Corve DaCosta – coast to coast ~

If you are new to this blog I have a deep, deep passion for Marketing and Advertising. I will forever appreciate this field and any business that really use the basic skills to advance their companies and their products. I appreciate it so much because it is the only thing I know.

Advertising has been a sore point for many people. The impact advertising may have on potential viewers is great. Creators of advertisements understand this fully and they will exploit the opportunity while being legal to persuade the consumer to purchase a product or to buy into a service. Consumers therefore have a responsibility to take these advertisements with a grain of salt. There is a line in advertising that ad creators try not to cross and this is being deceptive. I have an issue with adverts deceiving people, misleading them to the point where they consume the product and it does not perform the way it was intended to.

We live in the 21^st century where everything has to look posh, awesome, appealing and appear to be the best. With demands from companies and an emphasis on profits to be made, pressures are placed on creative teams to create an advert that will rival the competitor. Not only to compete but also to make the advertisement so appealing those consumers will demand the product. Creating an advertisement should take time. Determining the image of the product, partnering that with the right talents, choosing the music, the lighting and the camera angles are all some of the factors which the creative team has to take note of. A whole slew of other considerations which make the final product appealing and persuading.

Can you imagine the thoughts that go in to advertise fashion and products for the face and hair? In developed markets like London, Europe and United States of America where the quality of advertising is high, it takes much effort to produce.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV-48hASWfo&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

An advertisement in question in recent days is one produced by L’Oreal. The ad features Cheryl Cole (judge on X Factor, huge celebrity in the UK) who in the advertisement praises the product Elvive Full Restore 5 hair care line for making her chestnut “full of life, replenished with healthy shine”. The fact is Cheryl Cole’s chestnut was not entirely her real flowing hair. Should we be having an issue with advertisements like this?

C Cole

Beauty has come under scrutiny many times before and this will never be the last. I have an issue with people having an issue with this advertisement.  First and foremost females who wear extensions do not refer to their hair as fake especially when it blends in with their ‘real’ hair especially when their real hair accounts for much of what you actually see. Females can also confess that when commenting on a friend’s hairstyle they don’t say “Your wig looks good!” instead they say “your hair looks good.” This is in the context of wearing extensions coupled with your real hair. Now if your entire head of hair that I am seeing is from a plastic package then we can conclude that your hair is fake and you are indeed wearing a wig.

Personally I do not see anything wrong with the advertisement because an advert of that nature for it to be effective it has to have some form of fantasy (lies oops) to it. In the advertisement clearly not all of the talent’s hair is false and you would have only known that if you know what extensions look like and if you have worn them before or read it online. The celebrity in question has made extensions apart of her routine look so to say she has done this and it is deceiving to people is ridiculous.

I also have an issue with advertising critics who claim that adverts should be appealing to the normal person. Therefore, advertisements of this nature – fashion related will make ladies feel insecure and affect their self esteem. Rubbish! If an advertisement is going to make you feel bad, you felt bad long before you saw the advertisement. I will not buy the argument that advertisements should ever start using normal people to sell the products. If this worked more companies would have been doing it. Dove has started that trend – saw the features of Oprah but I do not like it. It contradicts the image and position of what the product has established. L’Oreal mentions in their ads ‘because you’re worth it.’ The marketing campaign works because they use celebrities who everyone seems to aspire to be. That image of everything looking right cannot be compromised. It is not by chance the make-up is always right. It is not by chance they are always smiling and telling you how wonderful the product makes them feel and look. It is all a strategy to make you walk to the retail store and purchase the product.

Stop complaining oh how she isn’t wearing her real hair. I must confess I know nothing about hair extensions and rightfully so. However, the first time I saw the advertisement I did not think about her extensions, I thought about the obvious she has great hair and any girl who uses the product will experience the same thing because they are worth it. When I buy facial products which I desperately need to look the way I do lol I don’t want to read or see that the product will make me look normal. I am looking for it to say it will give me clear skin and all those good things. So consumers gravitate to products which makes them look, feel better than they previously did – takes them to a higher level.

Stop again, did you see the advertisement. Really? Watch again and look at 0:21 seconds. At the bottom of the screen it says “styled with some natural hair extensions.” That is all the advertisement needed. Of course in that 30 second advertisement all you were looking at is her ‘real-hair’ and the outcome after using such a product. From an advertising, model-talent’s perspective that’s all that matters – you looked at her hair and wished you had it.

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