The original Advertisement:

The Tom Ford perfume for men ad I have chosen to analyze features a woman, lying down, with no underwear while her legs are spread out wide. Only a bottle of Tom Ford perfume for men, perfectly positioned in between the woman’s legs, barley covers her genital. Her position seduces the viewer and suggests that she is ready to receive and have sex. Her provocative, exposed and nude body leaves little to the imagination.

When consumers buy a product, they expect to get something in return. Appealing to the sense of smell comes with many practical constraints. It is very difficult to see or feel anything tangible with a perfume ad as the viewer of the ad cannot smell the particular scent being marketed. This is why a majority of perfume advertisements make no effort to describe the scents they are promoting. Because of this, marketers try to sell something that consumers can relate to, like a feeling or desire which has value to the consumer. In this ad, the body is the object of desire. This ad is clearly objectifying a woman’s body which is used to sell a product, a man’s perfume. One of the most popular strategies used in the history of perfume marketing, as described in “The Erotic History of Advertising” by Tom Reichert, is the so-called “desirable quarry” approach (Chin, 2019). The sexually charged picture in this Tom Ford ad is powerful in attracting its audience, straight men. The ad sends several messages to its viewers. This ad suggests that if men would like to have sex with a woman with this body type, a Tom Ford perfume for men can help them reach their goal. It can also mean that that the consumer is getting sex once they buy and use this perfume. Another message of the ad plays on the psychological impulse of the buyer which suggests that women would want to have sex with men that are using this perfume.  With any of these messages, the ultimate promise is clear, sex with a woman is attainable when a consumer uses the perfume. These messages lead to negative effects on how women are viewed and treated in society.

The New Advertisement:

Work cited:

Chin, F. (2019, March 9). Perfume Advertisement Strategies. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/perfume-advertisement-strategies-45134.html.