Advert Evaluation

Maybelline - Falsies Volum’ Express Mascara

The use of image on this advert shows a young glamorous looking woman which tells the audience that this is how the product will affect them if they buy it. The slogan ‘It’s a false lash glam look in a tube. Instantly!’ links also to the theme of glamour, which draws the audience in with this catchy line about the product. The colour of the mascara tube is a bright purple which probably help attract the certain audience. The purple is repeated through the advert that fills the page in the woman’s bracelet, and part of her top etc. This could suggests that the mascara has almost become part of her and her lifestyle once she has started to use it, which implies the importance of the product.

            If the advert had to relate to a genre I would probably suggest that it relates mostly to romance. There are not many clues that would imply that it is a particular genre but just because it’s a woman could show the romance as the audience of this product would probably be a similar audience to romance films. Also, I don’t think that the image particularly relates to any specific culture or country, as there is nothing that would suggest whether it is English or American or something completely different.

            Similarly to the genre, there are not many give-aways that suggest a certain narrative or story but by the look in her eyes, and the way she is dressed up could suggest a story of lifestyle behind it. The look in her eyes suggests that she is gazing off and dreaming about something and perhaps the woman in the advert is looking for love or just found it.

The advert is not only selling the product, but it is also selling the lifestyle that comes with it, and the type of person you will become. It suggests that you will become a new improved person when having bought it. The woman in the picture has perfect skin and hair, so this makes the audience dream about having this lifestyle.

If there is a world that is represented in this advertisement, it could be portraying a fantasy world. It could be representing a positive attitude towards the audience’s world. However in some aspects, the advert seems to look slightly dangerous. The way the woman looks so serious, and is staring right at you suggests that there is something else lurking beneath her surface.

I don’t think that the model could really offend a particular audience in anyway as you can only see her face, therefore she is not showing too much skin. Also you can’t tell if she is a typical tall thin type of model, which could offend some public and set bad examples. However, her perfect skin and hair and make-up could make some audiences feel they need to look this way. In this sense it could put some women down and make them feel insignificant and not good enough.

The advert is probably aimed at women who are the same age as the model, which is approximately age 20-25, or ranging somewhere around that age group. Not only does the age of the model give a hint as to what audience is it aimed at, but so does the text. For example, when it says ‘glam look’ it uses slang. Most people that use this sort of language these days are those of a younger age, therefore the advertisement is aimed at people who are likely to use these types of words and relate to it.

Look was a bi-weekly, general-interest magazine published in Des Moines, Iowa from 1937 to 1971, with more of an emphasis on photographs than articles. A large-size magazine of 11 by 14 inches, it was generally considered the also-ran to Life magazine, which began publication only months earlier and ended in 1972. It is known for helping launch the career of film director Stanley Kubrick, who was a staff photographer. When the first issue went on sale in early 1937, it sold 705,000 copies. Although planned to begin with the January 1937 issue, the actual first issue of Look to be distributed was the February 1937 issue, numbered as Volume 1, Number 2. It was published monthly for five issues (February–May 1937), and then switched to bi-weekly starting with the May 11, 1937 issue. Page numbering on early issue counted the front cover as page one. Early issues, subtitled Monthly Picture Magazine, carried no advertising. The unusual format of the early issues featured layouts of photos with long captions or very short articles. The magazine's backers described it as "an experiment based on the tremendous unfilled demand for extraordinary news and feature pictures."

Overall, I think this advert is rather affective. As her face takes up a large amount of the page it draws in the target audience and the long black eyelashes attract the attention to that specific part of the image. The product in the corner of the page is made to be quite big and bright purple. This gives the mascara a positive attitude as it contains an appealing colour and writing font on the tube. I chose to analyse this advert as it was one of the first cosmetic adverts in the magazine that stood out and got my attention. I think the contrast of her pale skin and the dark background helps to draw the audience’s eyes straight to her face which is effective as her eyes are the centre of attention on the page. The way that the advertisement contains a few positive slogans such as “Our No.1 mascara” and “Create a false lash effect minus the glue” definitely gives the product more reliability and reassurance to whether the audience are making the right decision about buying it. I don’t think the advert has any major weaknesses, although it would be quite effective to see more of a story behind it. If there was perhaps a background, or we could see more of the image it might add more detail. However, I think it is a great example for a cosmetic advert and will help me now to design my own, maybe using some of the ideas in my own work.