Tuesday 16 October 2012

First draft, introduction.


The representation of woman changes drastically when advertising a product to different genders. Through selling aspirations, companies are able to sell products. I will prove this with examples of Tom Ford and Chanel No.5s’ perfume campaigns. My aim is see whether sex sells and the effect these campaigns have on their audiences. Tom Fords’ campaign is very sexualised and objectifies woman in order to attract men. However, in the Chanel No.5 campaign, Nicole Kidman is portrayed as being very glamorous and sells aspirations of love and romance, which influences women to buy the product. To prove this I will look at what the companies are selling apart from the perfume, whether that be sex, ideology or escapism. I will also research whether this advertising was successful and whether the perfume products sold. To do this I will apply specific theories, one being Laura Mulvey’s theory of 'the male gaze' and how woman are objectified to meet male aspirations, another being the mirror stage and how this makes woman aspirer to be like the woman they see in advertising campaigns such as Chanel.

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Tom Fords sexuality

Tom Ford is openly gay, and he and his partner, journalist Richard Buckley, have been together since 1986. Buckley was the former Editor in Chief of Vogue Hommes International. Buckley was diagnosed with cancer in 1989 and after his recovery the two moved from New York to Italy. The couple reported the birth of their son, Alexander John Buckley Ford, in September 2012. - Wikipedia

Many find it shocking the Tom Ford is gay. This could build on the argument that the naked woman are used just for business purposes of selling a product and are not used to be objectified. 

Advertising critics response to Tom Ford perfume campaign



Tom Ford makes clothes only for men. He makes fragrances only for men. Why do his ads feature women? That was a rhetorical question.
First ad: the woman is biting the f*** you finger. B***j**, much? Other than the sunglasses, what in hell’s name does this have to do with men’s clothes? Oh wait. This isn’t selling clothes. It’s selling a culture.
Second ad (fragrance): the woman has a completely shaved body. This is not anywhere near a natural body. The bottle is placed between the legs. The hand leads to the bottle. The hand is an invitation. The bottle is the gift. Conveniently, it also stands in the place of the vagina. Message of the ad: if you buy this cologne, you also buy vagina. The woman has no head. She is not a real person.
Third ad: Actually has some men’s suits. Anyway, men can remain clothed. Women must be naked and available. Buy Tom Ford, buy a naked woman who will grab your crotch.
Fourth ad: Buy Tom Ford, buy the opportunity to stare at the naked shaved crotch of a woman.
In case you were wondering, the answer to the rhetorical question is that objectifying women is very profitable in the fashion industry. It’s an entire industry built on the assumption that people will pay, a lot, to be objectified (the clothes make you, man, not you your clothes). Clothes = identity.
Tom Ford’s response to criticism that his ads are sexist?
sunburntmirth.wordpress.com


This response is by someone clearly against the fact the woman are objectified in Tom Ford ads. All of the response is negative which shows the contrast against how people reacted to Chanel No.5.

Advertising critics response to Chanel No.5 perfume campaign


Nicole Kidman Ad for Chanel No. 5 Perfume

Chanel spent a ton of money for Nicole Kidman to star in its advertising campaign. A few years ago, she did a famous TV ad that cost millions, but the Australian celeb has also starred in about three or four different Chanel print ads. This is the best one.
The photography is beautiful. There is a very dark background, and most of the picture is in fact black, but the contrast is perfect. The soft lighting on her face, arm, hand, and back is sufficient.
Sexy and elegant are the two words that describe this beautiful celebrity ad. Nicole Kidman has her hair up in classic evening fashion, and she's wearing a black dress, also in the style of classic evening elegance.
Many perfume ads try too hard to be sexy and pass the threshold of moderation, ending up trashy. This ad isn't like that. Chanel is more highbrow.
Ads where the subject turns around or even turns just slightly and looks toward the camera are often effective at catching the viewers' attention. It's as if the viewer called and the subject turned around in response.
To the audience which would buy Chanel No. 5 and wear it on an elegant evening this is a very appealing advertisement. Simple. Sexy. Elegant. Classic. Chanel.
Rating: 3.0 stars

advertisingcritic.com


The response to the Chanel No.5 perfume campaign is very positive with critics referring to how beautiful, sexy and elegant Nicole Kidman looks and how the overall campaign is very classy and not trashy. This is very different to the response Tom Fords perfume campaign received. 


