My first impression of the advert for Lux was that it was clean, fresh, light and very feminine. At first glimpse I thought it was advertising a new fragrance, but then after looking further down the advert I realised that this advert was trying to sell a new shower gel, and it was obvious that it was to women. There are lonely a few number of adverts these days that re trying to sell shower gel, and if there are they are mainly aimed more for men, so it was nice to see something different.
When first viewing the advert for L’Oréal, I thought that it was very bright, colourful and funky, but mainly girly and happy. It is clear that this product is aimed towards female’s dues to all of the issues of how the advert is fun and girly. At first I believed this advert was for a new shampoo, but as I looked closer I realised that it was clearly to advertise a hair product.
The advertisement for Lux is set in a room with red walls and floors, though I would not say there is a story behind this advert. However, it appears to me as if this woman in the advert was just like us before, but then she used this product and now look at her. And she’s advertising it to us so that we can look like this too, and we want to look at her.
Where as my second advert is set in what looks almost to be studio, a hair salon or beauty parlour. There is no story behind this advert or with the previous advert; they are both very set on the idea of the women and the product. She looks a large model- pretty, tanned, welcoming smile and fresh, clean faced.
The layout of my first chosen advert is organised and effective. With the product name itself, at the top, as the largest text, the women in the middle as the main focus of the advert then one short section of information so that it doesn’t over crowd the advert on the bottom corner, along side with a minimised picture of the product itself.
This advert is fairly basic and simple, but it is well structured so that our eyes are focused in all of the right areas of the advert. It appears attractive and is very individual compared to many other shower gel and bubble bath adverts.
Everything is printed to perfection on the advert for L’Oréal and it comes across as if, although there is a lot of information on this advert, for you to take notice of, usually, adverts such as these don’t get noticed quite as much, though with this colour it would be difficult not to. This advert is individual and different, I have seen no adverts advertising a product like this, let alone wit any similarity to this one.
The text written on the advert for Lux Shower gel -
“It’s the pearls of rich fruit oils in our new shower gel that add a little opening night radiance to any girl’s skin.”
And in the advert fro L’Oréal straightening cream –
“L’Oréal’s 1st heat-activated straightening cream, for use with straigthing irons or hairdryers. Its Thermo-Protect technology wraps each hair with a heat – activated film to easily straighten and protect the hair for a perfect, silky result without heaviness. After straightening with straightening irons, your style lasts, even in humid conditions.”
The language in the Lux shower gel advert is clear, descriptive and formal. This makes it easy to understand, as well as attractive to the reader. “It’s the pearls...” relates to the pearls that she is wearing on her shoes and her jewellery; it also connects with the fine bead work on her dress. Pearls are for the expensive and glamorous women. “Fruit oils” makes it seem healthy, that this product is nourishing, and good for you. “New Shower gel”, this product has never been seen before; it is different, new, like nothing else before. The use of the word “Our” addresses us as the reader, including us into the advert and making us feel welcome, and as if we are part of it, this persuasion makes us want to purchase this product.
Strong adjectives are used to describe and to really focus our minds onto the product and keep our attention, “rich”, “radiance”, they make us feel good about our self, and that we will look rich and radiant if we purchase this product. This advert is saying what we want to hear. “shower gel” states the product to make it clear to the reader what they are trying to sell, and what they are going to be purchasing though the product itself is to the right hand side of this text, at the bottom right hand corner of the advert. The language used throughout the advert is very womanly – calm, smooth and sexy. It works well with the scene and with the woman in the picture as that is how she comes across in this advert.
We see the product here so that we know what we want to buy, and we know what it looks like, so why not buy it? The orange coloured packaging is tropical and fresh, very much in comparison to the colour scheme of the advert. Shower gel in stated on the product in the centre, with the brand name in the largest font, and pearls written across the centre of the bottle vertically, similar, but a tone darker in colour so therefore it is not over powering the brand name which is the main focus.
The words “opening night” clearly states that this shower gel is for the night women. It is trying to put across that if you use this product, you will be noticed and you will stand out from the crowd. “To any girl’s skin”, this product is suitable for everyone and it will work for all. They are opening up to a range of audience, and not addressing to a pacific age range.
However, the text used in the L’Oréal advertisement is much bolder and it looks more as if it has been hand – written. The font is not the same throughout the advert, unlike the Lux advertisement.
On the bottom right hand corner of the advert is the product itself. In an attractive bright pink colour with a shiny silver lid. The bottle looks ideal to suit a young girl’s bedroom, in amongst all of her pretty little girly things.
Seeing the product itself encourages us the readers to purchase it as we could quite easily walk into the shop, purchase the product as we would know exactly what we were looking to buy, from the advert we know what it looks like. Also if we were to walk into a shop and see the product it would remind us of this advertisement and more or less encourage us to purchase it.
