Advertising Industry - Case Study: Chanel.

Case Study. Chanel, Coco Mademoiselle:

1. Who created this media message?  Why?

This is a print ad for Coco Mademoiselle perfume which is made by the Chanel Company. This ad campaign features print and television ads, as well as a mini-feature film in which actress and spokesmodel Keira Knightley plays the role of Chanel Company founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. Knightley has starred in films such as Bend it Like Beckham, Pride and Prejudice and the Pirates of Caribbean series. The campaign was created to advertise or feature Coco Mademoiselle perfume and was released to coincide with the holiday shopping season.

2. Who is the target audience?  What text, images or sounds suggest this?  

Coco Mademoiselle perfume was released in 2001 to target Chanel’s younger market and as a new product line to the Chanel Company’s world famous No. 5 fragrance. The Coco Mademoiselle perfume is marketed as a less expensive option, typically selling for between $75 to $100 per bottle. With that in mind, it would seem that Chanel is looking to attract their “younger market” which might imply children as young as eight years old, or possibly the "tween" market (which is generally considered ages 8-12 years old) . Although the target ethnicity is not known, every spokesmodel for Coco Mademoiselle perfume has been a young, white woman. At $75 to $100 per bottle, one might assume the class to be one that could afford such an expense. In addition, Knightley is pictured wearing an expensive-looking pearl necklace.

3. What is the text (literal meaning) of the message?

Knightley is pictured nude wearing a pearl necklace and is strategically covered by a black bowler hat and a white dress shirt. A large image of the Coco Mademoiselle perfume bottle is prominently featured in the foreground. The Chanel logo is in all-white in the top-right hand corner of the ad and the words “Coco Mademoiselle” are in black to the left of Knightley. The only other text on the ad is “shop chanel.com” in small type in the lower right hand corner. The background has a “black and white” theme.

4. What is the subtext (unstated or hidden message)?

The designers of this ad appear to be going for a perceived “classic” look, utilizing a black and white color scheme, old-fashioned accessories and a sexualized female subject. It is important to note that Knightley appears nude (although strategically covered) in all segments of this ad campaign.

The ad also appears to send a message of an elegant lifestyle…one of wealth and privilege. It seems to both glamorize and define “beauty.”

5. What tools of persuasion are being used?

Symbols - This ad uses strong overtones of sexuality. Symbols include the use of the black and white design scheme and the props (bowler’s hat, pearl necklace and dress shirt) in an effort to promote the concept of elegance and wealth.

Celebrities - Keira Knightley is a film actress and has no connection to what
is being sold, aside from getting paid to endorse it.

See Language of Persuasion post.

6. What healthy messages are communicated? What unhealthy messages are communicated?

There really appears to be no healthy messages in this advertisement. The implication that buying and wearing this perfume will help the purchaser achieve elements such as beauty, sexiness, elegance, wealth and refinement is simply a fantasy that no product can provide.

7. What part of the story is not being told?

The price per bottle, between $75 and $100, and the ingredients of the perfume.

The timing of the launch of the ad campaign was of particular interest, as the bulk of the television ads were set to be released in early December, which seems to target the market that is buying for the Christmas holiday. This is a continued push for a consumer culture that makes promises of happiness and fulfillment through product purchases.

Knightley was paid a reported one million dollars for a one-year campaign with Chanel. However the cost, both literal and figuratively, of products like this one, often doesn’t provide the level of satisfaction the buyer might hope for.