Perfume Advert Marked Assessment

Advert Analysis: Intimately Beckham

Codes and conventions:

The two models are close to each other and positioned with the woman leaning against the man. Both are wearing black which makes their skin stand out against the black background. The perfume bottles are in the foreground at the bottom of the advert but are not a part of the scene with the two models, they have been superimposed on. The slogan “Intimately Beckham” is a similar colour to the models skin tone so it stands out against the background. The word “Night” is made up of small dots of white which are similar to the lights sometimes used in Hollywood signs. The camera angle is face on to the models and only shows their head and shoulders, the light is also being shined on them which makes their skin glow and makes them look surreal.

The image is culturally specific to England because the models are British icons and well known in England. The models are famous and this helps promote the perfume because it makes people feel good if they use a perfume that a famous person used or made. It also implies that using the perfume might put the consumer in the same situation as the Beckhams, is represents and appealing lifestyle. The genre is intimacy and erotica as the two models are very close and the models have their arms around each other’s necks which would mean that they have a lot of trust in each other. The Beckhams also use the perfume advert in a second way and that is to advertise themselves and bring attention to the fact that the perfume is theirs which will get them more money and attention.

Representation:

The world represented is exciting because the models are rich and famous, but the advert also represents love and relationships. The female model is being represented as a sex object and submissive to the male model. This is shown through the female facing more towards the male than the camera while he is looking directly at the camera. The male has his arm around the female’s neck and is gripping her arm which is a show of dominance. The female has he left hand holding the males arm and it shows her wedding ring and this implies that she belongs to him, while his wedding ring is hidden. The advert reinforced traditional attitudes towards marriage because the female is submissive and the male is dominant.

Audience:

The advert is from the magazine FHM, which is targeted at a male audience; this means the advert is too. There is a perfume for women advertised along with the men’s perfume which implies that the advert is aimed at married men or couples. The target audience is most likely C1 and B class, although it may also be appealing to low A class. The advert appeals to the audience because is shows a desirable lifestyle and a glamour that many people strive for.

Evaluation:

Overall I think that the advert is very well done for its target audience, it shows C1 and B class males an ideal lifestyle with a beautiful girlfriend or wife and lots of fame which many men aspire to. The advert implies that using the perfume made and publicized by a British iconic couple could give the consumer the same. Although this probably wouldn’t happen the idealism is there. The perfume is endorsed by the Beckhams which makes the perfume seem more exclusive and this would encourage the consumer to by the product. The dark colour of the perfume bottles adds mystery and, added with the couple, is looks seductive.

My Final Advert

I called the perfume Dawn because it represents new beginnings which mean that the perfume is associated with new starts and renewals. The perfume name also links with the slogan “Feel Renewed” and the background as it supports the whole sunrise theme. The perfume bottle is gold which the colour of the sunrise is and this further connects to the scene. The silhouetted woman is standing in front of the rising sun which makes her stand out and catches the eye of the consumer, the sunrise surrounds the model and makes her look ethereal. The models body language portrays confidence as well as seductiveness and because she is wearing a short dress she looks sophisticated. The camera is front on and at a medium range so the whole model can be seen as well as the background. I did this because I wanted the background to be a part of the scene because it is important to the overall effect of the advert. I used natural backlighting from the sun; the background picture is a sunrise so the lighting is natural and I used this type of lighting so the model would become silhouetted which gives the effect of the women being surrounded by the sunrise. I placed the product in the foreground because the space at the bottom of the screen is very dark so the bottle stands out as a contrast against the black and draws attention because it’s the brightest object in the advert.

I used a dull yellow for the sunrise and a bright gold for the perfume bottle. I did this because I wanted the bottle to stand out and not fade into the sunrise in the background; I used a dull yellow for the sunrise because it was more natural, I did originally put in some pink but the effect didn’t look as good as the yellow alone, I tried lightening and darkening the final picture to see if the effect was changed and I found that lightening the picture made the sunrise look too bright and darkening the picture lost the legs of the silhouette which I didn’t want because the haze around the legs makes the model look better. The stars at the top of the picture are to add atmosphere because I wanted the consumers to know that the background is a sunrise and not just a light, the stars were also added because people think of stars as mysterious and sometimes romantic in the right setting so I added them to help set the scene as enigmatic as well as romantic.