Tom Ford images




Aspects of the image

There are many aspects of the image that can build on the sex appeal of the campaign. The most obvious one is that the woman is naked which signifies sexuality. When looking deeper into the image other things catch the eye. for example, the woman’s red lipstick and fingernails signifies desire as well as sexuality. Her open mouth is a very erotic signifier, which can also mean sexuality and submissiveness. Her skin is covered in oil and almost wet which evokes feelings of heat and passion. In order to signify arousal and vulnerability the fragrance bottle is strategically placed in her cleavage so the viewer must look at her breasts. In contrast to the woman in the ad, who’s combined field of signs can be considered sexually impure or “dirty”; the white background is a sign of purity and innocence.

Tuesday 2 October 2012

How do your chosen texts attract their audiences? - Mad Men response.

            Mad men targets a smaller audience as less of the viewers would be able to relate to the characters as many would take a more passive than preferred reading to this specific text. Mad men is set in the 1960s and shows strongly how different issues and situations were treated at the time. For instance, one of the main characters is Don Draper who is a very strong, wealthy and a respected man.  He would be the hero in Vladmir Propps theory. The villain may be seen as Pete Cambell who is portrayed as a wealthy, powerful man along with Don, however has a different way of getting ‘to the top’. Evidence of this is shown in the scene where Pete asks Joan Harris to sleep with a man that may go ahead with a large business deal with the company if she does. He’s shown as very sly and turns situations around in order for them to work in his favour. Some viewers could see Joan as the princess as the situation she’s put in makes the audience feel sorry for her and is almost as if she were crying out for help.        
            The audience can relate to these characters through age, personality qualities and occupations which would give them personal identity and may make them more engaged with the show. Others, such as younger viewers, may find no relations to the characters and therefore take a passive reading to the text but still be interested through the escapism the show gives as its nothing like the audiences’ day to day lives due to the sexist opinions which are shown over and over in Mad Men.       
            Mad men is structured in a linear way, telling the story in sequence and constantly leaving enigma codes at the end of each episode to keep the audience hooked. Other techniques used along with enigma codes are the wide range of camera shots and lighting methods used. At many points throughout the episode of ‘the other woman’ Pete’s face is half in the light and half shadowed. This gives the audience a sense he is half good and half evil. Although he is a good man and feels as though he is doing his job at getting the best contracts for the company, he is the villain as he’s given Joan a hard choice to make that is clearly wrong. Don on the other hand says no to the idea of Joan sleeping with a man just for business as soon as he is aware of it, building on the audience’s views on him as the hero.  

How do your chosen texts attract their audiences? - Lost response.

        Lost is specifically targeted at a wide audience due to its ensenble cast meaning that different viewers can relate to different characters through personality, gender, age etc. For example, in season 1, episode 2, the scene where a polar bear is shot, Kate is seen as a leader relating her to the Lara Croft role. We see this when she leads the group through the jungle and breaks up arguments between Soya and Sayied. We also see her kind side when everyone is running from the bear and she stops for a second to worry about Soya whos left behind. The audience could personally identify with the characteristics of Kate and how she's being represented as the princess in Valdmir Propps theory while others could relate to Jack. Jack is seen as the hero which is shown in the scene where he's saving the police officers life. He's also portrayed as the most dominate male character, shown when Kate feels the need to ask for his permission when she wishes to go into the jungle to try and find a service for the radio. One character that leaves the audience unsure on this role is Soya. Throughout the episode Soya is shown as cocky, argumentative and racist which would make the audience believe he is the villain. However, he then kills the polar bear saving the rest of the characters lives, this could make the audience see him as the hero.
        Lost keeps the audience hooked through the use to enigma codes, use of non-digetic sound and certain camera shots. For example, when the cast first realise that they are not alone in the jungle a loud sharp sound plays which grabs the attention of viewers. The camera shot that closely follows this is a wide shot of all the characters stood behind the bear which is lying on the floor after having been killed. This is effective as it focuses on the characters faces and shows the bear out of focus. This scene allows the audience understand the hybrid of genres as the genres are sci-fi, fantasy and action
        The structure of Lost is non-linear as at various points throughout the episode the scene flashes back in time in order to answer questions the audience may have due to previous enigma codes.