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chanel

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Introduction

Perfume adverts in general and Chanel adverts in particular have long used star status to sell product.

In 2005/6, Chanel brought together Baz Luhrman(director) and Nicole Kidman (star) made ad referencing their successful collaboration in Moulin Rouge (2001) (though Luhrman claimed he based the advert on Roman Holiday (d William Wyler, with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck)

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Introduction

Cost $42 million ($2 million to Kidman)

Shown in cinemas and specialist film channels on TV with edited version for network TV

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Introduction

Cost $42 million ($2 million to Kidman)

Young man played by Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santono

Shown in cinemas and specialist film channels on TV with edited version for network TV and on Chanel4/Film4 in UK

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Introduction

Analysis of advert using Key Aspects of Categories/Genre, Narrative. Representation, Audience and Institution.

Language is not treated separately but integrated into other Key Aspects

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Although we don’t generally think of adverts belonging to own genres, perfume adverts such as Chanel No. 5 can be sub-divided into sub-genres showing how far discourses create meanings:

In this case the discourses of

• romance

and

• celebrity.

Genre

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Many contemporary adverts use celebrities which reflect upon way celebrity is represented in media. With perfume adverts, celebrity promises fame and romance.

Genre

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Use of celebrity endorsement not new.

Genre

Film stars such as Barbara Stanwyck, June Alyson and Marilyn Munroe all appeared in adverts for Lustre-Creme shampoo in 1950s to connote glamour.

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•Romance

•Love story, ‘brief encounter’ -

• loss of love based on stories like •The Lady of the Camellias (Alexandre Dumas, 1852)

• and Moulin Rouge (2001)

Genre

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Inside every celebrity there is an ordinary person - (in this case a dancer to reference the Moulin Rouge character)

- who could fall in love with an ordinary person whom they meet by chance

GenreMixed with more optimistic theme of films like Notting Hill (1999)

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Generic conventions - of ‘love at first sight’, the barriers to love, the memories of love, doing one’s duty - all encapsulated in advert.

Genre

Kiss is a central code to this genre (but - as a romance, sex is not).

Brief Encounter (1945)

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Fairy story theme that every woman would want to find their ‘prince’ even if he is a pauper

Genre

Like Cinderella, ball gown becomes an ordinary outfit in magical flourish using appeal to magic solutions - but there is twist in that this does not hinder romance but allows it to flourish.

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(Chanel had based a previous advert on another fairy story, that of Red Riding Hood, so these references to the fairy story subtly link the two campaigns together)

Genre

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As with all stories, series of enigmas and answers help to move narrative forward.

Key enigmas to be resolved are:

• Where can you find real love?

• Should you abandon career for Love?

Narrative

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As narrative unfolds this answered through micro questions such as:

• Who is she?

(We find out — ‘the most famous...’.)

• Who is she running from?

(We see the paparazzi ... and so on.)

Narrative

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The non-diegetic male voice-over helps to tell narrative from point-of-view of the male hero and so positions our identification with both protagonists.

Narrative

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Time and space rapidly changed as we move from

Narrative

the streets of New York

to a garret rooftop and

back to the red carpet

Similarities to locations and mise en scene in Moulin Rouge.

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Narrative Structure: Equilibrium/Disruption model

Narrative

Opens with the initial equilibrium of the hounded celebrity.

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Narrative Structure: Equilibrium/Disruption model

Narrative

connote her flight.

> Language.

The montage editing

monochrome colour

and unusual camera angles

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Disruption In running away from paparazzi she enters taxi where she finds young intellectual [he’s reading!) who does not recognise her as so engrossed in books.

Narrative

They have brief affair in which she leaves the trappings of celebrity to be an ‘ordinary girl’.

She escapes, says ‘drive’

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Then told by her controlling impresario/ manager[father figure) and by her lover that her responsibility is to her public.

Narrative

She accepts her fate and returns to the red carpet.

Disruption

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Now in control of her fame but always has memory of that moment of escape, ‘brief encounter’, to remember.

Narrative

Looks back to see the Chanel sign on roof-top with young man hanging off the crescent moon shape.

New Equilibrium

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Camera zooms in to a CU of jewel hanging down her bare back, a [diamond) ring with logo No. 5 inside Language.

Narrative

New Equilibrium

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Love is possible however seemingly unlikely the circumstance

- fleeting moment will be remembered through ‘her kiss; her smile; her perfume’.

Message also: everyone has responsibilities and that sometimes sacrifice necessary in order to meet them.

Narrative

The ideological message conveyed in the advert:

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Binary oppositions which help convey these meanings and resolve the fictional narrative based on:

• Being out of - or in – control

• Conflict between personal and public life

• Differences between rich and poor

• Being a celebrity or an ‘ordinary person’

• Conflict between duty or emotion.

Narrative

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The dominant beliefs (ideologies) that are

(re-) established:

those of duty and responsibility

but also that, for the working woman, career,

glamour and romance possible

- at least in fantasy world.

Narrative

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Kidman character moves though three

representations:

Representations

1.Hounded beautiful, female celebrity/star, conveyed through extravagant (stereotypically) pink flounce dress with hair disheveled as she runs, signifying how far she is out of control of her status as ‘the most famous’.

