Task 3 Historical text analysis and research

TEXT 1 -Channel No5 -Share the fantasy -1980

RESEARCH
The most memorable 28 seconds ever broadcast on commercial TV was appropriately, a commercial. But what a commercial! This 1979 commercial for Chanel No. 5 perfume, set to a cover of the 1941 Inkspots hit « I don’t want to set the World on Fire » was directed by the famed Ridley Scott.

Classic commercial. This original ad played every Christmas season until the early 90′s. Directed by Ridley Scott with music by Vangelis. Reimagined in the 2009 film « The Watchmen » as a fictional ad.

Brand: Chanel

Year: 1979
Artist: Vangelis
Song: The Little Fete

ANALYSIS
The first shot of the advertisement is a long shot of a garden view and a mansion in the far back as it cuts into the next scene a medium shot of the women’s behind and backless swim suit is showing as she drops down her robe and sits in front of a pool. This portrays her image as a sex symbol for the male audience. There are continuous medium shots and close ups of her body emphasising her sex appeal. The use of sound is non diegetic and voice over narration as the women speaks of her feelings. The advertisement is set by an outside pool in a large garden, as the women is fantasising and sun bathing she see’s a man appear in front ,jumps into the pool and then swims over to her. This shows her fantasy that she shares with the audience using the fragrance as the channel No 5 fragrance is share the fantasy.               
LINKS 
http://www.modego.com/share-the-fantasy-chanel-no-5-commercial-i-dont-want.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanel_No._5
How is it similar/different to your texts?
The channel No5 share the fantasy advertisement is similar to my contemporary texts as it uses the typical iconographies and cinematography of perfume advertising. However it is also different to my text as it does not contain much explicit nudity and sexual connotations as my contemporary texts, as the advertisement was set in the 1980’s women had equal rights but were still subordinated in a patriarchal society. Although the women in the channel No5 share the fantasy commercial is also portrayed as a sex symbol. Although the women that appear in the commercials in the 1980’s have power and dominance as the model in the channel commercial is represented as a diva and controls the male attention using her appearance and sex appeal.              
This advertisement shows how the society has not changed as in most contemporary perfume advertising women and men are over sexualised and misrepresented .where as in the channel 1980’s ad the women is still portrayed sexually for the male audience.

TEXT 2- Channel No5 original -1953

RESEARCH
In addition to being Marilyn's favourite scent, Chanel No. 5, like many other iconic brands, secured a place in the art world. In 1959 Andy Warhol, an icon himself, did a series of nine silkscreens of the Chanel No. 5 bottle, once again making it the fragrance to covet.
The fragrance now sells a bottle every 30 seconds and is the top selling fragrance in the world. Celebrities still flock to wear it, and the latest spokesperson is Nicole Kidman, now reportedly one of the highest earning ad celebrities as a result. The adverts are based on Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge, a movie in which (perhaps not coincidentally), Nicole pays tribute to Marilyn Monroe in singing her own adaptation of Marilyn's "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend".
As Marilyn Monroe once famously said “What do I wear in bed? Why Chanel No. 5 of course”. This is probably the most famous of Marilyn's quotes and undoubtedly what gives Chanel No. 5 such appeal. Who wouldn't want to smell like Marilyn? That is not however the beginning and the end of the story. Chanel No. 5 is a very carefully planned and created scent both in the philosophy behind its creation and the inspiration for its fragrance.

ANALYSIS

The commercial begins black and white with a medium shot of Marylyn Monroe on a cinema screen as she is sitting in disguise in the audience watching her own movie as a close up of her chest is shown as her breasts appear to become large and a close up shot of her hair turns blonde as the screen turns into colour she opens the bottle and the audience turn in her direction in shock as she says the channel No5 fragrance the women repeat her words as they are attracted to her scent. The mise en scene is in the cinema. The use of sound is non diegetic sound and voice over narration. As they look at her she suddenly turns back into her disguise and the audience look away as the channel commercial represents the fragrance as Marylyn’s scent. As once Marylyn was asked what you wear to bed. She answered five drops of channel No5.this became the biggest success of channel No5 and still continues till this day.      

