PERFUME CAMPAIGN INITIAL IDEAS

The first thing I did when trying to work out how to start work on my perfume campaign was to create a brainstorm of ideas that I had, including themes, colours and bottle shape. I put in lots of very different themes to give myself a chance to compare and choose the one I liked the best. I knew already who I wanted my target market to be: teenage-young adult females. I chose this target market as I felt I could relate to them best.

My first brainstorm

 

While I was brainstorming, I came up with an idea I liked. This was the 'adventurous' theme you can see in the picture. I liked this idea as I felt it was different - not quite the like the other, more common ideas like 'girly and very feminine' or 'classy and sophisticated'. I also felt that the sophisticated, timeless theme fitted with an older target audience than the one I was aiming for.

I also thought I could have fun with the theme - there are lots of different ways it could be done for an advertisement - it is quite open and adaptable. The general idea behind the theme is that the perfume sells confidence - it inspires the wearer to be bold and outgoing, as well as suiting a person who already possess those qualities.

I decided to take this theme further and brainstorm more ideas as to how this would work. I looked at the themes of 'confidence' and 'adventurous spirit' in more detail here:

I decided to look at other perfumes similar to my idea, to see what other people had done and how well it had sold.

1.  

This is 'Boss Nuit pour femme' by Hugo Boss. It has a lot of the same qualities as my idea - it promotes confidence and a bold personality. The difference is the target market - this fragrance is certainly supposed to appeal to a more mature audience, and shows itself as a sophisticated, classic fragrance. The classical nature is reinforced by the fact that the model (Gwyneth Paltrow) is wearing a little black dress, a classic piece of dress that is considered timeless.The city in the background makes the ad more modern, with sky scrapers and modern constructions. I found a quote about the messages and values of the ad, saying: "To me, the Boss woman is driven, ambitious and goes after what she wants, but she balances being strong and very feminine at the same time"

I like these values and a lot of it fits with my own ideas and themes. Reviews described it as 'elegant' and 'fresh', although some people did not find it strong or unique enough, especially for a night fragrance. I would aim to make my perfume scent very distinctive and original, if I went with a theme like this


2.  
This is Adventurous by Estee Lauder. It is like my theme because it is specifically targeted at people seeking adventure - who are outgoing. In fact, it was sold as a 'travel exclusive' - you could only buy it at travel retailers, like when you're going on holiday at the airport. This limits the target audience and amont of people who can buy it to those going abroad or travelling somewhere, however it does give it a unique edge and certainly means that the perfume really does reach its intended demographic. I like the interesting, very different way of marketing this perfume and it could be something I'd consider to make my fragrance more original. 

Another thing I like about this perfume is that the target audience is similar to mine - it is for young women who are travelling, and therefore hopefully adventuruous and out going. The advert is also quite subtle - the only clue to the fact that it is for women who are travelling and going on an adventure as it were, is the tropical flower in her hair and her exotic gold hooped earrings and tanned olive skin. This clearly gets the messages and values of the product across but in a subtle way, which I like a lot, and would take into account when designing my own fragrance.

In conclusion, evaluating these two perfumes has given me a better idea of what other similar products are out there and shows me the positives and negaties of each, so I can learn from their mistakes and not make the same ones, but also I can use their good points as well.

PERFUME ADVERTS

These are the three perfume adverts I might like to analyse for own assignment, showing representation of women in perfume ads from across the ages:


Mavis 1915 ad

This advert sells glamour and wealth - the woman is sophisticated and aloof.

5 things I could say about this advert are:1. art nouveau 2. glamorous, sophisticated woman 3. woman's posture 4. perfume name font 5. perfume slogan - irresistible

1. Glamorous, sophisticated woman: The woman is dressed in lavish clothes in rich, dark, using a lot of material and therefore probably quite expensive; she embodies a woman of wealth and sophistication

2. Woman's posture: The woman has her head up and her eyes closed, making her look aloof; she is also leaning into a mirror, obsessed with herself and her appearance which makes her come across as confident to the point of arrogant (narcissistic). She is practically making love to herself in the mirror, and she is posed provocatively. It is quite an erotic advert.
3. Art nouveau: The advert is done in a typical style of the time, art nouveau, with rich colours (like black and red) and bold, organic style.

4. Perfume name font: The perfume name font  'Mavis', is I think, art nouveau - it is flowing and curvaceous - it is organic, which mirrors the elegance and extravagance of the woman

5. Perfume slogan: The perfume slogan is 'Irresistible', which shows the perfume makes you irresistible to everyone, even yourself, and that they/you become obsessed, as the woman is.