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Kidman character moves though three representations:

1. Contd.

Stereotype created by blonde hair and pink dress, again referencing Moulin Rouge, sort of Disney Cinderella look.

Classic stereotype - easily recognised by audience. Still a powerful image, nonetheless, seen countless times in media texts. Creates certain ambiguity for reader.

Representations

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2. Star transformed by wearing ordinary black and white suit

Language.

when, as a ‘dancer she falls for the young man in the love scene on rooftop.

Representations

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Representations

3.Finally, seen in a black fitted gown, sleek and strong hair pulled back and controlled as she moves calmly up red stair case in front of paparazzi, calmly accepting destiny. Language.

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Representations

Lighting helps to establish these changes

Starting from high key lighting with paparazzi . . .

Language.

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Lighting

Representations

… we move to low key romantic lighting on roof-top . .

Language.

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Lighting

Representations

.. and darkly lit space when she is told by her (male) lover and by her (male) secretary to return to the ‘real’ world;

Language.

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Representation

Young impoverished lover, stereotypically wearing glasses connoting intelligence, unworldliness and naivety (he is unawareof her fame).

Language.

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Representation

Clothes, eg white vest, suggest this.

Language.

Attractive, muscular, but ordinary.

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Representation

Manager/secretary in control of star persona is a male, older, shadowy figure.

Stands formally dressed in background.

Language.

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Representation

New York cityscape seen as a glittering, romantic. Yellow cabs and architecture immediately convey sense of place.

Language.

Place

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Representation

Fireworks connote emotion and celebration.

Swirling cameras, fast editing and bustle connote energy of the centre of celebrity world.

Language.

Place

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Allusions to mise en scene of the Paris (‘City of Love’) seen in Moulin Rouge particularly with roof-top scenes.

French connection of Moulin Rouge additionally referenced by romantic sounds of the (non-diegetic) music, Debussy’s Claire de Lune.

Language (Sound)

Representation

Place

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Audience

Target Audience

Primarily targeting young, reasonably up-market audience. Perfume linked to Moulin Rouge which helps to lower its TA age profile

Line of appeal: romance will overcome differences.

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Audience

Target Audience

Brand image of exclusivity but re-positioning for young is that this does not deny romance.

Company logo of two intertwined Cs identified with message throughout advert.

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Audience

TA

In UK advert shown in cinemas and on Channel 4 targeting young and ‘alternative’ viewers of the channelas well as cinema audiences for films like Moulin Rouge.

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Audience

TA

Viewers would have experienced pleasure of recognising intertextual references to Moulin Rouge as many of scenes referenced this in their design through the mise en scene and in the cinematography.

Pleasure consciously exploited by advert in knowing way.

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Audience

Genre and narrative of lost love may also have appealed to an older audience, with possible connections to texts such as the voice-over in David Lean’s Brief Encounter.Element of man making

decision for woman may also have linked with dominant ideologies of gender roles and appealed to male purchasers.Advert demonstrates (in simple way) how genders may

respond differently to a particular narrative

Differential reading/decoding

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Audience

Identification for females would be with glamour and status of celebrity both in advert and with Kidman herself.

For young men it is with the lover - handsome, strong, a Latin American romantic who capturesheart of star.

He is narrator and we follow his desire.

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Audience

For both primary (women buying for themselves)and secondary audiences (men buying it for women) buying Chanel No. 5 would buy into this romantic dream or myth.

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Audience

For audiences, intertextual refs in terms of theme of lost love, mise en scene, cultural knowledge of celebrity, Kidman as star,

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Audience

But also knowledge of other stars such as Marilyn Monroe [icon of the paparazzi hunted and haunted star) would add to their engagement with advert.

Before she became a star Marilyn Monroe had been pictured nude across a red draped background for a calendar and had famously claimed in 1954 that all she had on when she went to bed was Chanel No. 5.

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Advert part of Chanel’s ongoing high-profile campaignslinking celebrities to brand image.

Institutions

Appeared in television schedules and even featured on news programmes when first broadcast

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Campaigns like this have to build upon previous messages (previous campaign based on story of Little Red Riding Hood and was two-minute film).

Institutions

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Much research will be undertaken by advertising agencies involved to make sure each new campaign reinforces, but also changes or updates, message for the target audience to keep it contemporary,

Institutions

and particularly if product changes or wants to reposition itself in the market place as Chanel wanted to do in this instance.

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Campaign aimed to bring down age of the purchaser of Chanel No. 5 which was seen to have gained old-fashioned image.

Previously, people who bought it characterised as middle-aged men choosing it for their mistresses at airport shops or as birthday present for their grandmothers..

Institutions

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Institutions

Chanel needed to revitalise the brand by getting young men to buy it for their partners and for young women to wear it.

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Advert itself was in fact a ‘media event’.

Institutions

Accompanied by25-minute film of ‘the making of...’ and when screened in cinemas had rolling credits at end to help signify its filmic credibility.

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Although the No. 5 logo appears a number of times the perfume bottle never appears, which again helped to position it as a film rather than advert.

Why important?

Is it that showing the bottle - the product — would have broken fairy story spell? Made the purpose of the advert over-explicit?

Institutions