My favorite ad ever. Not necessarily the best ad ever, mind you, but I love it. Have a look.
I think that if you're a woman, the brilliance of this commercial speaks for itself. But if not, here's a primer. The stuff you put on your face is something you put there because if you don't, you will be less valuable in our image-focused society. So when you apply makeup, face creams, anti-wrinkle creams, acne treatments – the list goes on and on and on – you're protecting yourself against rejection, fighting society itself. This commercial shows a woman preparing for this war in the more blatant old-fashioned way. This woman is like most women in our society, a beautiful strong warrior. Yet this is what most women feel they are not – and so this commercial offers them what they would like to be. I love the metaphor, the imagery, the music, even the slogan. Prepare for victory beautifully.
Now, if this lady is such a strong warrior, why the smile? Well, look at the commercial without it. Here it is with the smiling removed completely.
Creepy, right? Yeah, a little bit. Still cool, but now I'm a little bit afraid of her – not good for selling makeup.
And what's wrong with this brilliant Olay commercial? Well, you may have spotted it already. It doesn't tell you what the product is. I won't lie. When I decided to review this ad, I had no idea what it was for. I just knew it was that wonderful commercial with the war paint.
Yes, you see the little bottle, and if you're quick, you can read it: Olay Total Effects 7. If you're curious, I looked it up: Total Effects 7 is actually an entire line of products designed to "fight 7 signs of aging." It offers moisturizer, intense moisturizer, tanning lotion, foundation, wrinkle-smoothing cream, night-time wrinkle cream, eye bag and wrinkle cream, exfoliants, foaming cleanser, cream cleanser, acne cleanser, moisturizing body wash, exfoliating body wash, even special cleansing cloths.
You've got to be a ninja just to choose which product to buy. A highly skilled specimen of pure success in all situations. So the warrior metaphor is still perfect. But when you start to get into the nuts and bolts of cosmetics, it's hard to stay in the fantasy.
It's a complicated product, and it needs a complicated ad to help you get through the intricacies of what's right. Imagine you'd really like to buy this product. You managed to find the name of the product in the commercial. You're so impressed that you at least want to go see what the product is, as it could be one of many (see above). You get to the store, you find Olay, and you stare at hundreds of bottles labeled Total Effects 7. Do you buy them all? Of course not. Are you able to choose just one? Probably not. Chances are, you leave without any Olay products – you buy what you've always bought.
For this spot to be a real success, it needs to be advertising a simpler product, because the message is simple. Prepare for victory beautifully.
Want to see another ad that I loved - but that fell just slightly short? Stay tuned for Tassimo.
The ad is pretty cool, and empowering. It's interesting because in some ways beauty products and the beauty industry often make women feel inferior, by telling them that they're not pretty enough, have too many wrinkles, and should do something about that acne. This one shows, well, pride and natural beauty. The woman isn't putting on lots of makeup, just moisturizer.
ReplyDeleteI disagree on one point though. I think that the commercial specifically is promoting the moisturizer (simply because that's the product she's using on her face). To me, the flaw with this commercial is that it doesn't really mention that it's an anti-aging cream/product line. Even if I liked the commercial enough to seek out the product, the stigma of "anti-aging" would probably make me not want to buy it. In fact, that's probably why they didn't mention it in the ad, but once I got to the store, I'd see the "fight aging" bit and decide that it wasn't the product for me.
Agreed! Although the model has some makeup on - at least some lip color and mascara, I think - it's definitely a strangely natural look for a cosmetics ad.
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point about the subject of anti-aging products. It seems like a topic that's mostly confined to infomercials and sitcoms, the message being that if you're using an anti-aging product, it's already too late for you. And while we're on the topic of age, I can't really believe that this model is above thirty, and that's a stretch.
I think Dove has handled this anti-aging paradox best so far, but sadly, I haven't seen much of its pro-age campaign. Though I know the products are still available, the TV commercials promptly disappeared shortly after their debut.
Update! I spotted a version of this ad on TV that showed a different product at the end. It specifically said "Cooling Hydration," so I'm guessing there are a few different versions showing different products.
ReplyDeleteThen again, I don't take back what I said; it's still not enough information for me to make a purchase.