LINKS
http://www.suite101.com/content/icons-chanel-no-5-perfume-a44263
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JyQ8CqiGwrEJ:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanel_No._5+channel+no+5+marilyn+monroe&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

TEXT 3-Bvlgari perfume kate moss -2008

RESEARCH
Seeing is believing, as they say, so Bvlgari has collaborated with the most winsome supermodel within the industry, the heart and soul of the modelling world, the core reason women aspire to pose in front of the camera - Kate Moss.
Bvlgari first paired with Kate Moss in 2006, when she posed for the re-launch of Pour Femme, a fragrance created by perfumer Sophia Grojsman several years previous. In 2008, Bvlgari opted to lend a more sophisticated touch to its jasmine perfume with a harmonious variation called Jasmine Noir (Black Jasmine) and the stellar charm of Kate Moss, who fronted the world wide campaign in order to help satisfy consumers seeking a rarer sensation.
So successful was the campaign, Kate Moss and her innate style, that spoke to millions from the pages of Vogue, inspired the creators of Bvlgari, provoking them into creating an assortment of eyewear based upon the precious necklace and diamond studs she wore during the advertisement Bvlgari Jasmine Noir.  

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ANALYSIS
The commercial begins with a long shot of Kate moss swaying in drapes as a close up of her face is shown to show the audience that Kate moss stars in the commercial of the new Bvlagari perfume. A close up shot then appears as she come from behind the curtains and makes eye contact with the audience, a close up shot of the perfume bottle is shown spinning in slow motion as this represents the perfume as a very sensual and passionate scent. a medium shot of kates slender naked back is shown as the shot dissolves  into a scene of the perfume bottle spinning across the screen in slow motion. The use of sound is non diegetic sound of a French song as the perfume design is French which also matches the theme of the commercial. The advertisement is set in black and white as it is represented as a historic French theme.        
LINKS
http://www.sunglasses-shop.co.uk/sunglassesnews/october-2009/Kate-Moss-for-Bvlgari.asp 
How is it similar/different to your texts?
The Bvlgari commercial is similar to my text as it uses the typical iconographies and style to my contemporary texts. It also features Kate moss as the model promoting the perfume as this also represents its similarity to my texts as she is the most contemporary of models. The text is similar to my text as the use of cinematography and sexual connotations used to represent Kate moss are also promoted in similar conventions. However the use of style and theme in the commercial is vintage and elegant as the fragrance is being promoted from a black and white theme as the perfume bottle is in colour this also shows the use of technology and difference to my contemporary texts. This shows how the society has changed as the commercial uses a size zero model as contemporary commercials use plus size models.
OTHER TEXTS
Cindy Crawford - Revlon Intimate Perfume (1987)

Xia Xiang Perfume (1990)

Kate Moss Perfume by Kate Moss (2006)

Kate Moss Velevt Hour (2008)

 

Task 2 Additonal book reading/Bibliography (SO FAR)

• Marie Costantino- 1998- Fashion marketing and PR- china- BT Batsford LTD

Page 22- The consumer-understanding consumers and their buying behaviour draws heavily on psychology, sociology, and anthropology, as well as cultural history.
Page 29-psychograhpy and Motivation –In addition to demographic data, fashion marketers also make substantial use of psychographic data-information on people’s attitudes, values and beliefs as they affect behaviour.
Page 30-Abraham Maslow, whose theory states that people have a hierarchal pyramid of needs.
At the top of Maslow’s pyramid of needs is the need for self-actualization –better understood as ‘the need to be your own person’ often called the ‘I did it my own way ‘syndrome, the need to recognize and accept ourselves as we are, to have our own standards and to live up to them can be seen in the ‘creative’ dresser who has fulfilled all the other needs and has the skill and self-confidence to make their own fashion statements or in the ‘consumer with a conscience’.

Page 32 –another area of consumer personality study concentrates in the analysis of ‘self-concept’. For fashion marketer this approach seems to offer promise, since clothing is itself the most visible way in which we express ourselves. The area of ‘self-concept’ includes
-The self image –how we see ourselves
- The ideal self image –how we think other people see us.
- The social self image-how we think other people see us
-The ideal social self image-how we would like other people to see us.

