempt to sell
the product which again reinforces the confidence the brand has, hinting that
they don’t have to try. It’s just a minimal branding.
