So then why is it the most successful women’s shaving system in history, with retail sales over $1 billion? Because it is pink? No. Because women want to be as sexually attractive, as fun-loving, and as perfect as the women on the advert.
This brings me to my chosen adverts for comparison. ‘Lancôme Paris Teint Rènergie Lift’, ‘Yves Saint Laurant-Eau de toilette’, and ‘Chanel’.
The first, ‘Lancôme Paris Teint Rènergie Lift’, is a foundation which claims to firm and reduce lines on your skin. It uses some copy but generally, the effect of the advert comes from the picture which takes up about two thirds of the A4 sized advert. The picture is of a woman tying the foundation to a rose with a piece of gossamer fabric. This picture is extremely persuasive and each object shown implies something different about the product.
The woman pictured has very subdued make-up, the advert’s intention is not to make her look exciting and full of personality like many make-up adverts, but to make her fresh faced and young to appeal to the correct target market- slightly older women perhaps entering their forties. The advert also uses a certain level of sophistication to reach this market. The woman is looking directly at her audience, her expression is confident and engaging to draw us in to the advert.
The rose carries with it many connotations. The rose is generally associated with love and beauty. It implies youth and has a very powerful impact. It being tied to the foundation shows its closeness and similarity to the product and so the connotations are carried through. The colour of the rose is also very important. It is a peach rose, a very natural tone, very natural skin.
The gossamer fabric is not only used in the picture, but also mentioned in the copy-“a foundation that’s like a gossamer veil”. This is to imply light, soft, delicate skin like the fabric. Basically, the images in the picture all have their own meanings which carry through to the product.
‘Lancôme Paris’ shrewdly use their slogan ‘believe in beauty’ in the bottom right hand corner of the advert with the intention of it being the last thing you see. Therefore, it should stay in your mind. The use of alliteration also contributes to its attraction.
The copy uses a rhetorical question to make its point- “Do you wish your foundation did more than just colour and cover?” Of course the answer they wish to be given is “Yes I do, how did I live without this product?” Realistically, few people will actually think this reply but subconsciously it has the same effect.
The background of the advert is not immediately noticeable but has an excellent effect. Pure white implies not only freshness and purity, but also draws your attention to the image. The impact of background is often missed but holds great importance.
Another example of well used plain background is the ‘Chanel’ advert which embodies many similar properties to the ‘Lancôme Paris’ advert. The plain white background accentuates the use of simplicity for impact in this advert. There is no copy other than the name ‘Chanel’ and, therefore, use of image is very important.
Kate Moss is used to endorse ‘Chanel’ so that we make the connections between fame, glamour, success, beauty and Chanel’s products. This brings us to the question: What actually is the product advertised here? Personally, I think that the main intention is Chanel clothing but, as no specific product is mentioned, the advert works very well at generally advertising Chanel as a brand. The usual font is used for ‘Chanel’ causing it to be instantly recognizable and so this advert could be used to advertise clothing, perfume, make-up etc, basically any Chanel product.
Kate Moss’ facial expression is very important. Her gaze is direct, almost confronting and extremely sexual. This direct stare invites us into the centre of the advert, into this glamorous, supermodel lifestyle. We are not just purchasing the product but the entire life that, we believe, comes with it.
The body language of Kate Moss is very sexual, the technique of using sex to sell products is certainly not a rare one. The third advert I have chosen to analyse ‘Yves Saint Laurant-Eau de toilette’ uses it to give the impression that the use of a simple perfume will make you sexually attractive. Just as in the other two adverts, copy is limited due to a need for a large image, and image is very important. The colour scheme used is essential here. Red is used in the models hair, cheeks, nails and lips and carries with it connotations that, supposedly, relate to the product. Red is associated with fire, love, passion and sex and this is supposed to relate to the fiery essence of the perfume as well as how you will be once you wear it. The model’s tongue out is also sexual as well as the fact that she is on the phone, obviously with a man who most probably finds her attractive due to her Yves Saint Laurant perfume.
The product is well placed in this advert, similarly to the slogan in the ‘Lancôme Paris’ advert, it appears in the bottom right hand corner so that it is the last thing you look at and, hopefully, it will attach itself in your mind. Strangely, the product is the only thing that does not fit the red colour scheme. I imagine that this is done so that it stands out, although, personally, I think that it would have worked well to have the connotations of red spill over into the actual product so that it and the advert could be associated with each other. In particular, I think that the colour blue was not a wise choice as it embodies the exact opposite of the image that Yves Saint Laurant wanted to give out. Blue is a cold colour carrying connotations of peace, harmony, and sleep. Not at all the fiery, sexual image that is implied by the advert.
In conclusion, I think that each advert persuades its audience differently, but successfully. There are so many beauty products available that interesting advertising is essential to the success of any product. I would criticize Yves Saint Laurant for giving their advert and their product two very different colour schemes. Ralph Lauren are a good example of matching the product to the advert. Upon the launch of the ‘Ralph’ perfume, the adverts used very light, pastel, fresh shades so that in the shops when you saw the products, you could match the two and so the advertising had a continuous effect.
Personally, I think the best advert is the very generalised advert for ‘Chanel’. Its simplicity and celebrity endorsement cause it to be very memorable and sophisticated. It appeals to a wide audience well by not actually promoting anything specifically.
In my opinion, advertising works best when it is done with subtlety, I like to think that I am not affected by advertising and most of the time, I dont think I am. However, sometimes it matters less to do a good advert, than it does to just not do a bad one. As a result, i could never use ‘Yes car credit’ purely because the woman in it annoys me.
