Everything about the new Sarah Jessica Perfume advert annoys me.
Firstly the name, Lovely, is rubbish. Really rubbish. It's self-promotion so that people who talk about the perfume will automatically make the connection between SJP and all things good, wholesome and sweet. Yuk. And even if this isn't the plan, which it is, calling something Lovely is just lazy and will create no end of problems, thus:
Man (Smelling air around female companion): What are you wearing, it's lovely?
Woman: Yeah, it is.
Man: So what is it?
Woman: Lovely.
Man: I know it is. But what is the perfume?
Woman: It is Lovely.
Man: Yes. But what is it?
Woman: You're dumped.
Etc etc.
Secondly, the advert uses SJP's face. Something that has bugged me for a long time was a conversation, no, argument, I had in a pub when I was an undergraduate. 4 girls took extreme offence to me refering to SJP as a bit moose-like. "But she's beautiful" they screamed, "She's so gorgeous". "Men know nothing about what a good looking woman looks like." they admonished, firmly putting me in no doubt that I was as wrong for questioning the "looks" of SJP.
Now I'll admit that I have, in the past, made judgement on things that I'm not totally qualified to pass judgement on. However, I think that as a man I am in some position to judge the attractiveness of a female. And in SJPs case, she is definitely not what my dad would call a looker. The problem is, the advert accentuates her craggy face by trying to make her look attractive. She gurns in an attempt to look what I'm guessing is sultry, but comes across as being more suited to an advert for Syrup of Figs.
Apparently $20 million was spent on the marketing for this campaign. Wow.
Category:Advert
2 comments:
Speaking as a woman, I think you're right about SJP in general - also, the shot on the ad strikes me as an especially unfortunate picture of her. What frightens me is that it must have been the best one they could get. But then, I hate Sex & The City, so I seem to be immune to her appeal.
Personally, I can't see the woman without thinking of the immortal quote from former Channel 5 baseball presenter Johnny Gould (yes, this was brought to my attention by John), on spying SJP in the crowd at a game: 'Sarah Jessica Parker...sometimes I think she's hot, sometimes I think she's a moose' (said in a reflective, thoughtful tone as if considering an especially thorny philosophical problem).
Catherine
yeah her whole 'thing' isn't much of anything to me. She bores me.
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