It could be argued that when we shop for clothing we are ‘rational’ and when we shop for fashion we are ‘emotional;

·         Kate Haycock -1994-Dealing with eating disorders-East sussex-wayland

Page 7-‘anorexia is often seen as the slimmer’s disease-a diet that gone too far.However, the true cause of the disease is often due to psychological problems’.
Page 9-‘Society places a great value on being slim, this encourages women to diet and weight watch’.
Teenagers, especially girls tend to worry about their weight.
Page 11-‘pressue to be slim’, Anorexia is also agonizing common among people whose jobs is to be fit, slim and beautiful, such as models, athletes and ballet dancers. They become so obsessed with the need to be a certain shape fir their career. That they develop a distorted relationship with food. 
Self image is central to the problems of eating disorders. Along with the rest of society many young people fell that the way they look is important for being accepted and liked. They feel that if they can look right everything else will be alright too. Being a certain size or weight can thus very quickly become an obsession. They see it as the key to sorting out all the confusion they feel. this can lead to a preoccupation will eating and food.
Many young people have a very distorted picture of themselves. They look in the mirror and think they are ugly, fat, and spotty when in reality they look fine and are no different to anyone else.
Page 30-In the west, the opposite is now true. We have more then enough to eat. But it is slenderness that is attractive. Women who keep their figures are admired, even if this involves a great deal of unhappiness and deprivation.  
In the media being slim especially for women, is part of being attractive, successful, happy, popular, sexy, and fashionable and in control of you life. We are bombarded on a daily basis with images of slim models and actresses.
Page 31-Millions of people go on diets many because they are influenced by society’s message that if they can only shed that extra few kilograms they will be more attractive, sexy, popular and successful.
Page 32-the pressure on women in particular, to be slim can lead to a distorted view of their body image.
Page 40-such a shape has become fashionable, but only thirty years ago people considered Marylyn Monroe one of the most beautiful women ever and a symbol of the ‘female ideal’ Monroe however had a voluptuous ,curvy body and wore size 16 dresses, it just shows how quickly the ideal shape can change.

In the late 1950's and early 1960's,actress Marylin Monroe's curvy,size 16 figure was considered the height of fashion.
The mid to late 1960’s saw twiggy’s waif like size 8 figure take control of the fashion world. It is impossible for all women to be societies’ ideal shape’.

 ·         Caroline Warbrick-2002-Eting disorders-Britain

Page 24-Thin is good-Besides bombarding us with powerful and often conducting messages about food. The media also sends out strong messages about how people should look. In the media being slim is seen as part of being happy, attractive, successful, popular and fashionable.
Television, magazines and cinema all send out the messages that fat is bad, thin is good, this affects the way that people come to think about themselves and others.

Task 1 Textual Analysis

Channel No5

The short film advertisement of channel No5 perfume starring Nicole Kidman uses fast zooms and close ups of the stars facial expressions to establish the love connection between the leading male and female stars. Also long shots and point of view shots from below of Nicole Kidman portray her glamorous appeal towards the audience. The use of back lighting and low key lighting used on Nicole portrays her fame as a glamorous idol towards the audience as at the beginning of the advertisement she is shown to be escaping from the paparazzi as she is portrayed as a VIP.

The first scene of the advertisement shows a medium shot of Rodrigo santoro 'the prince' watching a big spotlight rising into the sky as he begins to narrate the epic love story of the theme of Moulin rouge. The mise-en-scene represents a typical love scene throughout the advertisement with night and moonlight, as Nicole steps out of the car she begins to run in the middle of the streets of New York times square as she is seen by paparazi,this also portrays her reputation as she is a famous, important star. Dressed in an elegant long gown, she runs in front of a taxi and a camera flashes in her face, the use of top lighting and a close up of her facial expression is shown as shocking as she feels she must run away. As the prince enters a zoom of both the male and female stars sitting in the back of a taxi, oblivious to her appearance appears as this shows the love connection between the two.

The use of non digetic sound and voice over narration by Rodrigo creates a romantic and tragic atmosphere reflecting the tragedy from Romeo and juilet,another epic love story directed by Baz lurhman. Many scenes within the advertisement uses jump cuts, fades and dissolves to establish the tragedy behind Nicole’s famous reputation as she is seen longing for a love relationship with her hero .The use of a slow motion montage is shown with continuous close ups of her shocking face as she is shown to have abandoned her career and has become breaking news to the world.

The advertisement is produced by film director Baz Lurhman, as he uses the theme of his epic movie Moulin Rouge. Nicole Kidman also starred in the movie as she is also promoting the movie and the fragrance of Channel No5.The advertisement genre is romance as the iconographies of the love theme from Moulin Rouge creates a poetic, romantic atmosphere of the love connection between Nicole Kidman and Rodrigo santoro.The advertisement is set in New York times square as Channel is a top designer brand as new York is also a fashion capital. The use of style is elegant and romantic with city lights set in the night.

