Finished perfume essay

Erasmic Soaps and perfumes (print, 1920’s)

In My first advert for Erasmic soaps and perfumes, the female is presented in the arms of a man, gazing into his eyes with lust and longing. 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 and family, it was the man who provided for the woman and looked after her.  This advert is in the form of illustration, which has advantages; firstly it means that the people can be portrayed however the artist wants them. The artist has the power to depict the perfect couple of the era, which is what they have done. The beautifully illustrated woman is wearing very fancy clothes and is portrayed as rich and elegant. The poster infers that if you wear this perfume, you will lead the lifestyle of luxury depicted within the illustration. The man is clearly the dominant character of the advert. He is holding the woman, supporting her and gazing into her eyes. This is very typical of 1920’s society. The 1920’s idea of love from a woman’s perspective was being swept off of your feet by a strong attractive man. Women were not seen as very independent. The way that the woman gazes adoringly into the man’s eyes is a clear indication that he is in control and that she is at his mercy.

The woman is wearing a red dress, which is the colour of love and lust, and she is also wearing heels. She is alluring yet classy. This combined with the man’s black suit and smart shoes suggests that they are clearly at some sort of formal occasion. This suggests a rich, full lifestyle. The woman is in a red dress and heels to emphasize the provocative connotations suggested by the illustration of the couple. The perfume advertisers are 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 commercial strategy because that was the expectation of most women at the time. Women didn’t work or have independence; they relied on their partner’s income and support for everything. The women’s role was to stay at home and look after the children. The 1920’s woman was expected to raise a family and their aim was to find a rich handsome man to make this dream much easier to achieve. This advert implies that this perfume will make that happen.  ‘’For daintiness and refinement’’ is the tagline. This shows us that the perfume is aimed at the higher class citizen. Women who buy this perfume will be wearing it in order to attract sophisticated young men because that is what is promised in the advert.

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, this flirty attitude which suggests confidence and joy, connects the audience with the viewer. However she is walking, and looking at the camera over her shoulder which suggests that she is busy and important. We can tell that she knows someone is watching her because she is looking directly into the camera.

My 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 smartly and sexily. The women’s suit, with a checked shirt and gingham jacket, and clearly visible high heels show that she does her work and important tasks, but is still 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 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. This advert contrasts advert one because the woman portrayed here is a binary opposite to the one shown in the first advert. The woman in the Charlie advert screams ‘’I don’t need a man’’ and the woman is clearly capable of independence, however in the first advert the woman in shown as being very dependent on her partner. These are two very different perspectives. The first advert uses the ability to attract men as a selling point, whereas the second uses the freedom and independence of a strong woman as a selling point.

 Gucci, Guilty (moving image 2010)

The message of this powerful and sensual television advertisement lies in the representation of the woman as very strong and totally in control whereas the man is portrayed as being at the woman’s mercy. In this, she shares more with the confident 1970’s Charlie woman who strides freely through her world without a single care or worry, than the dainty 1920’s Erasmic female whose world depends on and revolves around her partner.

Mise-en-scene is key to the values conveyed by the representation. 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. There are several extreme close-ups of the woman’s face and she is wearing a very convincing ‘poker face.’ She has a very blank expression which emphasizes her ruthlessness. The woman in the advert shows no mercy and takes no prisoners. She is in charge and this clearly comes across with her facial expression and the fast car and tight leather clothes she is wearing.  As the woman leaves the car, which is a symbol of her attitude and values, we see her legs and it reveals a clear tattoo. Tattoos have always been seen as a symbol of anarchy and are often associated with people pushing and breaking the rules. This adds to the overall impression created, that the woman creates her own rules, and is her own person, commanded by nobody. This is where the woman in the advert differs to the women in the other two adverts, the woman in the first advert is very innocent and reliant on her man, and although the woman in the Charlie advert is confident and free she does not portray the same amount of rebellion as the woman in this advert.

When she leaves the car we 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.  This is a very empowering image for the woman. She is controlling the men watching the advert. Through the male gaze of the camera she is seen as an object of desire. Towards the end of the advert a man appears and the woman strides over to him and seduces him within seconds. This is a clear indication of the power she possesses. This is a different message to the other two adverts as the first one was saying that you had the ability to find a man to fall in love with. The second advert said that the woman didn’t need a man at all, whereas this advert puts across the message that the woman can get any man she wants, exactly when she wants him. The whole advert shows the woman as dominant.