essay so far

A comparison of how women are represented in perfume and fragrance adverts from the 1920s 1970s and 2015

I am going to compare how women are portrayed from the 1920s to 2015 in perfume advertisements: Mavis Vivadou (print 1920s), Charlie Revlon (print 1973), and Olympea Paco Rabanne (print 2015). l

Mavis Vivadou (1924 print)

For my first perfume advertisement I have chosen the Vivadou’s Mavis irresistible beauty secrets, which was produced around the 1920s, 1924 to be exact.

This advert shows a sense of lust and desire. Her posture and gesture reveal this. The women is admiring her reflection from the mirror and almost flattering herself. She is looking longingly into the mirror and is holding the mirror with both hands which shows that. She is looking at herself how a man would look at her later on in the night and she is all dressed up because she wants to appear as alluring and sensual towards her ‘love interest’ which could be a crush, her husband or someone she is trying to pursue. She is leaning her head back and her lips are pursed this refers to the women being ‘irresistible’ which is infact the slogan of the fragrance so that links up with the image. She looks like she is connected to herself through the mirror which suggest that if you wear this perfume then you will become irresistible and nobody will be able to take their eyes off you, not even yourself.

The representation in this advert is one of a high society woman who values glamour very highly. The target audience for this advert is not going to be only society women because this is an aspirational advert. Many women will dream to be able to be of a higher class or be richer so they can afford Vivadou because it’s a desirable fashionable brand. 

The rich colours are key to understanding the brand messages and values of Vivadou. The colour scheme is very elegant and royal showing an expensive taste by using deep reds and blacks to show sexiness because you usually associate the colour red with sex. The gown that the woman is wearing is very sophisticated and glamorous, showing that this women may attend fancy dinners, drink wine and wear expensive jewellery. Her gown is draped down her shoulders so her bare skin is exposed which also shows her sexiness but in a classy tasteful way. Her hair is done up and her makeup is flawless which maybe suggests she is getting ready to go out to somewhere fancy. The bottles at the bottom are very fancy and the font of Vivadou is very bold and simple but is still tasteful. The woman is represented as vulnerable but still elegant so it would appeal to sophisticated woman who can afford evening clothes and afford to go out to the theatre and dinner and might have a rich husband who pays for all her luxuries. This woman’s social class is probably higher class because of the dress she is wearing and the jewellery she has on.

Charlie Revlon (1973 print)

For my second perfume advert I chose Revlon’s Charlie which is from 1973. It’s made to look older because it’s in black and white.

This advertisement shows that women are starting to get more independent and being able to wear men suits and hold briefcases and have manly qualities which is acceptable. It shows that women don’t have to always wear dresses and be housewives and adopt womanly features. This advert shows there is no stopping women taking on the role of a man.

Her facial expressions show that she is confident happy and not afraid to be herself. She is naturally smiling at the camera which shows it’s not too posed or forced. Her arms are going forward like she is waking through a street on the way to work or an important business meeting. She is holding a briefcase to signify that instead of having a womanly handbag she has a manly briefcase.

Her heels show she is still a woman but she can be whoever she wants and wear whatever she wants and people will see her as a powerful but still sexy woman, like it says in the caption. ‘The gorgeous, sexy-young fragrance’. The name of the brand ‘Charlie’ is a uni-sex name that can be used for a man or a woman. Showing that just because this is a female she is still allowed to wear a suit, have a briefcase and appear as powerful and also have a name like ‘Charlie’ and by this time it was acceptable and seen as a show of independence.

In comparison to the Vivadou mavis advertisement, this advert portrays women in an influential authoritative sense. In The mavis advert she is wearing an evening gown and lots of makeup and jewellery and she is shown as the typical elegant glamorous woman. She