Advert analysis

GARAGE GARAGE Magazine SPRING-SUMMER 2015

HARRIET NICHOLLS FASHION COMMUNICATION AND PROMOTION FASH10106

“NATALIE PORTMAN IS MISS DIOR”

The BIG idea

Figure 6.

Naralie Portman Dior campaign 2015

Figure 7.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s DVD cover 2009

The Fragrance advert that I have chosen is an August 2012 Dior campaign for the fragrance Miss Dior Le Parfum, a reinvention of the original 1947 Miss Dior fragrance, starring American actress Natalie Portman.

The focal idea behind the campaign is to communicate with the target consumer; a 25-45 year old woman, through the use of storytelling and narrative. The campaign showcases the life of Miss Dior, who releases connotations of wealth, British elegance and youthful vitality. The campaign is one of many in which follow the story of the modern day Dior woman and how her life evolves as she gets older, exploring the key stages within her life, as she searches for love and says “I do”...or in the case of the latest 2015 short video campaign, “I don’t” (Sloman, 2013).

Figure 1.

Natalie Portman for Dior 2015

The target consumer for this fragrance is a 20-45 year old woman, who could perhaps introduce their daughters to the iconic fragrance as they grow older, much like that of the iconic Chanel fragrance Chanel No5.

Figure 2.

I feel that Dior are connecting well with their target consumer for this fragrance as they are allowing them to be a part of the creative process and unravelling storyline of the iconic Miss Dior, which makes for a more personable connection between the fragrance and the consumer, as they become more involved with the character (Posner, 2011).

Chanel No5 2005

The creative concept

The fragrance itself is a floral symphony created with notes involving rose absolute, vanilla, mandarin and amber. These notes reflect that of the brand essence of Dior, as it presents itself as an elegant, sophisticated, classy and luxurious brand.

Figure 3.

Vanilla 2015

Figure 4.

Rose 2015

There is a running theme throughout the Miss Dior campaigns to which showcase a neutral colour palette made up of soft dewy pastel pinks and a harsh juxtaposing block black.

Figure 5.

Amber 2015

At first glance, I was immediately struck by this campaign and its resemblance to that of the film cover for the 1961 classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, starring the iconic Audrey Hepburn (Hopkins, 2012).

The two images both showcase similar themes, yet in contrasting ways, perhaps portraying the idea of the evolvement of the modern day Dior woman.

Both images present roses, a symbol of love and romance, but in different ways. The Breakfast at Tiffany’s image clearly presents a single crimson pink rose on the left hand side. Whereas in the Dior campaign, the use of roses is much more subtle, as they are seen within the floral embroidering of the dress, as well as being a key note with the fragrance itself.

Figure 8.

Breakfast At Tiffany’s Film Poster 1961

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Roses are also historically linked with the late MarieAntoinette (1770), who is thought to have been a key heroine in history for the inspiration of the Miss Dior fragrance (Buxbaum, 2005).

Figure 9.

Marie-Antionette 18th Century

Figure 11.

Audrey Hepburn 1955

Figure 12.

Natalie Portman for Dior 2013

Figure 13.

Audrey Hepburn 1960

Figure 14.

Natalie Portman 2013

Immediately, you can see that the font used for both images are near identical with their soft, flowing feminine aura that mimic one another. Directly below the font, the rose gold fragrance bottle acts as the focal point of the Dior campaign as it is positioned in the centre of the image, naturally drawing the consumer’s eye straight towards the product. The soft, rose gold of the fragrance bottle is then reciprocated within the glowing gold tea pot in the bottom left hand corner of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s image, both connotating the idea of wealth.

In both of the images, both Natalie Portman and Audrey Hepburn are positioned in a similar way; both are sitting down in a slight hunched over position, leaning in towards the camera lens with a transfixed and sensual expression against a neutral backdrop.

Natalie Portman is presented as a modern day Audrey Hepburn throughout all of the previous Miss Dior campaigns, with running themes of pink and black dresses reflecting the two sides of Audrey Hepburn, the stereotypical girly girl and the rebellion. Aswell as the subtle, non obvious interpretations of iconic Audrey Hepburn moments.

Figure 10.

Audrey Hepburn & Natalie Portman 2012

Their left arms are also at corresponding angles, bent upwards with the hand touching the face in a soft and feminine manor.

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Figure 15.

Black Swan advertising campaign 2010

The hair and makeup styling of Natalie Portman in the Miss Dior campaigns also mimic that of the famous 1950’s American actress Grace Kelly, with her black feline eyeliner flick and nude lip corresponding with soft luxurious waves and overall natural styling.

Execution

Figure 17.

Grace Kelly 1950

The message and tone of voice perceived through the campaign is all about celebrating and empowering women, making them feel as though they do not have to transcend into the generalised stereotype of the suburban housewife; find love, get married and have children (Grown, Roa and Kes, 2005).

Figure 19.

Natalie Portman for Dior 2015

The contrast between the stereotypically girly girl and the more sexual, rebellious sides to the role, almost mimick that of the storyline of the 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan, to which the plot revolves around Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet. The production requires a ballerina to play the innocent and fragile White Swan, as well as the dark and sensual Black Swan. The film also coincidentally stars Natalie Portman as the lead role.