Nicole Kidman is represented as a famous idol that everyone looks up to, her character is portrayed as a sex symbol for men as she is an entertainer for the male audience, this also reflects the patriarchal society and reinforces subordination of women. However the Male star Rodrigo falls in love with Nicole without knowing who she really is, this reflects his feminine side as he writes love poems as he express his love for her. This shows the alternative side of the male representation in the advertisement as to most she is portrayed as a sex symbol and provides the entertainment for men. However the advertisement also portrays women as passive as the prince is shown dominant as Nicole is weak and unhappy until she met her prince and he gave her strength to continue with her career, as in the last scene of the advertisement a close up of her face is shown looking back at the prince and smiling as she feels happy again, walking down the red carpet.Although there is a large Chanel double C illuminated in lights outside the garret, Chanel No 5 is not actually featured in the film, being present only in the final shot in the form of a pendant made of 687 diamonds in the shape of a  No 5. 

The text is targeted at a femaleaudience however is also appeals to a male audience as it shows the male attention Nicole brings to herself with the channel fragrance. This also reflects the influence it has on audiences as the target market may find this appealing and therefore become attracted to the product. However the stars may also appeal to the audience as Nicole Kidman’s fans may be attracted to the advertisement simply because of her or fans of Moulin rouge.

The ideologies and values behind the text is feminism and the satisfaction of beauty and attention, as it wants the audience to feel the emotions Nicole Kidman feels in the advertisement however the negative values portray and influence the audience of vanity and glamour, although the advertisement portrays this through Nicole’s emotions as it shows the sadness and tragedy of her fame as she wants to run away with her prince. The narrative uses enigma codes as Moulin Rouge was an epic romantic tragedy. The uses of narrative roles are a prince, the princess and the villains are shown to be the paparazzi as they invade her life and take away her one desire. 



Heat - Beyonce

The heat advertisement by Beyonce uses close ups and pan shots to establish the sex appeal of Beyonce’s new fragrance. The first scene of the advertisement uses a close up shot showing the fragrance bottle opening with steam this portrays the connotations of the word heat. There are continuous close ups and medium shots, cutting and dissolving into each scene establishing the heated atmosphere of Beyonce as she markets the product with too much emphasis on her sensual passion, and

gyrates partially exposing her breasts, As she is  being sexually represented in a provocative manner promoting her fragrance.Beyonce is dressed in a short red silk dress, in a steam room with low key lighting and red spot lights, this also portrays the connotations of the fragrance heat. The use of diegetic sound plays in the background by Beyonce’s cover of fever originally sang by Peggy lee, as she sings along with the track.
The advertisement was produced and directed by Jake Nava and the advertising campaign was made by photographer Michael Thompson. It is scheduled for late night after 9pm as the sexual content is shown explicit and has been said ‘’it is too sexy for British television’’.The advertisement shows iconographies of romance as the vase of roses and Beyonce’s passion of heat connote romance .the advertisement is set In a steam room where beyonce walks around in her short red silk dress promoting the fragrance, the steam room also connotes the title of the fragrance heat.
The representation of beyonce is very proactive and sexual as she is also targeting the male audience with her sensual passion for her fragrance. This also reinforces the representation of beyonce as a sex symbol for male entertainment. However the perfume is target at females and Beyonce’s fans. The ideologies and values behind the text are feminism and feeling good as beyonce also sings her cover of the song fever which connotes love and passion. She is also underpinning that wearing the perfume makes u feel the passion and heat of the fragrance.  


Diamonds Emporio Armani

As Beyonce enters the stage a long shot of her body appears as she shakes her hips from side to side towards the microphone along with the jazz band, a silver spotlight appears on her face as she begins to sing her cover of diamonds are a girls best friend, originally sung by Marylyn Monroe .This connotes the title of the new Emporio Armani perfume, diamonds. the fast pace of the commercial establishes the elegant style of the new perfume as the continuous cuts of flashing lights, the jazz band playing and shots of beyonces creates a montage before the climax of the song. In the advertisement Beyonce is wearing a short dress made from diamonds this also connotes the theme of the commercial as the fragrance is called diamonds. The use of lighting creates a glamorous style as a silver spotlight is continuously shining on Beyonce where as the jazz band are in the back with low key lighting this also portrays Beyonce as a diva as she is shown dominant as the star as the jazz band only consists of male musicians.

