I have chosen to compare three different advertisements that span ten decades of fragrance advertising and representation of men and women. Chanel no 5, (print, 1920s) Charlie Revlon, (print, 1970s) and Lynx: Unleash the Chaos (television advertisement 2012).
Chanel no 5 (Print, 1920s)
The Chanel woman depicted here in the centre of the shot, which represents her importance in the advert and depicts how she is the main focus. She is wearing a long beautiful dress which is flowing at the bottom, which represents elegance and beauty. Chanel is an aspirational and classic brand: as a French perfume it represents sophistication and class. Whilst most women could never hope to emulate the lifestyle represented in this image, the lure of the haute couture, the sex appeal of the two men and the theatrical atmosphere seduces the potential consumer.
Rich, well dressed and attractive, she is woman of her time.
This woman's representation as an attractive woman of her time is further represented with the words "every woman alive loves Chanel no. 5" this is saying that all women must love chanel no 5 and essentially, anyone who does not is not a real woman (which represents common gender stereotyping in the advertising industry at that time)
Gender stereotyping is further represented due to her having two men beside her. They are well dressed, good looking men who are beside her, holding her and essentially protecting her. This gives off the impression that wearing Chanel will make you presentable for your man, which is an extremely sexist agenda used by several advertisers during the 1920s as women were still seen as inferior to men. (the common belief being that women had to stay in the home and cook)
The recurring theme that I have noticed throughout the perfume advert is the theatrically styled representation of the woman and her surroundings. She is wearing a long flowing dress that many people would associate with Red Carpet events today, with long white gloves which are associated with very formal events. The presence of the two men holding her hand and essentially leading her conveys the image of the woman being led onto the stage - further represented by the curtains on either side of her. The advert is interesting when compared to my two other choices due to the early portrayal of women in the perfume industry. Being extremely vulnerable and needing a man to protect her, compared to being independent, free and completely in control of what she does and who she is.
Charlie, Revlon (Print, 1970s)
The second advert I chose for my analysis is Charlie, by Revlon. (1973)The main thing
that surprises me about this vintage advert is actually due to the feminist
values that it portrays. This is not an advert of “if you wear this, it will
make a man want you” or “this is a perfume to show you your place in society”
(as seemed to be the common theme at the time) this advert broke past that
social stereotype and did not try to over-exaggerate itself. It is very much a product of its time: A time in Britain known for changes in society and youth culture, and a grand era of post-feminism.
The
advert does not
use some skinny, large breasted supermodel as its main focus, but uses
someone
who is just an ordinary woman walking down the street. There is no man
staring
at her and she is staring at no man, she is independent and free. She is
at the
centre of the camera, promoting the idea that she is no sex object and
is a
true, happy human being like everyone else. Being at the centre of the
camera signifies that she is important, and due to the normality of her
character, Revlon is trying to explain that you are important.
The woman in this advert is wearing a hat, with long, flared trousers and what looks like a coat. She is staring at the camera and smiling, symbolising that she is happy and also representing that if you wear Charlie, then you will be happy too. It is a counter stereotype to the idea that “a woman’s place is in the home” She is walking outside, away from the house which represents the fact that she is a free woman. She also walks with big, long strides, which suggests that she is confident and believes in herself, which I think is one of the other main messages of the advert. It is post-feminist, and it is trying to signify that you should be happy with yourself, and what better way to do that than to wear Charlie?
The woman in this advert is wearing a hat, with long, flared trousers and what looks like a coat. She is staring at the camera and smiling, symbolising that she is happy and also representing that if you wear Charlie, then you will be happy too. It is a counter stereotype to the idea that “a woman’s place is in the home” She is walking outside, away from the house which represents the fact that she is a free woman. She also walks with big, long strides, which suggests that she is confident and believes in herself, which I think is one of the other main messages of the advert. It is post-feminist, and it is trying to signify that you should be happy with yourself, and what better way to do that than to wear Charlie?
The actual text of the advert reads “Charlie is a sexy,
gorgeous young smell and full of surprises, just like you”. This is significant
because it further signifies the idea that this “Charlie” is a girl just like
you. The likening of the attractive smell of the perfume to whoever is reading
the advert is signifying that it doesn’t matter who you are or what you look
like. You are an ordinary girl, and you are just like Charlie. It is “a most
original fragrance”, which also signifies how modern the perfume really is. It
is not following old values, it is original.
