L'Oréal advert analysis

This is an L’Oreal Paris make up advert. Its advertising lip gloss which comes in seven different colours. The person in the advert is Cheryl Cole who is a very famous singer. The connotation of using someone like Cheryl Cole is that more people will be familiar with the advert rather than if it was just any model. So, when they hear about an advert of that brand or that particular product they will automatically think of Cheryl. In this advert Cheryl is smiling and looks happy. The connotation of her smiling is that you get the feeling that the lip gloss is making her happy and the reason that she’s happy is because the lip gloss makes her feel and look glamorous and that’s what making her happy. She is using direct mode of address. The connotation of her using direct mode of address is that it stimulates an interaction with every individual consumer.

I think that she has been chosen because she is a strong, independent, successful woman and a strong influence. More people will bother to pay attention to the advert if someone like Cheryl Cole is in it rather than if it was just a model. This means that the advert will attract a wider and bigger audience which is really something that the advertisement industry is looking for. I don’t think that she has been given detailed instructions on exactly where to place her hands or a precise way to hold her head. She looks natural.

You can’t really see the whole dress that she is wearing but the part you can see is white and shiny and is made from silk. The fact that it’s shiny gives a glamorous feeling, which links back to the name of the product as well as the product itself. The lip gloss that the advert is advertising is shiny and what the advert is trying to say is that by wearing that lip gloss you will look and feel glamorous.

By using colours like pink the advert is eye-catchy and therefore attractive. It is important to stand out in the advertisement industry in order to help consumers purchase your advert. This is because adverts are placed next to their competitors, so consumers will choose to purchase the most eye-catching advert. Colours like pink are eye-catching, however the advert as a whole is really calm and when next to other competitors I don’t think it will stand out and be as eye-catching as an advert should be.

In the advert the product is fairly big. The product is at the right hand side of the advert and I think that it is done so it doesn’t block the models’ face. I think that the camera man wants us to get an equal focus of the model and the product itself. The product comes in seven different colours but really it’s only two colours in different shades.

I think that the target audience for this advert is women in general. I wouldn’t say that its’ target audience is middle-classed women and I wouldn’t say that it’s aimed at rich people either. I think that the product appeals to the audience as something that makes you look good and feel good at the same time.

The woman stereotype for this advert would be something in-between the Alpha Female (she’s a powerful professional whose main focus in life is her career) and the Fashionista (she appears in every glossy magazine, such as Voyage and Elle, and is portrayed as someone who is only interested in the way she looks). The reason why I think it’s something in-between is simply because different people will get a different idea from the advert. Those who know Cheryl Cole will side with the Alpha Female; however those who don’t are more likely to side with the Fashionista. The lifestyle categories for this advert would be the Groupies (people who want to get accepted by those around them) and the Egoists (people who are mainly concerned to get the most pleasure for themselves out of life. Again, different people will fit into a different lifestyle category, some will fit into the Egoists and some will fit into the Groupies.

The persuasive techniques used in this advert are: Beautiful People (using good looking models as if telling us we will look like them if we use the product) and Repetition (slogans, images and brand names being repeated to add creditability to a campaign).
The social class category that this advert is aimed at is class B (middle managers in companies or public services like health or education). The need from Maslow's Hierarchy of needs that this advert is targeting would be Esteem (self-esteem, confidence and respect by others).