A medium shot is shown of a hand holding the perfume bottle as we hear the sound of glass breaking as the hand smashes the bottle down on to diamonds this also connotes the meaning of the song as beyonces sings diamonds are a girls best friends, as she performs the song with aggression and powerful dominance showing she is materialistic for diamonds. A close up of the bottle is shown spinning around with diamonds falling down as beyonces finishes performing the commercial. As the commercial finishes the logo of emporio Armani and the title of the perfume appears along with the question can you resist? This is targeting the female audience as the commercial is a temptation of wanting the fragrance. As the famous phrase of diamonds are a girls best friends by Marylyn Monroe.

A medium shot is shown of a hand holding the perfume bottle as we hear the sound of glass breaking as the hand smashes the bottle down on to diamonds this also connotes the meaning of the song as beyonces sings diamonds are a girls best friends, as she performs the song with aggression and powerful dominance showing she is materialistic for diamonds. A close up of the bottle is shown spinning around with diamonds falling down as beyonces finishes performing the commercial. As the commercial finishes the logo of emporio Armani and the title of the perfume appears along with the question can you resist? This is targeting the female audience as the commercial is a temptation of wanting the fragrance. As the famous phrase of diamonds are a girls best friends by Marylyn Monroe.

From Marilyn Monroe to Twiggy-RESEARCH

Marilyn Monroe often claimed to be blasse about fashion and clothes, but she was extremely strategic about what she wore. Few other celebrities have displayed such genius for carefully orchestrating their image. She singlehandedly created her iconic look - platinum blonde hair, inviting red pout and killer dresses to accentuate her perfect hourglass figure.Monroe dressed for men. Her outfits only ever had one purpose - to show off her body which she understood was the key to her success.While her blonde tresses, beauty spot and red lipstick are often cited as key elements of her style, her look was actually more complex. Great intelligence and thought went into its creation. Use the following lesser known Marilyn Monroe style facts to understand how she used clothes to her advantage.Over the decades our ideal body shape and size has changed from the voluptuous screen goddesses such as Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, Bridget Bardot and Ursula Andress to the size zero celebrities of today. If you look back to the 1940s and 50s the average dress size was a 12-14. Now, in 2010, the ideal shapes of our screen icons have changed in a very worrying way towards size 8 and 00s of Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Paris Hilton, Madonna and Cheryl Cole.
Four years after Marilyn Monroe’s death in 1962, a British model named Twiggy ushered in the trend that a fashion model – and by extension any desirable woman – must be a size 0 or 2 (in the old days, size 3 or 5) in order to be fashionable or as it has been portrayed in countless films and magazines, desirable. Thin is in. You can never be too rich or too thin. The clichés go on and on. Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch, hour-glass actresses who predated the trend, survived and flourished but by the mid-1970’s, thin blonde Farrah Fawcett represented the aspired to look. That look has not been challenged in almost forty years. Even Madonna, who may have begun her career with heavier thighs, dutifully lost the weight as she ascended the heights of fame in the late 80’s/90’s possibly just to stop hearing about her added pounds from the press.

Twiggy: I Wanted To Look Like Marilyn Monroe

NEW YORK — Back in the Mod '60s, when Twiggy conquered London and fashion changed forever, the waif of a teen with huge eyes, a boyish bob and long legs craved the glamour and curves of a different icon."Whether you're thin, fat, small, dark, blond, redhead, you wanna be something else," said the world's first boldface supermodel. "I wanted a fairy godmother to make me look like Marilyn Monroe. I had no boobs, no hips, and I wanted it desperately."What she wanted was all around her: fuller-figure models with names nobody remembers, many of them middle-class or upper-crust older girls biding their time before landing husbands. Absent any of that, what Twiggy had was extreme youth, a thirst for fashion and triple-layered false eyelashes that fed her right into the decade's social revolution alongside the Beatles and Pop art

