Erasmic Soaps and perfumes (print, 1920’s)
In My first advert, the female is presented in the arms of a
man, gazing into his eyes with lust and longing. And the man is portrayed as
strong and upright, as if he is whisking the woman off of her feet. This is
extremely typical of the time as women were seen as being very reliant on men
at the time, it was the man who provided for the woman, and looked after her. This advert is in the form of illustration,
which means that the people can be portrayed however the artist wants them. They
could make the woman perfect, and very stereotypical of the era. The drawn
woman is wearing very fancy clothes and is portrayed as being very rich and
elegant. The poster is suggesting that if you wear this perfume, you will lead
the lifestyle of the woman in the picture. The man is clearly the dominant
character of the advert. This is very stereotypical of 1920’s society. The
women fell in love with the men, and women needed a man to support them. Women
were not seen as very independent in the 1920’s. In this advert, the woman is
shown gazing adoringly into the man’s eyes. This is a clear indication that he
is in control and that she is at his mercy. The woman is wearing a red dress,
red is the colour of love and lust, and she is also wearing heels. She is
alluring yet classy, and the man is wearing a black suit and smart shoes. They
are clearly at some sort of formal occasion, and this suggests a rich, full
lifestyle. The perfume advert has purposely put the woman in a red dress and
heels to emphasize the provocative connotations. She is alluring yet classy,
and the man is wearing a black suit and smart shoes. They are clearly at some
sort of formal occasion, and this suggests a rich, full lifestyle. The perfume
advertisers are clearly trying to suggest that if you wear their perfume, you
can have a strong, powerful man sweep you off of your feet. This is a strong
selling strategy because that was the object of most women at the time. ‘’For
daintiness and refinement’’ is the tagline. This shows us that the perfume is
aimed at the higher class citizen. People who buy this perfume will be wearing
it in order to attract sophisticated young men.
Charlie Revlon (print advertisement, 1970)
In my second advert for Charlie from the 1970s the woman is
very much a product of her time as she is portrayed as being independent,
confident, happy, and smart. Unlike the woman in the first advert, She is
making direct eye contact with the camera and grinning, which suggests
confidence and joy. The eye contact into the camera seems flirty and makes the
audience seem involved in the advert.
However she is walking, and looking at the camera over her shoulder
which suggests that she is busy and important, as it looks like she is going
somewhere and is taking time out of her busy schedule to look at the audience
and smile. We can tell that she knows someone is watching her because she is
looking directly into the camera. The first advert was an illustration, which
meant that the woman could be altered and made to seem perfect. The woman in
this advert is different. She is a real woman of her time. The woman in the
advert is dressed rather smart and sexy. She is dressed in a women’s suit, with
a checked shirt and gingham jacket, and she is also wearing heels and they are
clearly visible to show that she do her work and important tasks, but still be seductive.
Her hair is blowing in the wind as she walks which allows you to see her whole
face. This shows that the woman is not hiding anything, she isn’t afraid to
show her true self. Her confidence is clearly portrayed. This is another
contrast to my original advert, in which the woman is wearing a hat, and is
gazing deeply into the man’s eyes. This shows that the male is the dominant
character, and also that the woman may be concealing her true self.
The tagline is “the gorgeous sexy-young fragrance’’
The use of the word ‘’sexy’’ in the tagline suggests sexual
liberation and confidence which was a new attitude developed by the feminist
movement of the 1970’s. Also just before the 1970’s homosexuality was
decriminalized, which meant that there was a growing lesbian community, the
unisex name and empowered, feminist nature of this advert would appeal to both
straight and lesbian women. This could be considered another strong selling
point. Also, the fact that she is wearing a trouser suit rather than a more
traditional skirt makes her seem in control and empowered.
The tagline is also clearly showing that youth is also a
very important selling point for the perfume. The tagline promises that if you
wear Charlie, you will seem more youthful, this is attractive to women as they
are always trying to appear as young as possible. ‘’Youth’’ also creates a
sense of freedom as people who are young generally have fun and go to parties
Gucci, Guilty (moving image 2010)
My last advert is a moving image advert. It portrays the
woman as being very strong and totally in control. The woman clearly has power over the man, and
she is wearing very tight leather provocative clothes in order to attract him
and she is the dominant character in the scenario. The man is portrayed as being at the woman’s
mercy. The first shot is through the perfume bottle into an alternative world.
We see a blonde woman crashing through a sheet of glass in a fast car. This
shows us that she is in control and not the stereotypical blonde. She is
flouting her stereotype by being portrayed as ‘’badass’’ and in control of the
situation. The car she is driving is going extremely fast and flames are
bursting from behind it. This screams power and strength. We see the women’s
legs and it reveals a clear tattoo. Tattoos are seen as a symbol of anarchy and
are often associated with people breaking the rules. This adds to the overall impression
given by the woman. We see her leaving the car, and notice she is wearing very
high heels, showing that despite the fact she is in control and dominant she
still has the ability to be flirty, provocative and sexy.
