YSL beauty “Black Opium” Ad Analysis

This perfume I have chosen to cross media analysis is called the ‘Yves Saint Laurent perfume Black Opium’ by ‘YSL’ beauty and I will analyse the Television advert and print advert for this product to compare and contrast the media forms and conventions used across two different forms of media. By doing this, it will inform me how the audience can be engaged through different methods but the key message can still be maintained throughout. The institution of the luxury fashion of YSL was founded by Yves Saint Laurent his partner, Pierre Bergé in Paris in July 1961. It has a high-end designer line with Paris origins, offering men’s & women’s clothing, accessories & more. The institution receives all the credit for the ad so they will benefit by the sale of the products and then receive the profits. The TV ad is lucky enough to get advertised with no cuts or a scheduling restriction and has appeared on channels like Channel 4, 4OD, VoD and ITV network. I also saw it being advertised in the breaks of I’m a celebrity between 9pm and 11pm suggesting to me that the audience is for older generation like 14 plus years. The other adverts shown around this time was also quite mature as it has strong language therefore it suggests it wouldn’t be suitable for minors. The institution may want this fragrance to look mature as its showing at very late hours of the evening. It’s advertised here as a lot of the TV series showing at this time is aged around the higher categories so this will attract the suitable audience and will have potential future buyers. Although it was introduced late last year in 2014 it’s still in advertisements as it’s very popular and many other similar perfumes have now been introduced. Also YSL feature on very mature and popular glamour magazines like ‘Vogue’ and ‘Elle’ and the perfume is sponsored on these contact magazines as they are trying to reach into the fashion and beauty department. Furthermore, I’ve seen massive billboards in Oxford Street which is another way of grabbing the audience’s attention as millions walk past it. This tells me that the institution has a lot of high end connections. YSL on an average is rated 4 stars for performance, the reliability is 3 stars and the value of money is 2 stars meaning it has high values implying that the brand has high values. These values included being rich. The company follows the rule on “what is says on the tin” when there have been claims for tests. The institution is very affective as they use the 2 different types of adverts to contrast to work well in synergy. They work together by having a similar theme which is dark and mysterious. The two products are converged to get better advertisement. The audience will connect the 2 media adverts and see them as a single campaign as in the video storyboard and the print ad it shows a specific them of dark, mysterious and mature and at the end of the video that’s the point where she is rested up against the wall where the print ad was taken. Therefore the print ad is basically just a snip from the TV ad but just better quality and more defined and straight forward over the advertisement. From looking at both of them I can see a link as they follow the same theme and storyline and the perfume bottle is seen in both so it’s memorable. Also they both promote via using their web links and social media suggesting that they want more buyers to look at their products. From looking at the advertisements I can tell that as an institution they work well together as they all link and the theme is being recognised that it’s mysterious. YSL follow the brand values of having a retro kind of touch to it so most of their ad campaigns are recognised making it easier to get across their message. They also come across as having a high class value. The institution have also decided to use a well known model in that case there will be many followers as the audience will feel a more friendly approach in advertisement between her and the audience. The celebrity links to the company and the product as she fits into their demographic and she counter balances the theme of the unknown and the darkness. Also the model has a very memorable look to her and her career is in modelling suggesting that the brand wants to be kept professional to suit their high values with people that have been well educated in the acting and modelling career.

The brand is luxury therefore the price of the perfume is £45 but could be more depending on how many millimetres the audience want in the bottle. By gathering information about the product details I gathered that the demographic for the ad is a feminine sophisticated taste and targets audience around their 20s to early 30s with a steady job. The primary audience is for the actual buyers who are interested in the perfume whereas the secondary audience may be a friend, a relative or family member for a present. Women who buy it must like the scent or maybe someone looking for love as that’s what the ad detonates. They also should have a sense of interest in fashion, hair and makeup. The social grade classification of the audience is in the category B, C1 and C2 as the customer is most likely to have some kind of higher education because the perfume is quite an expensive range. According to the audiences attitudes and values the lifestyle grouping will appeal to mainstreamers and aspirers because this is a well known popular brand perfume which loads of the audience will talk about therefore they know it’s a safe option. Furthermore, this brand is included in a full page of the biggest magazines companies like vogue and Elle, which suggests that they want to have the luxury group to attune to. Media packs show that the ideal target audience to invest in the fragrance products would be students who appreciate brand names, but the typical age to invest in the wide range of YSL products is an individual over the age of 25 with a substantial income. This product is more targeted for the older generation especially as it received complaints that the advert was irresponsible, not suitable for children, because the women actions were simulated. Furthermore it clearly states at the end of the TV advert “the new feminine fragrance” telling the audience of the gender immediately.

