Benefit cosmetics uses youthful femininity to appeal to customers ranging from early adolescent, to mature women aspiring to regain some of the youthful appeal that these ads are designed to emulate.
In addition to connecting to the youthful audience which is subconsciously living vicariously through the images and the ideas of sock hops and ice cream parlors, the mature audience relates to the images through nastalgia of their youth beauty.
In both of the above shown ads, the focal points are the females who portray a flirty and confident demeanor. In both images, the focal points also both fall into the same rule of thirds as talked about in the text ( however on opposite sides of the grid). In addition to the lay out of the ads, the lighting also plays a huge part in the success of selling the fantasy. If you look out both images, there are perfectly placed highlights and contours on the young ladies faces and defining the muscle tone in the arms of the young man in the top ad.
As we discuss, read each others blogs and our text materials, I look at everything on line and in print every different. Where I use to take everything around me simply at face value, I am grateful that now I am beginning to pay a little more attention.
Heather,as one who rarely (if ever) wears make-up, I found the images you selected fascinating! I enjoyed studying the details of both ultra-feminine, ultra-pink illustrations. Even the globe in the classroom is pink! And the ice cream flavors and soda fountain handles are the products being sold. Clever. Are you sure that these are photos and not illustrations? It's difficult to tell in the classroom ad, but the soda fountain ad seems to me to be strictly an illustration.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head when you suggest that the ads appeal to the mature woman who is nostalgic about the past: ice cream parlors and classrooms evoke safety and joy for most. There are also some rather sexual elements for both images, which suggests that one who uses these products can reclaim the sexiness of one's youth. In the ice cream parlor image, notice the girl's skirt (upheld by layers of crinolines)is upturned at the back, her lips are slightly parted near the top of the phallic ice cream cone, her perky breast is evident, and she's got a firm hold on the soda jerk's tie. All of this was done on purpose. Nothing was included by chance! The teacher in the classroom image is quite sexy! Check out the stilettos, the skin-tight bodice of the blouse, the low-cut opening that stops just short of the bosom, the short skirt, the crossed legs, and the manner in which "teacher" is handling the pointer. If this were in a movie, I could hear her saying, "I think someone's been a naughty boy." :)
Glad you were able to identify the use of the Rule of Thirds when composing the images.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Dawn
Nycolle- I just love Make up ads so I'm so happy you chose this ad. The color of makeup ads just draws me in
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