Yet the campaign also presents itself as a modern day unorthodox fairytale (Egolf and Chester, 2013), to which Miss Dior is presented as an attractive, successful and wealthy woman who strives for the finer things in life, yet it is also juxtaposed as it does not follow the stereotypical fairytale plot, to which she finds the love of her life and lives happily ever after, instead Miss Dior creates her own independent happily ever after without the need for a husband.

This is supported through Levi Strauss’ theory of binary opposites, to which he believes that binary opposites are the central climax for a narrative structure (Fourie, 2007), meaning that we discover the meaning of something by using its opposite, for example; the differentiation between fact vs. fiction and how they are perceived, as is apparent in this Figure 20. image.

Natalie Portman Dior advertising campaign 2015

Figure 18.

Natalie Portman 2011

Figure 16.

Black & White Swan 2015

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The campaign resents this stereotype as it presents a successful woman standing up for her rights and not conforming to the medias stereotype, as she jolts her husband to be at the alter in favour of leading an independent lifestyle to which she has full control over. Marxist theory states that the analysis ‘Polarisation of the Classes’ portrays the historical process of the class structure becoming progressively popularized. It is believed that soon all division of classes will have transformed into either the bourgeoisie or the proletariat (Wearing, 1998).

The advert is placed in fashion magazines such as Vogue, which I feel is a well fitted choice as it evokes the high-end and luxurious ethos that Vogue as a desirable brand upholds within its magazines.

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References

Summary In conclusion, I feel that this Miss Dior fragrance advertising campaign works well for both the intended consumer and Dior’s brand values, as it reaches out to woman who like the idea of a fairytale ending, but also want to see how it would unfold in real life.

With the campaigns use of old school glamour in a modernised form, it helps to reach out to a wider consumer, as it incorporates both historical and cultural references of the past, whilst modernising them to fit in with the millennial aged generation of new consumers.

List of Illustrations:

Figure The Big Idea Sector Fig. 1. Natalie Portman Dior campaign 2015 Fig. 2. Chanel No.5 Bottle Fig. 3. Vanilla Fig. 4. Rose Fig. 5. Amber The Creative Concept Sector Fig. 6. Natalie Portman Dior campaign 2015 Fig. 7. Breakfast at Tiffany’s DVD cover 2009 Fig. 8. Breakfast at Tiffany’s film poster 1961 Fig. 9. Marie-Antionette Fig. 10. Audrey Hepburn and Natalie Portman Fig. 11. Audrey Hepburn Fig. 12. Natalie Portman Fig. 13. Audrey Hepburn Fig. 14. Natalie Portman Fig. 15. Black Swan advertising campaign Fig. 16. Black and white swan Fig. 17. Grace Kelly Fig. 18. Natalie Portman Dior campaign 2015 Execution Sector Fig. 19. Natalie Portman Dior campaign 2015 Fig. 20. Natalie Portman Dior campaign 2015

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References:

Bibliography:

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-Berger, J. (1973). Ways of seeing. London: British Broadcasting Corp.

Buxbaum, G. (2005) Icons of Fashion: The 20th Century. United States of America: Prestel Publishing.

- Egolf, D. and Chester S. (2013) The Nonverbal Factor: Exploring the Other Side of Communication. United States of America: iUniverse.

-Bergstom, B. (2008). Essentials of visual communication. London: Laurence King Pub. -Brannon, E. (2005). Fashion Forecasting.

New York, NY: Fairchild Publications.

- Fourie, P. (2007) Media Studies: Media history, media and society (2nd edition).

South Africa: Juta &Co.

Buxbaum, G. (2005) Icons of Fashion: The 20th Century.-United States of America: Prestel Publishing

- Grown, C. And Roa G. And Kes, A. (2005) Taking action: achieving gender equality and empowering women. United States of America: Earthscan.

- Egolf, D. and Chester S. (2013) The Nonverbal Factor: Exploring the Other Side of Communication. United States of America: iUniverse.

- Hopkins J. (2012). Fashion Design: The Complete Guide. Switzerland: AVA Publishing SA.

- Fourie, P. (2007) Media Studies: Media history, media and society (2nd edition).

South Africa: Juta &Co.

- Posner, H. (2011) Marketing Fashion.

London: Laurence King Publishing.

- Grown, C. And Roa G. And Kes, A. (2005) Taking action: achieving gender equality and empowering women. United States of America: Earthscan.

- Sloman P. (2013) New Fashion Photography.

London: Prestel.

- Wearing, B. (1998) Leisure and Feminist Theory. London: SAGE Publications.

- Hopkins J. (2012). Fashion Design: The Complete Guide. Switzerland: AVA Publishing SA. - Posner, H. (2011) Marketing Fashion.

London: Laurence King Publishing.

- Sloman P. (2013) New Fashion Photography.

London: Prestel.

- Wearing, B. (1998) Leisure and Feminist Theory. London: SAGE Publications.

-Wheeler, A. (n.d). Designing brand identity.

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