The target audience is females aged 20s to 30s, I used a female model in the advert to show this and the female model wears a dress to show that she is sophisticated as well as a career woman which means that the females are in the C1 and B demographics. The slogan “Feel Renewed” could indicate an older age group such as 30s to 40s but the model makes the slogan appeal to career or women in education as they would feel tired from working.

The Advert sparks interest because of the silhouetted woman, the silhouette creates mystery and because the silhouette is of a woman and this makes her looks seductive so the genre is shown as mystery/romance. The world and lifestyle being represented is quite surreal, but also sophisticated and exciting. The model looks sophisticated but it also looks quite surreal because of the light coming from behind her that creates a haze of light and makes her look unreal. The advert isn’t targeted at any particular culture, country or race as the female model doesn’t show any ethnicity, nor does the background portray any icons from different cultures or countries. The advert doesn’t stereotype against the female in the picture, the model is shown as the focus point of the scene along with the perfume and is quite dominant rather than submissive which implies the perfume gives confidence in life.

The advert is appropriate for the target audience because it does not depict women in a negative way but empowers them so it is not sexist, the advert appeals to young 20s audience because the advert shows a sophisticated woman which most young women would aspire to as many women in their 20s are in work or education. It appeals to women in their late 20s because the perfume is shown as a ‘must wear’ for sophisticated women so the perfume is made to be an accessory for career women.

Advert Attempts

When I tried to do practise pictures of the background the lighting wasn't very good, I tried to take pictures of dawn and sunset to get the right lighting but at dawn the sky just steadily became lighter until the sun appeared which wasn't the effect I was looking for. At sunset (above) the setting sun wasn't big enough to create the light I needed for the shot, the colours were also too different from the rising sun so the effect of dawn was ruined. Norwich doesn't have the best light at dawn because the sky is often overcast. The best plan would be to either use a picture of a dawn from the internet that has better lighting conditions or to use a spotlight/floodlight to create the sunrise and add the colours in later.

I tried various lights to try and make the desired effect but most of the pictures turned out like the one above. Sunrises are generally a line of dark and the light from the sun makes a half circle and shines light upwards and to the left and right to create a halo around the rising sun. The light in the picture doesn't do that in the right direction or as far out as it would in picture with a actual sunrise. I don't think the light in this picture would create a big enough silhouette to be seen properly. The best plan would be to use a sunrise from a picture in another country such as from a mountain top becuase it would show the light properly in the way I want it. I tried to do a mock up of the silhouette with the light in the background but the light wasn't strong enough to make the silhouette and the light went either side of the model and lit up other parts of the room which was not how I wanted the picture to turn out. Artificial lighting didn't seem to work very well for the picture, the lighting wasn't bright enough to create the desired seen. I will try to make the right effect using a different light and background to try and make the light go the way I want.

I tried to have two walls close together to see if that helped with the lighting behind the model. The light bounced off the walls and illuminated them which ruined the effect of the sunrise. I tried various lights behind the model and different backgrounds to make a sunrise effect but I couldn't get enough light to make it look realistic. I think that using a sunrise already pictured to make the advert background would be the best option because it is very difficult to get the right amount of light artifically without using hig powered spotlights. Highpowered spotlights still may not make the amount of light because they are highly focused and the light would drown the model and may even shine past her and ruin the picture. Using a sunrise would be the best option and super-imposing a silhouette would make the effect better than a real life model with a real sunrise because the lighting would be brighter from a picture with the model added rather than being in the picture to begin with.

Advert Idea

In my perfume advert I had the idea of a female model standing with the light of a sunrise behind her so she is in shadow and silhouetted. The colours would be quite dull and the perfume would be colourful to draw the eye.

I choose a sunrise as a background because the perfume is going to be called 'Dawn' and so the background would link with the perfume name and make it more memorable. The sunrise will also make a haze around the model and the light coming from behind the model will make her a silhouette and make a stronger picture. The colours used for the background will be soft pinks and yellows and the perfume bottle will have a similar colour to the background, either pink or yellow to link it to the scene, although the perfume bottle will have a brighter colour so it draws the attention. I decided to have the model silhouetted because it will make the model look more seductive and enigmatic. I have decided to have the model wearing a shorter dress because it implies confidence. The silhouettes with longer dresses look like they are going to a party which would imply that the perfume is only for special occasion use, soI decided to have the model wearing a shorter dress becuase it looks less formal and so the perfume does too.