In the text on the L’Oréal advert (previous page) they believe that their product is successful “L’Oréal’s 1st heat – activated straightening cream”, this clearly states that this new and individual product, unlike anything ever seen before.
“Thermo-Protect technology”, shows that it will more than protect your hair, with this new modern straightening cream. “Wraps each hair with a heat-activated film to easily straighten and protect the hair” this section of text goes into full detail of exactly how it protects your hair.
There is a full description of the products result “perfect, silky”, this states that this is what it is meant and should do to your hair, though the advertisers put it into terms of, this is what it will do to your hair.
“After straightening...”, this implies that you need to straighten your hair in order for this product to work and to give the results that it says it does.
This text written on the advert is as if Beyoncé herself is speaking, and describing the details of this straightening cream in order to persuade us to purchase it. The text on this advert is catchy and in full detail, perhaps too much detail, it is difficult to understand.
In the background of this advert you can see a faint picture in the background, behind the writing, of a hairdryer and straighteners. This relates to what they include in the text about how we should use them with this product, almost encouraging us to purchase these items too. “For use with straightening irons and hairdryers”. This clearly shows therefore that it is ideal to use L’Oréal straightening cream with these electric products.
The slogan “Straight to perfection, with protection!” has used the technique of alliteration as well as the rhyme of the words “perfection” and “protection”. This is catchy and the audience would remember this as it is different and stands out as you read it. You feel also as if you need to read it twice over to notice the rhyming of the words. The Exclamation mark used on the end of the word “protection!” heightens the fact that it really will protect your hair. It is as if they are almost repeating the words over, and getting louder by adding the exclamation mark.
Below this, “studio” is written in a large font, and in very blocked and squared letters in white font colour so that it looks clean and fresh, as well as stylish with the modern square blocked lettering. The word “line” is also included in the “o” of the word “studio”. This is obviously trying to make a point the font used for the word “studio” is neat, in line and there are no curves the lines are all straight, but just joined together to form the word “studio”.
“Hot- straight”, is another font used, below “studio”. It looks as if it has been hand written. It almost looks oriental and hot, relating back to the word “hot”. The word “straight” however is in very basic lettering. It is very much in relation to the meaning of the word straight.
The three squared logo that L’Oréal uses is key to the advert. Not only do these three different sized and different colour squares appear on the advert, and on the product, but if you look at previous advertisements and products by L’Oréal this logo is printed on the majority of them all.
The colours used to advertise Lux are rich red, golden, glistening and glamorous. Red and gold are warming and almost Christmas colours. Ideal perhaps for a present, not only for Christmas, but all year round. This advert shows a gorgeous women wearing expensive golden jewellery. Her whole image is shimmering. Dressed in a glamorous and slightly revealing dress to show off her slim and perfectly tanned figure, there is a hint of cleavage and her thin toned long legs slung to the side in a sexy position as she sits on a laid back white leather seat. We can see a full body picture of her from head to toe.
Where as the scheme of colours for L’Oréal are the complete opposite. Pink, purely, bright shades which make the whole advert very girly but sophisticated. From the advert we are able to see a close – up shot of her face, from her shoulders to the top of her head. This is so that our relationship with the woman in the picture is no more than in the picture. She looks happy, but serious, her eyes I was very drawn to, as they are a bold, brown shade, with even a soft look to them. This shot gives us clear insight into her facial features and we clearly see that she is a very attractive and young woman.
The women in the Lux adverts hand is placed on her leg as her foot is pointed just touching the floor and her other foot is placed directly upright, this position allows us to see all of her best assets on her body. Her shoes are white, clean and fresh womanly heels, with her feet showing and with a detail of pearls – relating to the product. Her dress is pulled tightly in at the top to show off her ultra-slim, polished to perfection figure, and then her dress slings out into waves of gold. She doesn’t look as if she is posing for the camera or towards you, it is very natural and as if she has just delicately taken a seat.
The woman featured in the L’Oréal advertisement is clothed in a low, feminine what looks to be perhaps a dress, from where it is possible to see. It is beaded with a black underneath and the beadwork is a golden shade to compliment her perfectly bronze tan, and well conditioned skin. She is wearing what looks to be very little, but natural make – up – soft and gentle, but and not to over done so that she looks as if she is trying to hard. With no jewellery, her neck looks bare, but it does work well with the advert – it is implying that she isn’t rich enough to afford expensive jewellery, but she has enough to purchase this product.
Where as the women in advert one is wearing plenty of jewellery and jewellery is a key feature to this advert. It adds huge detail to her whole image. The long crystal dangled earrings break up her face from her hair, her visibly stunning necklace that look as if they match the earrings and her golden with a hint of aqua coloured bracelet all make this women look as if she cares about her appearance and she makes a very good impression.
