A Scent of Lust



Sean John Fragrances, 2006, USA

 Lust is ranked as the least offensive of the seven deadly sins but in my opinion is one of the most prevalent in the media. Sexualization of women and men in advertising is a tactic that is used often, popularly in the 20th century and perhaps even more in the modern day. As lust being a sort of endless "battle" of human nature so to say, the saying that "sex sells" regarding advertising is most likely true.

The advertisement above is a for a perfume called "Unforgivable Woman". The creator of this perfume is Sean John Combs or P Diddy as most millennials probably know him. By first glance at this ad, you're most likely already uncomfortable, considering he looks like he is forcing himself onto the woman. However, this was not the creator's intention. What were their intentions exactly? I'm not entirely sure, but that, no that definitely wasn't it.

The ad shows a man (P Diddy) lustfully looking at and touching a woman (whether she is happy about it or not is irrelevant at this time). In the center, is the phrase "Life without passion is unforgivable". What the viewer may get from this is pretty clear. You want to buy this perfume because it will make you irresistible. Like P Diddy says, "life without passion is unforgivable", and who would want to live an unforgivable life? This perfume will give you the passion that is required to satisfy your life, what more could you want? Overall, the message it is trying (really hard) to convey is that the fragrance is so sensational that men won't be able to keep their hands off you.

The phrase alone denotes that lust is essential to living a life with value and meaning. It is placed in the center of the ad to conveniently block the woman's breasts, which the creator's likely assumed would draw the viewer's attention. The ad uses warm colors from the same palette, giving off a sense of unity, rather than a contrasting color scheme which would give off chaos. To viewers consumed by lust, the ad makes it seem like something they want, thanks to the monochromatic color scheme and written message. I would also say because of the visual display, but that is debatable. The ad acts upon the lust that is hidden within humans and uses passion as a facade.

The intended audience for this advertisement was American women, as it is for perfume. But ultimately, it just appealed to a demographic of those who like the pairing of male dominance and female objectification. Aside from that, the creators of this ad were really trying to sell this perfume to women who one: need a new perfume, and two: desire that lust or "passion" in life. Their economic background is not too extravagant, as the "Unforgivable Woman" retailed for $19.99 at Sears. They most likely had the cultural knowledge that scent is a powerful attribute in determining one's attraction for another. So much so that it could even cause one to commit the deadly sin of lust.

I think most can agree that this ad sucks in more ways than it doesn't, but there's no denying that it depicts the act of lust? Honestly, it may just depict violent masculinity and women being used as sex symbols. The advertisement only leaves us with one question: is it the woman that is really the unforgivable one?

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 28, 2018 at 8:38 AM

    I think that this post is really insightful! I think that you could have further expanded on what the intentions of the creator were. Also, the intended audience could be any woman, not just an American woman. Overall, I really agreed that this advertisement depicts toxic masculinity and the objectification of women. It's true that this ad sucks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mady IgnacioOctober 28, 2018 at 10:24 AM

    Hey Emi!!
    I really enjoyed reading your blogpost and seeing how you analyzed this ad. I liked how you used the argument of over sexualization to further develop the lustful qualities of the advertisement. It was also interesting to read how due to the price of the product influences who the intended audience is and their background. Overall, you made some really great arguments that were both insightful and relevant to the issues that are prevalent to today's society.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Melissa SchroderOctober 28, 2018 at 1:45 PM

    I really liked this blog post! I felt like your tone was informal but you were still able to critically analyze the advertisement. This created a great balance that made the post entertaining to read but still informative. I liked your point about how this advertisement creates the idea that lust is needed for a valuable life. I think that that point is the entire purpose of the advertisement and you got it exactly right! It was interesting when you discussed the price too because I would originally expect it to sell for more. I think that overall you made some great points about the objectification of women and its prevalence in advertising.

    ReplyDelete

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