Advert Research 1

Advert 1: Chanel Perfection Lumiere

This is an advert for foundation, a makeup product, therefore the main image in the advert is a close-up shot of a female from the side. As the image of the female is larger than the image of the product itself or the writing and takes up the most room it shows that it is the most important part of the advert. The background of the image is plain and a beige/cream colour, to not distract the viewer from the girl in the left centre. This colour theme is carried on throughout, sticking to neutral tones of beige/cream/white and black.

The advert uses mise-en-scene as female in the picture is clearly wearing makeup, which is emphasised as her hair is pulled back from her face, however it is a natural style of makeup.  Her costume is also very simplistic in what seems to be a plain white vest top. This is unusual for an advert as in most makeup related adverts the models are skimpily dressed with their bodies on show, however here her arm/neck/shoulder is what is clearly showing, nothing that is considered to be stereotypically sexual, not sexualising the image.

The models’ hair is pulled into a clean, high pony tail and accentuates the feminine appeal of the advert as most women stereotypically have longer hair. No props are used in the advert, instead it is kept simplistic on purpose to focus the viewers attention on the model. However, as there is no mentioned name of the model it suggests that the model herself is not important, simply how the product looks on her. This shows she is not a celebrity or a famous person as if she was her name would be featured as a strong USP. Overall the model is represented as feminine, innocent and naturally beautiful. This is different to most adverts that feature women in modern times as they are usually wearing provocative clothing and dramatic makeup.

Slight shading is used in the top left corner of the image which becomes a much brighter image towards the bottom right of the image, where the product is located. This naturally draws your eye to the product rather than the advert as a whole. The font styles used in this advert are all the same sans serif in capitalised, bold lettering and it is all in white, the sizing of the font is all that changes. “Chanel”, the brand name, is in the largest font, used to draw attention to the brand name. “Perfection Lumiere”, the name of the product is in the second largest font suggesting it is the second most important part of the adverts, after the brand name. The rest of the writing on the page is in a smaller font suggesting it is the least important, although it does give information about the product.

Overall a brand identity is created clearly through the simple and elegant style of both the model and the font. The product itself is featured in the lower right corner in the lightest part of the advert, further creating brand identity as the bottle is simple and looks classy, as well as giving the viewer a visual of what the product looks like and the way that it looks on the skin, shown through the model. It has been purposefully put in that place to draw the viewers attention to it after seeing the model.