The scent of women

It is safe to say that most women like to smell good. Perfume holds the power that woman are what they wear. Women’s magazines everywhere show ad after ad about perfume and what she will be able to do once they wear it. However, not all women have the same tastes and interests. In order for perfume ads to be successful, advertisers cannot just use one kind of formula to appeal to attract women. Sporty women compared to high class conservative women probably do not have the same taste in perfume, as would a teenager compared to a 50-year-old woman. Advertisers must use a variety of tactics to sell women’s perfume in order to appeal to the different types and personalities of today’s women. Many perfume ad campaigns nowadays use simple women doing simple things but clearly enjoying it. The ad campaign for Clinique’s perfume lines is a very good example of this. In the May issue of Teen People, the ad for Clinique’s perfume, “Happy,” shows a woman wearing a sleeveless turtleneck sweater. Although not clearly shown, the girl seems to have a huge smile on her face but is hidden behind her turtleneck. The caption of the ad says “Clinique happy.” Although it is a simple ad, it deems as effective toward women. Featured in a magazine targeted to teens, the girl in the ad is young looking, which would relate to teens. As for older women, it would appeal to them as well so they too can feel young and fresh again. Another ad for a Clinique perfume is for “Simply,” found in Cosmopolitan magazine. The name of the perfume alone, says it all. The ad shows a bottle of the “Simply” perfume set on top of a table with a woman’s fingertips lingering on top of the bottle. This ad doesn’t even use a woman’s face, which is a different approach from many other perfume ads. The entire ad looks to be of one shade, like a golden skin tone color, which shows a very simple lifestyle. The woman’s fingers show no trace of a manicure or glamorous looking nail polish. It just shows a woman’s bare, yet beautiful hands. Also, the fact that the table used in the ad is made of wood, this shows of simple living. The ad uses wood that reminds readers of nature and not marble and glass. Clinique’s perfume line clearly shows they are targeting the simple women who live their lives fresh and clean. A different perfume, by Estee Lauder also uses the same approach as Clinique for their perfume called “Beautiful.” In the two-page spread the ad shows a bride and a flower girls sitting inside a softly lit room with the sun coming in. The little girl is whispering in the bride’s ear while the bride smiles. The caption of the ad says, “This is your moment to be beautiful.” After reading this, the reader could probably infer that the flower girl is telling the bride that she looks beautiful. These kinds of ads say it loud and clear. To cater to “simple” living women, perfume ads have to use this kind of tactic. Opposite to the women who enjoy the simple things in everyday life, perfume ads also have a way to reel in the women who live their lives full of lust, sex, sensuality and the nightlife. In the same Cosmopolitan magazine, there is an ad for Giorgio Armani’s perfume, Sensi, which illustrates this point. Also a two-page spread, the ad shows the side view of a woman laying on top of a table while wearing a sexy looking red dress. She gazes deeply at the reader with the caption of, “I sense, therefore I am.” While this lifestyle may seem risqué for some women, it is what others enjoy and look forward to. This perfume would seem perfect for those kinds of nights. Not only would this ad appeal to women to purchase this perfume, it would also get men to buy it for a woman with the hopes that their night would end in the way the ads shows. Another example of this kind of perfume advertising is for the perfume, “Amor Amor,” by Cacheral. This ad shows more of a nightlife setting in a kaleidoscope effect. In it, a man and a woman are kissing and not just in a loving way, but also in a way that is full of lust. The image is repeated in all four corners of the page with a large rose in the middle that’s has Amor Amor writing, as if it was etched on it last minute. The ad is full of red, which implies a lot of passion.
The perfume itself is red and with the ad, it shows that this particular perfume will bring the wearer excitement and passion all night long. “Amor Amor” appeals to women in their 20s who live for going to the night clubs and parties every weekend.
For Michael Kors women’s perfume, “Michael,” its ads uses sexual innuendos to appeal to its buyers. The ad shows a naked woman from the chest up lying on her side as if she is asleep. The ad looks innocent enough. However, there is a deeper meaning lies beneath the surface of what the advertisers were actually going for. The perfume bottle is in the shape of a rectangle with an upside down triangle shape inside of it. Within the triangle shape is a clear looking nail that seems to be screwed into the triangle. The bottle implies that the triangle is a woman’s vagina and the nail is a man’s penis. With the nail shape inside of the triangle looking bottle, a reader can only put two and two together and see that the bottle is implying sex. In the ad is also the large letter “M.” While this too seems innocent enough because it is the first letter of the perfume and the man who created it, there seems to be a deeper meaning to it. The letter “M” makes the “mmmm” sounds, which is a sound people make when something tastes or looks good. The woman sleeping may be the result of a long night of having sex. Whether or not advertisers intended this kind of response for this ad, readers will run out to buy the perfume. With the target of women who love to party and let loose, perfume advertisers don’t have to work hard to appeal to them because whether the ads say it bluntly or subtly, women are going to understand its intent. With simple, everyday women and partygoers taken care of, advertisers have to use a different approach to appeal to the other women who don’t fall into either of the two categories. These include using celebrities to promote the perfume, creating a perfume in a non-typical bottle or even using wild color. For Givenchy’s “Very Irresistible” perfume, actress Liv Tyler is the promoter. Maybe there are women who don’t care for perfume, but if they like Liv Tyler then they will buy the perfume to support their favorite actress. Advertisers also use colors to attract buyers. There are women out there who, when in doubt of what product to buy, will choose the prettier looking ones. Perfume bottles come in pink, dark blue, purple, orange and many others. Call them materialistic or not, advertisers have to do what it takes to get people to buy the products. Perfume names as well are a factor on if a woman will buy the product. The Healing Garden perfume line sells perfumes named “pure joy,” “sheer passion” and “perfect calm,” according to a magazine ad in the September issue of the Oprah magazine. With this tactic women will buy not just one of the bottles but also all three so they can wear a different one for each of their different moods. With the many different types of women that live around the world, perfume ads have to appeal to their personalities, lifestyle and needs in order to win their support of the product. With so much effort going into perfume ads, do advertisers know about the other fetish of women’s Let’s just say Imelda Marcos’s fetish was worn on her feet and not sprayed on her body.