The perfume is going to be in the foreground of the picture and be quite big and colourful so it catches attention, it will most likely be a brighter version of the sunrise colours, so either dark pink or golden yellow.

The genre of the advert is going to be seduction and romance and the target audience is 20 to 30's. The slogan will be "Feel Renewed", I chose this because the perfume is called Dawn and dawn signifies a new day and a fresh start so the slogan links in with the perfume.

Initial Research Cosmetic Adverts

The Dior perfume advert represents freedom and an idealistic lifestyle. The balloons are pulling the model up and away from normal society so it connotes better lifestyles, the background birdseye view of Paris shows an fanciful life in a romantic city. Paris is shown as small in the background of the picture which focuses the attention on the model. The model is wearing pink which is a colour that implies love and romance, she is holding a huge bottle of perfume which also draws the eye and links the perfume to the idealized scene. I like that the picture is colourful and attracts attention if seen in a magazine or on a billboard. I think that I will have a very colourful perfume bottle to be striking in the advert to catch the audiences eye.

The Gucci Envy advert shows two models about to kiss which implies that using Envy will make other people envious of the consumer. The perfume bottle is the only item in colour in the scene and balances well with the picture of the models so they don't outshine each other. The trademark 'Gucci' and the perfume name 'Envy' is written in white which contrasts against the skin of the models and stands out. I like the idea of the words being a contrasting colour to the scene behind it because it can be read easily and is prominent in the scene.

The Calvin Klein advert has very dull tones and the purfume bottles are in colour, this implies that the perfume 'Escape' will brighten up the consumers life. The trademark is in big letters because some consumers like brand names. The scene is quite large and the models seem to overshadow the perfume bottle but the perfume name is huge and this balances it out. I like that the female model is wearing a dress because it looks seductive. The perfume is for both males and females so I like that there is both genders in the picture to show this.

Britney Spears perfume is shown with connotations of animals and nature, the perfume is green which stands out against the soft colours of the scene. The model wears white to symbolise innocence and the slogan "The greatest freedom is to believe in yourself" ties in with the freedom of birds. Most of the birds in the scene are in white cages which also ties to the model to imply that she has power over the freedom of the bird and therefore herself. I like that the model interacts with the other things in the scene.

This advert looks quite sophisticated becuase the black, purple and blue colours look edgy and refined. The model is wearing black and has her hair tied back which looks professional and implies and good career and this is an idealistic lifestlye. The model looks like a career women which targets career women or women who want a career. The scene is involved with the perfume becuase the model is holding the perfume and appears to have written out the perfume name. The perfume name is the centre point of the advert and attracts the most attention. I like the seductiveness of the model wearing black becuase it can look both professional and mysterious.


This Calvin Klein advert is different from the other one, it has very bright colours to signify summer and freshness which is implied by the sea and sand. There are no models in the advert but it still has a scene, although it is not as active as most adverts that have models in. The advert is simple and clean which is quite different from other adverts that have either romance or sexual implications in them. The empty background of the sea also connotes opportunity and changes in lifestyle becuase of the sea. The advert is radically different from most other ads but still has many, if not more, implications behind it that make the advert interesting. I like the simplness of this advert.

This Chanel advert is quite sexual and uses a well known actress as the model Keira Knightley. The model is not wearing clothes and covers herself with a white cloth and a black hat which implies that she has a lover becuase the white cloth looks like a mans shirt. The advert represents a idealistic lifestlye and makes the consumer want the perfume. The perfume bottle is quite a bright colour which draws the eye and is situated right next to the model to keep her in the eyeline. The background behind the modell and perfume bottle isn't too active so it keeps the consumers attention on them, the background is quite simple. I like the use ot spot lights on the background becuase they are in line with the models face and make her look etheral and surreal, it also makes the perfume bottle look brighter becuase it looks like it has a spotlight on it too which draws attention.