Fragrance analysis - DIESEL 'Only the Brave'

DIES E L ONLY THE

BRAVE

This Diesel advert is evident-

ly aimed at men to buy this fragrance. Firstly, it uses references from the Marvel films and superheroes such as Iron man and Captain America - in fact, Diesel have created a Captain America limited edition of ‘Only the Brave’. These references may target young men who may not feel ‘as brave’ or may even wear it to feel confident and heroic, as this eau de toilette is for “only the brave” which supports this quote directly from the Diesel website: “It’s about drawing the necessary energy for self-accomplishment from deep within.

Defining your values and proving your own commitment to yourself.” It also challenges the men it is aimed at asking it says “Do you have what it takes?” — which gives the consumer confidence in a sense to purchase the product out of pure arrogance, as Diesel understand that most confident men are egotistical, arrogant and like to show off.

The model used in this advert is portrayed as strong, powerful and attractive which the target audience may perceive this as a role model or someone to look up to as they may want to be like them. It is clearly aimed at a younger market, as the model is young and wearing a ‘hoodie’ type cardigan and it is obvious at where it is referenced from (superheroes). The colours blue, grey and white are used to connote ‘coolness’ and portrays a very stereotypical ‘manly’ atmosphere. His fist is clenched in a way to resemble strength and determination and also is the shape of the bottle. This reaches out to the male audience as the majority of men want to be or feel strong to feel more ‘like a man’.

The fact that the quote “Do you have what it takes?” is placed just underneath the fist shows that the question is rhetorical - asking the audience if they have what it takes to be ‘strong enough’ to buy the fragrance to make them feel brave or what I mentioned before; to have confidence to buy it for the challenge.

The location where the image is shot is highly edited and there are no props, to make it look like the model is standing on the top of a city looking out at it from a cave or a mountain - almost referenced like a were wolf (with the full moon and the dark night, howling over the city looking proud and strong) implying that if you wear Diesel Brave, ‘you own the city. You are strong and brave enough to take control of the city.’ It gives men a sense of courage in their alter ego. The image of the city is illustrated to give the poster movement and edginess to the brand, as Diesel is already a very edgy, contemporary brand. It represents a futuristic atmosphere almost like the model is standing ‘in another dimension’. This again relates to a stereotypical film that a man would enjoy such as sci-fi films involving future technology. The illustration looks almost like a holographic city in which the man is standing over implying that this may be his ‘other world’ where he can conquer with his braveness.

“Reaching the male fragrance consumer is as much about reaching the people around him as connecting with the man himself,”- The NPD Group, Inc. /

NPD BeautyTrends

This quote supports my point about a man having confidence to believe in himself, to “connect with himself” and that is exactly what Diesel are doing with this fragrance ad, they are reaching out to the male consumer in a way which they can relate to. This contradicts the advertising strategy of ‘sex sells’. Most fragrance advertising is heavily revolved around sex and male fragrance ads usually objectify women as the main ‘goal’ implying that if they wear this fragrance they will ‘get lucky’ or they even objectify men, using the stereotypical muscly man with tattoos and oiled, tanned skin with a huge ego and confidence. This implies that if they wear this fragrance they will feel like the overly smug model in the poster. Some men may admire the models in these adverts as they want to be like them however, some men just think that the models look like ‘arrogant idiots’.

Diesel’s alternative to ‘Only the Brave’ is ‘Only the Brave Tattoo’ which is for a man “who chose who he wanted to be, and who, as an ultimate affirmation, tattooed it on his skin.”* Diesel’s advertising strategy is much more realistic and will increase sales as well as giving Diesel a trustworthy brand reputation. In addition to this, Diesel have not promoted using TV adverts which says a lot about the brand as it is clear that posters and short films works for them, and they prefer to be known via using social media and word of mouth. I found the short film being streamed on http://www.mensfashionmagazine.com/ and an article on “super hero scents” on http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk and it is the perfect way to get the attention of their target market.

In conclusion, this advert captures exactly what Diesel is as a brand which is a contemporary, edgy brand with attitude and this is conveyed both by Diesel’s advertising and promotion strategies, as well as their graphic design style on this poster. By using non-conventional fragrance advertising strategies they have effectively been able to sell this fragrance to their target market, which are young men who feel that they are ‘brave and have what it takes’ to feel confident and step up to a challenge.

References

* http://www.diesel.com/fragrances/only-thebrave/ (Date visited: 22/03/2014) * Port Washington, NY - Results on US fragrance industry (June 12, 2013) -The NPD Group, Inc. / NPD BeautyTrends / Website: https://www. npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/ the-npd-group-reports-on-mens-fragrance-usage/ (Date visited: 22/03/2014) * *DIESEL - Only the brave tattoo http:// www.diesel.com/fragrances/only-the-brave/ brave-gallery4/%20#page-article (Date visited: 23/03/2014) * Captain America Only the Brave: Author: mylifeonandofftheguestlist Blog: http://www. mylifeonandofftheguestlist.com/2011/06/diesel-introduces-only-brave-captain.html

Bibliography

* http://www.diesel.com/fragrances/only-thebrave/ (Date visited: 22/03/2014) * Port Washington, NY - Results on US fragrance industry (June 12, 2013) -The NPD Group, Inc. / NPD BeautyTrends® / Website: https://www. npd.com (Date visited: 22/03/2014)

* http://www.diesel.com/fragrances/only-thebrave/ (Date visited: 22/03/2014) * Port Washington, NY - Results on US fragrance industry (June 12, 2013) -The NPD Group, Inc. / NPD BeautyTrends® / Website: https://www. npd.com (Date visited: 22/03/2014) * *DIESEL - Only the brave tattoo http://diesel.com (Date visited: 23/03/2014) * Research on illustration in advertising Author: Dmytro Nesterov / Website: http://www. w3illustration.com/custom-illustrations/news/reasons-why-you-need-illustrations/52 (Date visited: 23/03/2014) * Captain America Only the Brave: Author: mylifeonandofftheguestlist Blog: http://www. mylifeonandofftheguestlist.com/ * Source: Youtube OnlytheBravebyDiesel - http://www.youtube.com (Date visited: 23/03/2014) * All images: www.pinterest.com (Date visited: 24/03/2014)

ANIA KANWAL

CREATIVE NETWORKS FRAGRANCE ADVERT ANALYSIS