A Scent of Corruption.

In today’s competitive industry, full of new ideas, brands, and products the advertising business has been forced to go further then to simply campaign their creations, they must sell another yet more desirable product, this product is sex.  The sad truth about the industries desire to appeal to the general public is the means they will go about selling products by use of a ultra sexualized or submissive woman who is so willing to be viewed as this “sex item.” But the darker and even more bothersome reality of the matter are all the women who find the products that portray her as this particularly sought after commodity very appealing. The women who buy into this image of sex rather then all else she may have to offer.

Perfume has always been viewed as a form of a women’s allure, a women’s scent that has her man tamed or addicted to her very presence. A scent that glorifies and empowers her as she enters the room, an aroma that could be so intoxicating as to present a lust or longing to obtain her. Perfume has always been popular and appealing because like makeup or clothing it amps a woman’s self esteem or sex appeal in her mind as she walks out the front door, its makes her even more tempting and desirable.

However, the marketing campaign for perfume products has become more and more sexualized to a point where it is almost more corrupt then engaging. By displaying images of women in submissive or increasing sensual positions what exactly is the product selling? When you look at a majority of woman’s perfume ads the woman is intoxicatingly beautiful and sexually appealing, often scantily clad or over made up with of a look of submission or ultra sensuality twisting her features into an expression of lust or desire.  When pictured with a man she is almost always pictured in a position of submission, she is either dominated by man or calling out for mans attention. Yet generally never is a woman in a perfume ad pictured as empowered by her own means and without the desire for his assurance of her status as a “sex symbol” While this is a particularly successful campaign approach it certainly destroys a woman’s ability to view herself as independent and pressures female society to become adversely sexualized.

  

This ad is for GUCCI ENVY depicts an extremely sexualized image. Like the product the name envy the woman looks on tauntingly and lustfully as a man sucks on her finger.  So the product sells you should envy her because she has obtained a man by her sexuality, because she could acquire any mans attention. But isn’t it interesting that this product sells to a woman? Yet in society to see such a woman she would be trademarked a whore? But to wear this scent showcasing those qualities is not only marketable but also acceptable. 

  

This ad is for GUCCI ENVY me, not to the same extent of raw sexuality but notice the man in the picture and the woman’s body language towards him. The dark eye makeup and the sensual way she parts her lips. But yet she rests her bare skin against a man as though the product sells how she has obtained him by her sexual presence. Do you envy her? The campaign does not sell the scent but the ultra sexuality of the woman who wears it which as a reality in society is almost immoral behavior.

  

This ad is for COCO MADEMOISELLE a new CHANEL fragrance. The girl in this ad is nude covered only with a mans top hat and dress shirt draped over her lap once again bringing into play the aspect of a mans presence by empowering his articles of clothing. Mademoiselle means young or unmarried woman, but yet she is covering herself in a gentlemen’s clothing, so what is this ad really suggesting other then young and dissolute sexuality.

 

This ad is for a DOLCE & GABBANA fragrance called the one. Though the aspect of mans presence is not brought into this particular photograph the woman depicted is shown in artfully lustful positions. Tousled hair with her silver mini dress sliding off her shoulders, and a tired sensual pose that could be seen as submissive. Certainly not a woman with principles, but to be this “sex symbol” that so easily acquires lustful attention sells along with this perfume.

  

This next ad is for Mariah Carey’s fragrance M. It depicts her nude lying in a submissive position in a pool of water. The ad sells a woman’s innocence short by use of words like captivation and its means of selling sexuality. If this ad didn’t have a photograph of a perfume bottle it would be selling Mariah naked and not her perfume, her allure to men and not the other aspects that empower her. So the industry sells wearing a product simply to be sexually desired.

 

 The ad for Dior Addict is a degrading sexual display of a woman and extremely controversial in its use of words. The woman is displayed as to symbolize a drug and a drug addict. Perhaps men are addicted to her sexuality as she is addicted otherwise. But the main point that ties into the argument is how she is depicted. Drenched in sweat and with what little clothes she is wearing falling off. The industry sells not only a corruption of her sexuality but also a corruption of herself. Society sells sex…. Admit it.