It is interesting to see this advert compared to Chanel No.5 which has the opposite of the message of Charlie,
whose message is essentially to "be yourself". Chanel no 5 represents typical 1920s conventions of elegance, class and aspiration, whereas the message of Charlie is that you do not need a
man to fulfill your wildest imagination. If you wear the perfume, then
you will be strong, independent and free to be yourself. You so not need to be supported by a man because you are not vulnerable, you are free to express yourself in however way you choose. This idea separates the two perfume adverts, as they are both connote such different ideas.
Lynx: Unleash the Chaos (Television Advert, 2012)
The advert I studied was Lynx Unleash The Chaos. (2012) This is a rather amusing advert, created to try to sell
their latest deodorant Lynx Attract. (A clever play on words as ) The main narrative arc of the advert is that boy falls for girl or girl falls for boy, which
results in a chain reaction of slapstick proportions. (a rather different approach to the other two adverts, which focused on how the perfumes would express the woman's confidence, or sense of elegance)
In the past, Lynx
advertisements have offered stereotypical representations of
masculinity and femininity (gender relations, in particular). This
advert breaks the mould. Formerly, the Ad executives at lynx have
always faced controversy due to their
usually stereotypical, sexual portrayals of women such as women being
saved by
a ‘knight in shining armour’ or given
an extremely miniature role of just being the ‘prize at the end of the road’.
Whereas, in both this advert and Charlie, women are not shown in an extremely sexual manner
or the prize of the man, as they are both treated equally in the Lynx advert. (I.e.
they are both looking for each other) The men in the advert are not
particularly commanding or depicted as physically strong, they are just, well,
people, which is exactly like the women in the advert. One sex is not regarded
as superior; they are both regarded as equal. This is further developed in the
fact that in most of the shots where a duo is seduced by each other, you see
both of them together, and both people are in the centre of the camera,
outlining that they are both important, not just one of them. Both Unleash the Chaos and Charlie much more modern than Chanel no 5 because Chanel focuses on extreme traditional values such as women dreaming of fame and elegance. Charlie and Unleash the chaos connote the evolution of women's rights and general public opinion, as they are not thought of as weak and vulnerable and aspiring for impossible dreams, they are still people, and deserve just as many rights as men do, which is why the men and women in the lynx advert are represented as equal and the Charlie woman is represented as strong and carefree to find her own path in life. The reason the Lynx advert differs to the other two advertisements I have studied is because of a complete lack of control that both sexes have towards each other which is an effect of the perfume. The women depicted in Chanel no 5 and Charlie are much more civilised and controlled, being very calm and collective rather than stricken by love and unable to control themselves.
The main message of the Lynx advert seems to be that lynx attract
is so strong and incredible that it will make you completely lose your train of
thought when you find someone wearing it, which may (or may not) result in the
complete destruction of civilization and possibly mass manslaughter. (due to
people forgetting what they are doing, eg driving) The deodorant will enchant
your partner so much, that it will truly ‘unleash the chaos’, making sure that each sex will find each other so irresistible that they completely lose control. (which really isn’t
an ideal message to be sending about your product, but hell that’s just me) Overall, I think that this advert is essentially parodying
the extremes of being attracted to someone, in this case one person falling for
another leads to disaster as cars crash and trees set on fire for some reason.
Lynx is essentially trying to reinvent themselves by using an idea that is
totally unique and unlike anything they have done before to try and increase
its target audience. (as an advert which has elements of humour, would be much
more successful than one completely based on boy falling for girl)
In conclusion, the three advertisements that I studied are all drastically different from each other as they are products of different times in society and the portrayal of women in popular media has greatly improved as time has progressed, veering from the usual 'Damsel in Distress' and 'vulnerability' trope present in the Chanel advert, to include women such as the Charlie woman, who is carefree and independent, essentially a big product of the 1970s post feminist era. As time moved into the 21st century the depiction of women has changed even further, with adverts like Unleash the chaos, which connote the idea that women and men are equal, and that both sexes are still just people, prone to the same vulnerabilities of falling in love.
