An Analysis and Comparison of Advertisements from Marc Jacobs

AN ANALYSIS AND COMPARISON OF ADVERTISEMENTS FROM MARC JACOBS

Daisy and Decadence

Nguyen Chau Ngoc Bao

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Principles of Marketing

Introduction

Marc Jacobs, a global brand published by the same-name founder, offers not only clothing for women, men and kids but also accessories, bags, shoes, and beauty products. Among these commodities, fragrance is one of those playing an important part in promoting the brand to the world. In an interview, Marc Jacobs even smiled and told: “People came up to me in the airports and on the street and saying how much they like my fragrances. The stewardesses on British Airways were speaking about them. It seems that everyone in the shops knows me because of the fragrances” (Marc Jacobs, n.d.). Since Marc Jacobs’s start offering fragrances 2001 (Marc Jacobs perfumes and colognes, n.d.), Daisy and Decadence are considered to be the two most salient ones for women that marked the brand’s contribution to the perfume industry.

Daisy, launched in 2007, was a big hit and became the signature fragrance of Marc Jacobs. It was created by perfumer Alberto Morillas (Daisy Marc Jacobs for women, n.d.). Daisy is considered to be a pure essence illustrating the spirit of the youth. The brand described Daisy’s packaging as "A luxurious block of weighter, clear glass topped with a playful scattering of daisies that appear to bloom form the rounded gold cap" (Daisy Marc Jacobs - eau de toilette for women, n.d.). The first advertisement (Appendix A) introducing Daisy was taken by Juergen Teller in 2011. It shows two youthful girls wearing white dresses are standing in the middle of a sunny and windy field of daisies. One of them is holding up the Daisy on her hands with closed eyes. Moreover, the main tone includes light colours such as white, light blue and pastel yellow. Hence, the ad looks like a dream which is full of purity and freshness.

Another advertisement from Marc Jacobs shot by Steven Meisel (Appendix B) is about Decadence, the brand’s first mature fragrance presented in 2015 (Decadence Marc Jacobs for women, n.d). This elegant fragrance was created by the collaboration of perfumer Annie Buzantian and Ann Gottlieb. If Daisy is illustrated as a sweet girl, Decadence will be sophisticated and sexy. Marc Jacobs stated, “I wanted something that evoked the sense of a bag, with python and gold chain and a black silk tassel, so it had a kind of opulence and glamour and became an object of desire” when he designed the packaging as a “personal talisman” (Naughton, 2015). The ad displays a mature woman with smoky makeup look wearing a black shoulder strap dress. She is lying on the ground, having her hair disheveled and holding the Decadence in her hands and the gold chain in her mouth. This advertisement has a dark tone of black and emerald, which brings a feeling of mystery and the secret that no one can ignore.

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1. Segmentation

Although both Daisy and Decadence are Marc Jacobs’s perfumes, there are differences in their segmentation. Firstly, the advertisement of Daisy illustrates girls with white dresses, a colour that is a symbol of youth and innocence, and either is the meaning of daisy flowers, which are shown in the background of the ad and the bottle design. In addition, the field behind is a symbol of peace and freedom, which is supported by the facial expression of the girls. These typical signs in the ad build up the characteristics of a fragrance that includes freshness, sweet, youth, purity, freedom and peace. Thus, in demographic segmentation, Daisy is aimed at females who are young with the age ranged from 17 to 24 or a few above 30 who want to feel younger. Regarding the psychographic variable, target customers might have a lifestyle and personality that is like a youthful spirit, always happy and free. In contrast, the woman in the advertising of Decadence brings the sense of sexiness and maturity, and the perfume design is deluxe and exclusive. Therefore, Decadence is targeted to women from the age of 25 to 30, who want to express their charm of mature but not being too old. This ad also displays a perspective of a mysterious woman and her glamour, which is a factor that attracts female having the same personality and lifestyle. Moreover, the package design of Decadence in this ad aims to females having a high income, who want to purchase a perfume that makes them feel luxurious and rich. Based on these differences, these ads bring two opposite images which lead to different segmentation. Besides, in spite of these differences, Daisy and Decadence have the same geographic and behavioral variables in their segmentation. Marc Jacobs used these two ads to promote Daisy and Decadence sold in their stores in countries’ main cities. Additionally, the perfumes are presented in the center of these ads. The white-dress girl in the first ad holds up Daisy as a holy item to be worshipped while the sexy woman in the second one puts Decadence in front of her chest as if she wanted to show the perfume was the secret key to her sexiness. Combining these factors together, it can be seen that the market of Daisy and Decadence is segmented into prospering cities and sold to who are interested and enthusiastic in perfume.

1. Targeting

Not only do these ads show differences in segmentation but also targeting. Although the advertisements of Daisy and Decadence place themselves in niche marketing, their target market is not the same due to their different demographic and psychographic segmentation. Daisy’s ad targets for younger women who are students or working. However, they might not be the major customers since the perfume’s price is quite high compared to young women’s income. Whereas, Decadence’s target audience is older, who have a full-time job so they can afford this perfume. Daisy and Decadence both use undifferentiated marketing strategy, offering the entire market with the same product. The two ads attract all customers by one centralised strategy and the message that is "the fragrance for women”.

1. Positioning

These two advertisements have successfully positioned themselves as a product as well as brand image. They both promote Daisy and Decadence’s scent through the image features of the ads and their brand identity through product bottles. The background, model, and colour of Daisy’s ad demonstrates Daisy as a perfume of nature, freshness, and purity, while Decadence has a captivating and sexy scent. In the advertisements, Daisy and Decadence’s bottles are very impressive and distinctive to other fragrance bottles. Daisy shows visually on the lid what its most prominent scent is. This appearance and scent as their main focus are designed to attract the young audience. On the other hand, Decadence has a handbag shaped bottle, showing the elegance and affluence that helps gain attention from its target customers. Despite their product images are different, Daisy and Decadence’ads both advance the exclusivity and luxury of Marc Jacobs’s brand identity that differentiates it with other perfume competitors.