The Era	The Look of the Day for Women
1800's	A large body is a sign of health and fertility. Corsets narrow the waist and enhance the bust.
1890's	Actress Lillian Russell at 200 lbs. or 91 kg. is the most celebrated beauty of the time.
1910's	Paris designer creates slim sheath dresses, declares that breasts are “out”.
1920's	Era of the flat-chested, slim-hipped flapper. First dieting craze of the 20th Century begins.
1950’s & 1960’s	Voluptuous full figured shapes of Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield are popular.
1967	British model Twiggy (5’6 or 168 cm. and 91 lbs. or 41 kg.) arrives on the scene – and the diet industry explodes.
1970’s & 1980’s	Models gradually become taller, thinner and begin to show toned muscle definition. Breasts make a fashion come-back.
Early 1990’s	Waif-like figure of Kate Moss presents a wasted “heroin chic” look and a pre-teen body.
Late 1990’s	Tall, very thin models with no visible body fat and muscles highly toned by hours of working out. Large breasts remain in style – but are rare in this body type without the help of breast implants.
The average North American woman is 5’4 or 163 cm and 140 lbs. or 64 kg. Models in the 1970’s weighed 8% less than the average woman. By the 1990’s models weighted 23% less.
2000 and beyond	Real bodies come in all shapes and sizes. …Set your own trend!!!

Models' threat to sue blocked size zero ban-RESEARCH

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/feb/11/deniscampbell.vanessathorpe 

Attempts to ban size-zero models from catwalks could lead to ultra-skinny models taking legal action for discrimination, leading fashion industry figures have warned. Pressure is building on designers and model agencies to use larger women at shows and photographic shoots amid claims that images of the very slim are contributing to eating disorders. New moves to restrict the use of very thin models, and to limit the production of clothes which are designed to fit only women of that shape, will be discussed by a task force which the industry is setting up in response to growing criticism.
However, Alexandra Shulman, the editor of Vogue and a member of the London Fashion Council, said: 'We would not be allowed to discriminate in that way. It would be like saying you can't have black or white models. By imposing new rules on models' size, you would be trying to prove whether someone was ill or well.'
Shulman argued that the fashion industry should not be singled out when other professions which have skinny women in prominent roles, such as broadcasting and acting, are also influential. 'No reputable agency uses models who are not well and starvation is just one of the problems. Drugs is a big one. And their psychological health is important too', she said.
Melissa Richardson, a director of Take Two model agency, which represents supermodels Jasmine Guinness and Sophie Dahl, said industry leaders had warned the government that a ban on size-zero models would be unworkable. 'It was one of the points we made. You can't say to models, "you can't work because you are black or because you are blind", so why should you be able to say "you are too thin to work"?.
'Although being thin is a prerequisite for this kind of work, it's also important that you eat well. Lots of models eat a lot and stay thin. They do not deserve to be pilloried. They have got more litigious,' said Richardson, who has worked in the industry for 25 years.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, a prominent critic of size-zero models, yesterday recommended that models on display at London Fashion Week, which starts today, should undergo medical checks before appearing in designer shows. The British Fashion Council, which runs the event, has already refused to bow to calls to follow the lead of its counterparts in Milan, Madrid and New York by banning 'unhealthy' models whose body mass index is less than 18.5.
Susan Ringwood, chief executive of the Beating Eating Disorders campaign group, said the situation was far more complicated. Some women with a BMI of under 18.5 can still be healthy while others whose BMI is above 18.5 may still suffer from a condition such as bulimia, said Ringwood. Size zero equates to a size four in British women's clothing.
Meanwhile, fashion industry personnel will be trained how to spot signs that models have eating disorders under plans intended to banish criticism that the trade is damaging young women's health. Bookers and other model agency staff would learn to detect physical and emotional symptoms of anorexia and bulimia such as a model becoming very secretive about what she eats, undergoing fluctuations in her weight, seeing her hair or skin turn lifeless and knowing the calorie content of foods but eating little.
Discreet wallet-sized advice cards would also be available at model agencies and fashion shows as a way of encouraging women to seek help.

Dove Campaign-RESEARCH

Dove: a clean campaign?

Unilever's toiletry brand Dove has become a household name thanks to its 'Campaign for Real Beauty' which uses real women in ads to challenge the notions of stick-thin, air-brushed beauty pushed by the media. But is Dove's campaign as clean as it seems?

The campaign kicked off in 2003 with ads featuring six ordinary women in their underwear, and it obviously struck a chord - sales of Dove's skin-firming lotion increased by 700%.

And last year consumers were asked to make judgment about a series of photos of women who didn't fit the glossy mag mould. Was a plus-sized woman oversized or outstanding? Was a woman with small breast half empty or half full?

