Whimsical.
Adventurous. Independent. Feminine. Playful. Wouldn’t you want to have some of
the experiences that the leading character in this advertisement is showing?
The purpose of this advertisement is to sell Miss Dior Cherie perfume. It is
directed exclusively to captivate a female audience. The upbeat French music
paired with soft ladylike colors helps to create the perfect ambiance for the
message being portrayed.
Foreshadowing Balloons
In the opening scene, we see a
few balloons floating away in a pale blue sky. This is sort of youthful and
playful as children often have balloons and sometimes let them free. The
balloons float in their own path without any sort of direction or structure.
This is foreshadowing the style of the young woman who is the main character of
the advertisement. As the balloons are drifting about whimsically, the young
woman is also about to peruse around town whimsically doing anything she
pleases, seamlessly without a care in the world. The message here is that you
can relax and go with the flow in any manner of your choosing.
Independent Adventure
Next, we see the young woman
looking out of a backseat car window in awe. Since she is in the backseat, it
gives the audience the assumption that she may be in a taxi cab. From here, we
may conclude that the young woman is on vacation and vacation is a great time
to be adventurous and explore. This is precisely what the young woman does
next.
The
woman walks around town independently wearing a pale pink dress. Alone, she
happily does some sight-seeing around a gorgeous picturesque fountain, stops to
see the beautiful flowers through a shop window, carefully chooses a decadent
pastry, takes herself for a bike ride, tries on a designer gown, and goes
shopping all before plopping down on what appears to be a comfortable hotel
suite bed for a moment of rest. We then see her using the perfume before
heading back out on the town to indulge in a pastry and kiss a man. Our main character is then carried
away by a bushel of colorful balloons right before the brand name is sewn
across the screen using a silky-smooth material. Overall these items reiterate
that you can be perfectly happy exploring on your own, without another person.
Fountain of Cleanliness
and Youth
When you
think of fountains there are a few things that may come to mind. The clear
water in the advertisements can be a metaphor for showering, which links to
cleanliness. When you stand near a fountain especially if the wind is blowing,
you may get sprayed with water. Spraying is exactly what you would do with Miss
Cherie perfume. The fountain can also be analyzed to reference the fountain of
youth as many women may wish to be younger. We also see the appeal regarding
freshness with the use of flowers in multiple scenes. This idea is two-fold as
we can conclude that flowers smell wonderful and also that the woman is looking
at “fresh cut flowers”. The desire to be young and fresh is definitely targeted
by the advertisement.
Product Placement
Throughout
all of the adventures described above, the product is sometimes tucked away
almost to appeal to your subconscious. In other frames, the perfume bottle is
blatantly engaging. The product makes its first debut in the sweets shop, but
it is not the main focus. To the left of the perfume bottle, there are brightly
colored treats that are pink, yellow, peach and orange that catch the viewers
eye. In the first few views, it appears that they woman is selecting her treat
by pointing to which item she would like. Upon closer inspection, it appears
that her finger strategically happens to be pointing in the same direction as
the perfume bottle. This represents that the perfume is also a treat along with
the idea of “treat yourself.” Perhaps, the company is suggesting that you treat
yourself by buying their perfume.
The
perfume bottle appears again in the woman’s hotel suite and again appears to
blend in as opposed to stand out. Contained in the frame, we see a pair of
yellow sunglasses, beautifully colored cherries, a magazine with a glamorous
woman on the front, a bright pink book, a carefully wrapped box that we may
assume to be jewelry, a paper weight, and a part of a vase filled with flowers.
All of these items have a very feminine feel to them and follow the same theme
of treating yourself, relaxing, and adventure.
In the
next perfume bottle sighting, the woman is spritzing some on her neck before
heading out to her next set of escapades. Shortly following, she is seen holding
what appears to be an extremely large bottle of Miss Cherie perfume and
joyfully looking through the bottle as if It were a looking glass. This fits
the idea of youth and playfulness. The product isn’t shown again until the very
end of the advertisement.
Lavish Luxury
All of these elements combined, gives
women the idea that they too can be like the woman in the advertisement if they
wear Dior Miss Cherie perfume. The French music along with feminine elements
and a carefree approach portrays the idea of adventurous freedom. The video
clip as a whole also has a luxurious feel to it as the clothes, jewelry box,
and imagery appears to be high end. The leading lady’s carefree attitude can
also give the impression that she has no financial concerns, which is a very
desirable position to be in. While the advertisement is entertaining to watch
and lifts spirits, it is also creating an unrealistic expectation. Any woman
could choose to roam around freely in a desired destination, but this perfume
won’t cause that to happen. The perfume also won’t take your cares away, or
make you young, but it may make you smell nice.
Note: I used the Deconstruction a Video Advertisement document posted in the module to get ideas about what to analyze and how to proceed. http://www.mediaed.org/handouts/DeconstructVideoAd.pdf
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