Entry #3 It's All in a Bottle

Two lovers intimately riding white horses in a secluded field on a bright day - this is like a fairytale! Throughout history, girls have always yearned for this classic romantic setting, hoping for a prince or true love to whisk them away and live happily ever after. 

Growing up though has caused this ideal to only become a dream, buried under the more pretentious needs the world asks for, like getting an education. There are more important things to do than daydream of love. However, this image the print ad uses reopens the mind to their perfect romance becoming reality...if one buys this perfume. This technique is called simple solutions. The advertiser is saying that if you use this perfume, you'll find love and happiness. 

Under this technique are the appeals to the needs for affiliation and attention. This perfume is selling the image of falling in love. There is the desire to find a significant other, someone to share their life with. It offers to get rid of loneliness by attracting others through its pleasant fragrance. Good-smelling people are always nice to be around. The image causes one to compare themselves to the models. In the advertiser's goal of telling people what the perfume can offer them, it discreetly gives birth to insecurity with oneself. It attempts to convince people they don't have what the models' have, especially by portraying their love in the out-of-the-ordinary scene of horseback riding. One might be inclined to buy the product upon seeing how loving and happy the modeled couple is, two characteristics one might feel deprived of. Convincing consumers of their lack for happiness and love leads to their efforts to fill that lack which will results in the sales of this perfume that offers to do so.

Though the needs for affiliation and attention are more prominent in this advertisement, the need to escape can also be applied here. As seen in the image, there are no signs of a modern, daily lifestyle. There are no buildings except for a stone, medieval-like structure in the distant background and normally one wouldn't go horseback riding in a long, flowing dress either. Pants are more practical. The couple is isolated in their own world, strolling in a seemingly never-ending field of tall grass. All of these features in the image support an opportunity to escape reality. It is the escape from stress and work to residing in the moment of finding and falling in love. 

Looking into the power of language in this ad, there is not much. Even though there are few words, they are powerful words. The word "romance" appears twice in the image possibly because it possess strong positive connotation. Items like flowers and hearts are associated with it which are also considered positive, but "romance" is still a very abstract and broad term. It can be covered through several ways. In this ad, horseback riding is an act of romance. The perfume itself is being promoted as the smell of romance. But what is romance? Romance is love. But what is love? The vagueness continues on, but in being vague a wider audience can be reached. The only other words in this ad are brand names, "Ralph Lauren" and "Sephora," and they are reification. Aside from the image and "romance," the perfume strongly relies on these well-known, famous names to promote itself. Just the sight of these names can influence one to buy the perfume because of  Ralph Lauren and Sephora's reputation.

All of these components of advertising cohesively come together to make one desirable-looking product. It was particularly clever how all had a relationship with the perfume bottle itself. Not only were all the words on the bottle, but the image of the couple appeared to be in the bottle, literally representing that romance is just a spray away.