Jewellery is always thought to be glamorous as well as expensive and this is how she wants to look, and she does, my first impression was that this woman is obviously very well off, as this is how she appears, with all of her fine jewellery and expensive clothing.
With gorgeous golden brown hair, with perfect curls, that look fresh and bouncy gives us insight into her personality, bubbly, fun – loving and bouncy, relates to her smile, she is happy and confident. Her hair is full of life and that is what this advert is trying to say, that we will look like this, we will be full of life, look as perfect as she does.
Her skin and make – up is clear and perfect, it looks natural though you are very drawn to her eyes. However, this is important in an advert as you feel in connection with the person, as if you are in their mind and they are focusing on you. Her tan in golden and shiny, as well as soft and smooth. Her smile is perfect, happy and natural. This advert is fresh looking, and makes you feel happy and womanly.
The woman in the second advert has perfect skin and make – up, with a perfect white-teeth, friendly and charming smile. Her hair is perfectly styled and straightened which is certain to have had thousands of hair and beauty products, not just L’Oréal’s straightening cream in order to get it so perfect and well styled.
With perfect skin tone – golden brown tan, she looks stunning, especially against her soft brown hair that is sleek and shined to perfection. It is obvious that they are trying to promote her hair and the style, which is modern and perfect – with a sophisticated swift side fringe, to break up her forehead and to allow it add maturity to the image.
The star of this advert is the women herself – Sarah Jessica Parker, most commonly known for her main role in one of television’s top programme - Sex and the City. She is looked upon as one of the most important role models for women in today’s society. Originating from Manhattan in New York, she is a city girl, living a glamorous lifestyle, and this is clear in the advert. She has purposely been used for this advert as she is well known and people who recognise her and know her would automatically think, if it’s good enough for here then it must be good enough for me. Her fans from her television appearances would purchase her product purely because it is as if it is hers, she has made it her own.
The main focus of the advert is the women herself, Beyoncé Knowles, formally most known from the band Destiny’s Child, but recently a solo artist. She has had several huge hits throughout her music career and has received many awards for her music talent. Beyoncé has also been the face of many other products, from cosmetics for Maybelline, hair dyes for L’Oréal, and most recently Destiny’s Child (Beyoncé included) have been chosen for the new faces and sponsors for McDonalds new World Children’s name campaign.
Therefore Beyoncé’s face is everywhere to be seen. And as she has already been involved in the promotion of L’Oréal hair dyes, I was not surprised to see her on the face of this advert.
The advertisers have deliberately used famous women in able to sell their product as we are able to relate to them, they are not just any other models, they are individuals, and we know more about them than if they were just new models that we had never seen before. The eye contacts of both women in their adverts are extremely attractive. It is as if they are looking directly at you, trying to say something to you. It makes you feel very involved; as if they are trying to build a relationship with the reader to draw us in.
The font used on the advert for Lux Shower gel is posh, italic, swirled, and it looks as if is hand – written which is also every effective. The slogan below the product name itself “Bring out the “*” in you” uses a logo of a star in order to represent the word “star”. This I think attracts the audience to read the slogan as it would be difficult to understand if you were to just read the writing without taking note of the star logo. The star logo, is not just any old logo, it is filled with diamonds that twinkle in the advert, giving the illusion of glamour, style and wealth.
The font size of this is slightly larger than the informative text about the product but smaller than the product name – Lux. Our eyes are automatically drawn to this after looking at the product name. The writing is fancy and in a clear white colour so that it looks light, fresh and clean. Where as in the L’Oréal advertisement the text size varies throughout. It starting at it’s biggest at the top, and getting smaller and smaller as you eyes are drawn down. There is also more of a variety of fonts used and layouts of the text compared to the Lux advert as they have heightened the meaning of the words by using a font that relates to the word itself. E.g. - “Hot” – the font used for this is as if it is quick flashes of flames.
In conclusion the first advert I feel is aimed more towards middle-aged women who are classy, have taste and style, with a high – income. This advert is aimed towards professional women, who want to be glamorous, beautiful and luxurious. I would definitely purchase this product as the advertisers have obviously put a lot of thought and time into this advert and made it look attractive and eye – catching to women of all ages, including me.
The second advert that I analysed had similarities to the first advert though they had equally, if not more differences. I think that the second advertisement is aimed more towards the younger audience and this is clear by the colour scheme and use of language used throughout the advert. I would consider purchasing this product as Beyoncé was formally known for her curly and afro – style hair, and if this product can make her hair look this good then I think to myself, imagine what it could do for me? This advert is warming as well as fun loving and well laid out, with a well known glamorous artist to promote it.
In my opinion both of these adverts advert are selling to our aspirations; they are trying to sell us into this lifestyle, into new women, not necessarily to who we are, and they have both used famous, well known women to do so.