Now Dove has launched its next campaign aimed squarely at young girls and teenagers. According to Dove's research six out of 10 teenage girls think they would be happier if they were thinner and while 30% of eight- to 12-year-old girls want to be slimmer.

Rather than promoting a product, Dove's new campaign promotes a fund set up to donate money to charities that promote wellbeing and raise self-esteem. It has also produced a schools teaching resource which aims to help pupils understand and cope with how they feel about their physical appearance.

All well and good. But is it? Are the methods Dove is using to sell soap, lotions and potions less insidious than those used by brands that perpetuate the myth of female physical perfection and persist in peddling the sexualisation of women?

Dove can surely be commended for making an effort to change perceptions of beauty in advertising, however we shouldn't get carried away.

Take the first campaign, the six real women in white underwear. The unusualness use of women in the ad glosses over the fact that the product it is pushing is a skin firming lotion. If the women shown were that happy with your bodies they wouldn't need a skin-firming lotion. L'Oreal was criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority for making "misleading" claims about a similar kind of cellulite cream.

The new campaign, says Dove, aims to encourage adult women to help girls and teenagers feel better about themselves. But if girls as young as eight are concerned about their appearance, they are also ideal targets as the new generation of beauty product consumers, ripe to get hooked on a particular brand. Dove, say.

And what of the BodyTalk educational packs produced by Dove to tie-in with its new campaign? Is it admirable that a brand has produced glossy packs with free DVDs for schools? Or is it just one more example of the invidious way brands are infiltrating our classrooms and marketing to children by stealth, playing on under-funded and time-poor teachers.

Meanwhile let us not forget that Dove is made by Unilever, one of the world's largest consumer good companies, which also produces Lynx, Lux, Sunsilk and Timotei.

The entire advertising proposition for Lynx, one of the most successful grooming products for young men, relies on the sexualisation of women. What Dove gives with one hand, Unilever's other brands take away with the other

Moral Panics in the Fashion industry-RESEARCH

Fashion advertising: What is it really doing to us?

Advertising is all around us. You can’t step outside your front door without a company shoving their product in your face; in fact, you don’t even need to step outside. Years ago, advertising consisted of a few adverts on the television and in the newspaper. Nowadays, they’re on the television, on the radio, in the newspaper, cities are filled with billboards of companies advertising their products, and even social networks have started advertising other companies. We can’t escape advertising. One area of advertising that has affected the minds of women, men and young children all over the world is that of fashion. The media places so much more coverage on fashion these days that it’s hard for anyone to ignore it. Fashion is, and always has been, a big influence on people’s lives, so much, that sometimes it has a bad effect and causes problems such as, moral panics.

One of the more recent moral panics that had arisen was the issue of size zero. The fashion industry was instantly blamed, but was it entirely their fault? As more size zero models appeared on the catwalk and designers started manufacturing their clothes in size zero, there was an increase in the number of stories about anorexia and bulimia. Who’s fault? The fashion industry’s. I can’t say I agree – I’m not saying I agree with size zero models or clothing either, because I don’t – but the media seemed very keen to publish stories about people, models and girls in particular, that had an eating disorder. Fair enough young children and adults want to look like the models in magazines and choose to change their appearance in order for this to happen. But, eating disorders were a part of our society a long time before size zero came along.

As the fashion industry started getting bad publicity they began to put things right. The majority of countries banned size zero models from the catwalk; Britain was one of the last countries to do so – London fashion Week 2008; size zero models were still seen on the catwalks. All hell broke loose again; what was Britain thinking? It was showing that the fashion industry is not to blame

All this said the size zero panic was over almost as soon as it started. Now the media and fashion industry have a new approach – “real” women. The idea of using women of all shapes and sizes on the catwalk, in magazines and to emphasis the fact that everyone is beautiful. This hasn’t caught on everywhere though, some modeling companies still refuse to use models bigger than size 8, claiming that they are “too large”. Dove has created a campaign – Campaign for Real Beauty – it shows women off all ages, all shapes and women with “imperfections”; they aim to free us and the next generation from beauty stereotypes. Already a large number of people have taken part in the campaign, but will it work, or will the idea of “real beauty” be dismissed by a new image craze?

The constant approval, by others, for us to be thin and look ideal is a great pressure, and it is destroying lives. Yes, the majority of models and thin, but do we all want to see a larger women in the designer’s clothes, or do we want to hold onto the idea that some of us can look that good?