The uses and gratification is for the audience to fulfil entertained by the modern upbeat upcoming fragrance where they will be informed about the delightful perfume by using persuasive language. The reason why the audience need to fill entertained and informed is because YSL is a massive brand name and they want to get their word out whenever there is a new release in their range so it can attract many future buyer opportunities. I know that it has entertained the public as a large scale of the women population are interested in fashion, make up, fragrances and just making themselves look attractive. The assumptions made by the public think that the audience are looking for love.

The denotation of the TV advert a women trying to search for the perfume and when she finally finds it she sprays it and kisses the man she loves however on the print advert it just shows the part where she’s pressed up against the wall and spraying the perfume. Also, in the print advert it is set in a city then the perfume bottle is photographed to the right hand side. The denotation of the perfume bottle is a dark and decorated design with sequins in a rectangle shape that give a glam rock look but in the middle it has a pink circle with brand name inside called ‘black opium’. However I’ve personally seen this bottle and I believe the advert misinterprets the bottle to make it look better than it actually is as the middle appeared not to be pink but transparent pink which could be seen as ‘tacky’. The connotation of this implies the fragrance like a shot of adrenalin, the necessary energy to get the man she loves. She sprays it on her neck because that’s the place where men are most often to kiss her and the perfume implies that once you’ve sprayed it you will be irresistible to men. In the print ad her mouth is slightly open suggesting she’s relieved when it’s sprayed and it shows her personality is quite edgy.

The connotation of the bottle suggests that the outside of her is all dark and mysterious whereas the inside of her brings out the light where she is searching for love. It also could imply that it’s the opium poppy. The perfume is called “black opium” because black implies a protection from external emotional stress which links in with the idea that “opium” means a heavy-scented addictive drug prepared from the juice of the opium poppy. The meaning behind this is you literally can’t live without this perfume as it’s a protection to keep you sane and in some ways it’s like a drug which keeps you alive.

The mise en scene in the advert shows a model, Edie Campbell waking up in her bed and slowly reaching out for something on her bedside table however it’s not their so she suddenly leaps out to be with her destiny. She is wearing a low cut black dress along with a coat which she swung on. Then she starts running through the dimly-lit streets in the middle of night in a city backdrop searching for a bottle of perfume that has been taken from her. For a moment she runs through an elegantly lit tunnel which suggests she’s gains confidence as she’s reaching closer to her destination. In the final sequence it shows her recovering the bottle from a man she loves and spraying her neck with it before slumping back against a wall. In the print ad she looks relieved that she is finally spraying it elegantly on her neck as it acted like a drug on her. The model used in the main image is Edie Campbell- which is celebrity endorsement. She is a very popular edgy model and has been modelled in many advertisements like Vogue, Elle, love magazine and many more. She’s also been featured in the opening of fashion shows like marc Jacobs and even modelled in some as well. This adds to the product as the public may be interested more into buying the perfume knowing that she is advertising it as some people aspire to be like her.

