Solomon's "Master of Desire" gives an insightful look into the world of advertising, with common themes of desire, fear, sex, and societal paradox. I found the latter most interesting. Solomon makes a reference to Alexis de Tocqueville's observation that as Americans we identify with both a sense of belonging and a sense of ambition.This desire to belong to a nation, a community, to find our niche within it, and "fit in". This ambition being the desire to be thought of or recognized as part of a higher social strata, even in a society where all social, political, and economic success supposedly comes from completely equal opportunity.
In perusing the internet for an example of an advertisement that screams all of these themes, an interesting ad came up that caught my attention. This was the first indicator of a powerful advertisement-the fact that it caught my attention at all.
The image depicted is actually two different ads, part of the same campaign,
which makes the relation to Solomon's ideas about belonging, elitism, and desire all the more enticing. Just initially taking a glance at the name of the product, "Gucci Guilty" already appeals to that promiscuous, "oops-I-did-it-again" mentality. Already we look at the name of the product and feel like it could empower us do something crazy, wild- completely unlike ourselves.
These images are in fact ridiculously common in the beauty industry (one of the biggest, most successful advertising industries in the world-there's a reason they're common). A man and a woman, seemingly naked, deliciously close and yet not close enough. We look at these people and it appeals to so many different parts of our minds. Being touched, envied, lusted after, desired, beautiful, sexy. We want to be part of this sexy society of beautiful people who smell good and as a result, (we are left to conclude) have lots of sex. We look at them and see that they possess an otherworldly charisma. The product is expensive, the packaging is exquisite, and they just seem so damn cool. This ad tells you that everyone wants sexy, good smelling people, but that only sexy good smelling people want each other. But wait! You're in luck- you can be one of them (for around $62.00).
Beyond creating this good smelling secret society of perfume owners, these ads do interesting things to each other when placed side by side. On the left is an ad "pour homme". The colors are dark and muted, Chris Evans stares half scary, half sexy back at us. The woman is beneath him, begging him to look down at her, taking in his scent.
Gucci had interesting things to say about their product for men: "The juice has top notes of sparkling Italian lemon, pink peppercorn & lavender. The dry down features hallmark Giannini note patchouli and cedar wood. Gucci Guilty is the perfect exterior for the image of the man who also wears it: a sexy, fearless risk-taker."
And then we have on the right, the fragrance for women. The man has similar submissive body language to the woman in the image on the right. The color is brighter, more glowing. You look at the woman and envy everything she has, you look at the man and see that she is desirable- and that your envy is justified.
In both images, a sense of empowerment through sexuality is so present. Looking at these images creates a sort of envy for said empowerment. The consumer is told that by purchasing this product, they can promote an image of themselves that will then elevate their societal status and appeal. And with that, become what people most often want but will never admit: to be both desirable and enviable, with the lines blurring between the two. So while we all want to belong to this exclusive club, we all want to be just a little bit better than everyone already in it. This is the paradox that Solomon speaks of and the desire that is constructed from the cultural visual signals we pass by everyday, just as I did with Gucci's "Gucci Guilty".
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