Imprevu by Coty

Imprevu uses the feminist ideas from the 1960s feminist movement that started in America about freedom and being independent, unlike my 1920s ad which focuses on glamour and sophistication...

5 points I could make about this perfume are: 1. feminism 2. strong, independent woman 3. appearance of model - no clothes, heavy eye makeup and short hair. New appearance - androgynous 4. fragrance name font - bold and big 5. fragrance slogan - feeling of freedom (NEW)

Feminism: see introductory sentence
Strong, independent woman: The woman looks empowered and free - she is standing alone and does not need anyone else to be happy. 
Appearance: The fact the woman is naked reinforces the sense of a strong woman - she does not care about not wearing any clothes or what people think of her because of it.
Fragrance name font: The font ties in with the messages and values of the product, so it too is big, bold, and stands out.
Fragrance slogan: The slogan talks about a new feeling, like a new feeling of confidence and women being able to get by on their own, and and also says a new perfume, so the perfume fits with a strong confident woman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBc-TXS59sw < this is a link to the 'Valentina' advert from Valentino, produced in 2011

This advert is very different from my other two, and portrays women as mischievous, daring and bold - still confident but with a flirty, almost minx-ish edge.

  

5 things I could say about this advert are: 1. modern 2. method/style 3. young, mischievous woman 4. woman's clothes 5. name of fragrance 

 1. Modern: The advert is a lot more modern than my other two, as although it features an old-style dance it also features a lot of more modern clothes and fashion as well as a night club style party

2. Method/style: This ad represents a woman's need to be free - to be able to do what she wants and go where she pleases and not be confined.
3. Mischievous young woman: The target market is young women who are confident and flirtatious, like Valentina in the advert

4. Clothes: Valentina's clothes are modern and elegant, with a shorter style of dress different to those around her - she stands out as modern yet sophisticated

5. Fragrance name: the name of the fragrance 'Valentina', means 'brave' and this mirrors the messages and values of the fragrance - Valentina is brave and bold, and escapes from the dance to do what she wants, to make new friends and socialise.

POSSIBLE FIRST FEW WORDS

This advert is by Mavis, and was published in the 1920s. It shows a glamorous, sophisticated woman. She has her hair up, make up on, and is wearing lavish clothes. She looks wealthy because she can afford huge, incredible gowns that would have cost a lot of money because of all the material they use. She is also wearing and surrounded by rich, dark colours like deep red and black, which were very stylish at the time. She has short, dark hair, a pale face and pronounced red lips, which again was very fashionable in the 1920s, and was a look many women were striving for. The woman in the advert represents the aspirations of women at the time: they wanted to be glamorous, wealthy and elegant, and this perfume is selling those qualities.

The woman’s posture is very noticeable too; she has her head up and her eyes closed, which makes her appear aloof and confident. She is also leaning into a mirror, obsessed with herself and how she looks, which makes her seem narcissistic and arrogant. She is almost making love to herself in the mirror, and she is posed provocatively, making it seem quite an erotic advert. It is veiled eroticism, masked by the glamour and sophistication you immediately see in the advert but when you look properly it is also quite clear how suggestive the advert is. It sells sexual fulfilment to a woman rather than a man, which was quite significant at the time, as women became the dominant consumers. However, the perfume is selling the fact that it makes you so desirable and incredible that you (and anyone else) cannot help but become infatuated with you. The advert taps into women’s insecurities – women generally want to look beautiful and be desirable to others. This perfume not only seems to make you good looking, but also so desirable that even you cannot resist gazing at yourself in the mirror. Women want to be the woman in the advert – rich, attractive, confident – and so it will make them want to buy the perfume.

The advert is done is art nouveau style, with deep colours and pretty, detailed images. It is bold and eye catching, which mirrors the advert’s messages and values. These are of being good-looking and confident. The detailed and appealing image of the woman shows the beauty side of the advert, while the bold, eye catching colours and pose of the woman show the self-assured, independent qualities the perfume is selling.

This leads into the perfume name font. It is rounded, smooth and organic – again in art nouveau style. It could be compared to the woman’s dress and pose – she is not standing straight and still, she is moving and even her dress seems to flow fluidly. It all ties in together to not only make the advert look more alive and appealing but also is a subtle continuation of the messages and values of the perfume – the boldness and the prettiness of the font reflects the style of the picture and the woman in it.

