Investigation into Advertising.
I am analyzing adverts for Chanel Number 5, for my
assignment in advertising. Advertising is a method companies use to get their
product noticed, they use various ways to do this such as: TV adverts, Radio
adverts, posters in Shopping Centers, Billboards etc. I am aiming to show how companies successfully
market their product to their target audience.
I have sourced my information from a magazine and
the Internet, using one print and one TV advert. The product I am analyzing is
the fragrance Chanel Number 5. Chanel was founded in 1909 by French fashion
designer Gabrielle “Coco” Bonheur Chanel. Alan Wertheimer and Gerard
Wertheimer, the grandsons of Pierre Wertheimer an early business partner of
Coco Chanel, now own Chanel. Chanel Number 5 was released in May 1921, the
chemical formula for the fragrance was compounded by Russian-French Chemist and
Perfumer, Ernest Beaux. Chanel Number 5
contains Ylang-Ylang, Mayrose and Jasmine. "Respectable" women favored
the pure essence of a single garden flower (Rose). Sexually provocative
perfumes heavy with animal musk or Jasmine were typically associated with
prostitutes or courtesans. Chanel felt the time was right for of a scent that
would epitomize the modern flapper that would speak to the liberated spirit of
the 1920’s.
Chanel Number 5 has been advertised by celebrities
such as: Marilyn Monroe, Nicole Kidman and Catherine Denevue. Marilyn Monroe
was chosen at the time to advertise Chanel Number 5, as she was seen as a ‘sex
symbol’. And Coco Chanel wanted to present the perfume as sexy and desirable.
Marilyn Monroe went against how women were expected to behave in that period in
time, Coco Chanel wanted to liberate the ‘flappers’ of the 1920’s and Marilyn
Monroe was the perfect celebrity to do that. She also was seen to be very
classy and sophisticated, she was idolized by millions in the 1920’s. The
bottle used today is not the original bottle used when the perfume was first
released. Chanel envisioned an over-elaborate, precious crystal fragrance
bottle which were in fashion, popularized by Lalique and Baccarat (glass
makers). She wanted it to be transparent an ‘invisible bottle’. The original container had small, delicate
rounded shoulders. The design was changed in 1924, the bottles shoulders are
square. Making it more robust and capable of being shipped without cracking. Unlike
the bottle which has remained the same since it was redesigned, the stopper has
gone through numerous modifications. The original stopper was a small glass
plug. The octagonal stopper became a brand signature was created in 1924, when
the bottle shape was changed. In the 1950’s the stopper became a bevel cut and
became larger with a thicker silhouette. In the 1970’s the stopper became more
prominent. It was finally changed in 1986 to become harmonious with the scale
of the bottle.
Other products created by Coco Chanel consist of:
Chanel Number 19, this fragrance was created to celebrate Coco Chanel’s
birthday on the 19th of august in 1971. It was launched a year
before she died it is a balsamic green scent, very different opposed to the
floral scent of Chanel Number 5. Chanel also created the fragrance Coco
Mademoiselle, which is aimed at younger Chanel fans it was released into the
collection in 2001. Keira Knightly as Coco Chanel played the advertising model.
