'Ambition' Perfume Advertisement and Analysis.

Ambition Perfume Ad.
Originally uploaded by Beth Wyer

My perfume advert shows a locket on the foreground of a British flag with a photo of a couple inside. I wanted to infuse a number of different items onto the advertisement as I believed that it would add some depth.

I used a simple photo of a British flag and edited it to make it look unique and almost dreamy. I wanted to make it look different, as I believe the way I edited it makes it looks more edgy – which insinuates that the perfume being advertised will give you an edge over everybody else and make you stand out. The ‘dreamy’ aspect of the flag goes along with the theme of the advert which is telling the consumer to have a ‘dream’ or an ‘ambition.’

I then decided to use a locket as the main feature of my article, as lockets hold the connotations of special or cherished memories. Again, the colour of the locket (gold) gives the customer an implication of wealth – something which many people are ambitious about. I believed that using a locket would be a good idea as it gives the idea that this perfume will help you to achieve things that are worth holding on to or cherishing.

The photo inside the locket was originally a photo of a couple in a park/field kissing. I edited the photo a lot because I decided that I wanted to put my own mark on it. First, I decided to cut out the couple so that I could choose which part of the background they would stand on – I decided that I should put them under a tree as I believe that it shows the beautiful nature of the world (or England) and it also contrasts with the colours of the flag, therefore drawing the eyes of the consumer towards the main feature of the advert.

As you can see, I have smudged the background in the photo. There are many reasons for my decision behind this – the biggest being that I wanted to carry on the ‘dream’ theme of the advert. It almost makes it seem as though it hasn’t happened – which could imply that it is somebody else’s dream or ambition – something which they wish they can achieve which again tells us that everybody has a dream.

Another main reason behind doing this was the fact that it goes with my slogan of the advert: ‘Do it how you want’ (which admittedly, could be better but I couldn’t think of another phrase that would say what I wanted that hadn’t already been taken by a famous product. I believe that the way the background in the locket almost looks surreal connotes that the purchaser can do whatever they want or alter their world in whichever way they wish to and will have the power to with the product being advertised.

At first I wanted to leave the figures as they were to show that the dream or ambition of the consumer was achievable, however thanks to the light in the original photo, it didn’t stand out very much and was slightly hard to see thanks to the edited background. I decided to darken the couple as I believe it makes them stand out, and also slightly makes them look like silhouettes – which can hold connotations of a sunset or a ‘happy-ever-after.’

I then went on to write the name of the perfume on my ad. I decided to use the Stencil font as it holds connotations of an army or strict regiment which implies there is no ‘mucking around.’ This suggests that the perfume will help give the customer determination and again, the power to achieve their goal. I had to have a background to the name and slogan, as there was no other way it would have been clear to read it. However, I found it difficult to choose a colour, in the end I decided to use the same green that was in the main photo as I believed it showed continuity (that the people could follow their ambition through to the end) and also carried on the theme of nature/beauty.