Finally, the perfume slogan, ‘Irresistible’ suggests that the perfume makes you so elegant, sophisticated and glamorous that you no one can resist you. The slogan identifies with a woman’s need to be loved and admired – it recognises it and promises instant transformation – just buy the perfume and you too will become stunning and classy and incredibly desirable to all. The slogan links with the woman’s posture and how she is completely infatuated with herself, showing how powerful the effects of the perfume are. The slogan also links with the insecurities of women involving looks and how attractive they are, which makes women want to buy the fragrance to solve their insecurities.

Overall, the perfume sells desirability, attractiveness, wealth, confidence and a generally glamorous lifestyle by tapping into women’s insecurities and their need to loved and admired.

Bibliography:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/a/art-nouveau/

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/art-nouveau-and-the-erotic/
 

 

ACTION HEROES

This is Agent Jay from Men In Black. He is the chief because he is the main character and is quite strong and powerful

This is Gale from The Hunger Games. I think he is the best friend because he is a loyal best friend to Katniss

This is Paul from Chorus Line. He is the lost soul because he has no confidence and is quite uncertain about who he really is as a person

I chose James Bond as the charmer because he is often chatting up women and using pick up lines on them, and normally he succeeds. He is good at charming the girls.

For the professor I chose Prof. Sherman Klump from The Nutty Professor as he really is a professor as well as being smart and good at science

This is Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean. I chose him as the swashbuckler as he is a very stereotypical pirate i.e. is captain of a pirate ship goes on quests for gold, etc.

I chose Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games as the warrior as she is a very strong character who fights for her life and for her beliefs

For the bad boy I chose Ren from Footloose as he isn't afraid to go against the rules and try to 'shake things up a bit', even when it means going against old traditions and causing a lot of trouble

SCOOP IT FRAGRANCE ADVERTS LINK

Here is a link to my Scoop.it page on Fragrance ads from across the ages: http://www.scoop.it/t/fragrance-adverts

SKYFALL EXTRACT ANALYSIS

For my action and adventure extract I chose the 'Skyfall' train scene at the beginning of the film. It is a classic action and adventure film and I can tell because it contains lots of typical action and adventure features, such as speed, jeopardy, suspense and combat.

The events show many of these qualities, for example the fast movement of the train and car creates speed. The jeopardy comes from the fact that Bond and the villain are fighting on top of a moving train about to go over a very narrow bridge with a huge drop. They could fall off or plunge into the water or onto the train tracks, but you don't know, which creates suspense. Suspense also comes from when the girl is about to shoot. Will she shoot? Will she lose them? Who will she hit? The combat and conflict comes from the two men fighting on the train. This is the typical 'battle between good and evil' seen in many films of this genre.

The action that happens in the extract is typical adventure with high risk involved: two men fighting on top of a moving train, and a girl who has to try and shoot the bad guy without hitting Bond. She also follows the train on a road on a cliff with no barrier to the edge, which is another example of jeopardy but also shows risk and danger, as in most adventure films. The action is again typical of the genre: there is a lot of emphasis on physical feats, like the fight on the train, which takes a lot of skill and balance to stay on and keep fighting. The story is emphasised in a way too, as it is easy and simple to follow; not too many stories or too much dialogue at one time. In fact, there is very little dialogue, which is another common feature of AA films.

The action in the extract impacts the audience by making them anticipate the ending. It grips them and keeps them watching by introducing consistent jeopardy throughout the extract so people keep watching as they want to know how it ends They also start to empathise with the characters, because they seem real and the elements of danger seem real too. They are in such difficult positions that it makes you imagine how hard it be if it were you there instead, and through this the audience feels empathy with the characters and the events they are going through.

Another aspect that makes this a typical AA film is that there is a hero, in this case Bond. Bond is a hero many people know well, so is normally instantly recognisable as good. However, in this extract it would be quite hard to tell the good guy from the bad, although the villain's suit isn't as smart, and he is quite thickset and frowning a lot, so I think you would know this way.
Bond is not a typical hero. He is good, and you can tell because he's fighting evil, and I think for an AA film you would probably expect the hero to have to fight at least once purely because of the nature of the genre (combat, conflict are common) so in this way he is  typical hero. However I would place him more under the category of anti-villain, because of the way he's fighting back and clearly has the potential to be dangerous and violent. He doesn't come across as a typical caring and peaceful person many think of when they think of a hero.

Overall, the characters and events in this extract show many typical features of an action and adventure film.