The models representation is stereotyped as the perfect woman as she follows the healthy, attractive and elegant women look. However, she looks provocative to appeal to the male audience as well. This represents the brand and the audience are convinced that they have the potential to achieve this by using this product. I believe the woman is representing the bottle with her jet black hair representing the bottle itself and the midnight dark streets. Then her bright blue eyes were satisfying and contrasting her addiction. She acts serious throughout which contrast with the advert until she gets hold of the perfume. The women is represented as a young responsible adult aged around late 20s to early 30s whose race is white suggesting it’s for those demographics. The status of her suggests she’s wealthy, mysterious, fit and good-looking. If she was to be represented as a heroes or a villain it would more be heroes however she’s mostly likely to be seen as an average person in society as it implies she can’t live without the perfume so that her lifesaver. This suggests she goes through day to day struggles just like any other ordinary person. However I can argue that she could be portrayed as a bit of a villain as she’s mysterious and this advert is all about the unknown so people interoperate what they believe in their own minds. Also I believe the male is seen more as a hero because he was holding the perfume so the woman was bound to run after him. The TV ad has also included a man character although he’s kind of hidden behind the women, we can see he is stereotyped to be skinny and good looking. The male is represented as muscular, strong, and tanned. His status consists on high values and richness; I get this impression as they are both in fancy hotels and buildings. They have chosen these two specific characters in the advert as they want to support some kind of relationship to give a message that you would instantly fall in love as soon as you spray the perfume. These two characters then interact by kissing at the end suggesting that the perfume binds two together. The representation of the location is in a city and a city is mostly seen as romantic place where love begins and takes its journey which makes it seem more believable to the audience. The narrative of both adverts work together in synergy as they are very similar and convey the same messages and ideologies which creates a continual narrative. Although I believe that the TV advert is more developed and engages with the audience more as its more upbeat with the music ‘jungle’ and it follows a storyline. The main prop is the fragrance bottles as ysl are trying to advertise it.

The conventions used in the print ad is a YSL logo which is a graphic representation of the businesses products and it’s used to enhance the product and to make it more popular as a brand. The logo piece is an outstanding statement for fashion history with the initials of the creator. The slogan used is “the new feminine fragrance”, this is a clear and direct statement to say it’s new and it’s for those females. The feminine tone attracts the women and it implies that it’s a women’s fragrance. This fragrance has a web address stated on the TV ad at the end which is ‘yslblacklist.com’ so the audience can have a sneaky look. It also states the brand name and perfume name in bold writing so it’s advertised to the best ability. As the brand is well known they expect the audience to know the orientation of the brand.

The model is using direct address in the print advert to engage the audience by creating intimacy. This encourages the audience to look at the advert as its personal relationship. Her serious facial expression means she means business and she is very confident. However the print advert involves strong eye contact with the audience whilst the TV advert is a mixture as she looks at a variety of things including the audience, the man, and the perfume. This is effective in an advert as she has to tell a story for the perfume and act as if the camera set isn’t there to make it more realistic and entertaining for the audience.

The lighting is low key mostly; I know this because it’s mostly very dark throughout the advert and she runs in the dimly lit street. This is to create an intense, shadowy and withdrawing atmosphere. The editor has done this to attract the target audience who are mysterious and want to get all the men. Even though it’s dark, there are some scenes that show light like for instants when she runs through the tunnel to meet her destiny. It’s effective to use a mixture of lighting as it makes it more interesting. The adverts show a contrast in synergy to support that the perfume brand is mysterious. In the print as the background is darker making the model stand out more which is very effective.

The camera shot type in the advert shows a mixture to keep it entertaining including close up, medium shot and long shot. At the starts it appears as long shot which suggests she’s more vulnerable because she doesn’t have love or safety barrier as the perfume is not with her. Nearer the end it’s a close up shot suggesting there’s more intimacy suggesting she’s gained confident. There is a mixture of shots either taken at eye level or low angle. The eye level suggests a friendlier tone and the low angle suggests the subject is more powerful. At one point the camera is facing up and showing the women circling up the stunning modern building which suggests she’s better than the audience and gaining confidence. However, in the print advert it uses a medium shot from the waist up used to help place the context in subject and to show in detail her spraying the perfume on her neck. It’s taken at eye level suggesting the audience and her are equally as powerful.

References

Monsieur Black, 2014, BLACK OPIUM – THE NEW WOMEN FRAGRANCE BY YVES SAINT LAURENT #YSLBLACKOPIUM,  Available at; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYHAgaT-qGo [accessed on 15th January 2016]

Amazon. Magazine PRINT AD With Edie Campbell For 2018 Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium Large. Available at; https://www.amazon.com/Magazine-PRINT-Campbell-Saint-Laurent/dp/B07G6X2S1L [accessed on 15th January 2016]