 

 Some of the most controversially sexual perfume ads are those that picture a man and a woman together. Typically the woman is in a submissive position like in this Sean John perfume ad for the scent UNFORGIVABLE WOMAN. But is she unforgivable because she is desired or is he unforgivable for how he appears to be forcing himself upon her? This ad degrades women because it sells her as weak and the man as powerful, it shows her consenting to his power. In society this is corrupt but in advertising it sells.

 

 This ad for DOLCE & GABBANA perfume shows another woman submissively allowing a man to dictate her. She looks sensual but unempowered as he approaches her from behind. Sure she is beautiful and alluring but what exactly is the industry selling besides her passive sensuality and willingness to belong to a man? This is not the image woman should be buying into.

 

 The Calvin Klein IN2U scent shows the woman in a similarly submissive manner. She is empowered once again not by herself but by man. Calvin Klein is often marketed towards a younger audience so by selling this particular idea to young women the industry is also selling a lack of respect for ones sexuality and morals. Notice the man looks empowered and the woman looks weak to him? Notice also that his belt buckle is undone…. talk about suggestive.

 

 This final ad is for the Beckam’s fragrance intimately BECKHAM NIGHT. Notice how he looks strong and empowered as she is in a position of sexual submission, in which he has his arm locked around her neck. Sure she appears as though she is receiving some pleasure from being intertwined with her man but once again this ad manages to sell a woman’s sexuality short. Her need for a man to desire her and her ease at which she submits to him rather then empowering her for other qualities.

Stereotypical views in advertising have always been an issue, women are confined to certain gender roles, ways in which they can act, look, and be perceived. But these same stereotypes are doing some serious damage to society. Ads depict women with perfect figures and youthful features while the reality is the majority of women don’t look that way, this creates a sort of ideal body image. Women are seen as sexualized Barbie dolls which causes dissatisfaction in the average woman with her body. Perhaps this is why ads that depict a woman as a sex symbol sell because she believes the product will enhance her appearance. The depiction of a woman has also led to issues with eating disorders in order to look like these models and icons used in advertisement. Women feel depressed and have lowered self-esteem as a result of advertisements. By portraying a woman as simply a sex symbol she is devalued because she is now degraded to simply an object rather then an individual. (“Stereotypical Views of Women in Advertising”)

As women age ads depicting perfection and sex symbolism become more burdensome as they cause women to feel unattractive or old, while adolescent girls feel pressured to have a “perfect body”. Ads tend to send the message of the importance of beauty and desire to be beautiful rather then more important qualities like health and knowledge. Media leads to unhealthy behavior and influences young girls to obsess over their appearance as a measure of their worth. To look a certain way, to act a certain way, to even smell a certain way is to be accepted in society, even as a young girl coming upon her teen years. Extremely thin figures that are promoted in the media also promote insecurity, and ads that depict a certain sexual appreciation by man give a false sense of security when this admiration is acquired. Advertisement campaigns feed on our insecurities by giving us products that sell the sexualized images we idolize. (“Eating Disorders: Body Images and Advertising”)

 Advertisement today has given societies woman a very skewed view of what she should be. In perfume ads she is not only immorally and suggestively depicted but even so much as submissive to a man overpowering her. Society today claims to teach that nothing is less attractive then a woman who needs a mans approval to be empowered but some of the most popular product campaigns sell the opposite image. To be a sex symbol because a woman is desired rather then because she is independent, because she is wearing hardly anything rather then because she is wearing her dignity, because she has a man, rather then because she has ambition, and women are buying into this! This is what the industry sells to us, a scent that does not distinguish our beauty but corrupts our sexuality, and that repulsive truth is certainly a fragrance with no allure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ by lgergen on November 18, 2007.