My 6 favourite images

1) I think this is a good image of my model because she looks very similar to the original image. She looks very powerful , just like how I intended. Also, her make up is subtle yet strong, because her cheek bones are very defined but she has very little eye make up, just like the original. However, I would say her chin is slightly too high because although it makes her look powerful, it isn't what the original image looks like. The model in the original image has her chin much lower which is what I would prefer in my advert. It is also quite dull, although this can be edited very easily so isn't really a problem.

2) The chin is lower in this image so I prefer it to the previous image. My model still looks powerful and her make up is still defined so this is why I like this image. It is slightly brighter than the previous one as well, but as I said it can be edited. If I were to use it I would crop it slightly so the bottom part of her dress isn't as visible. The giraffe print looks very effective in my opinion and really adds to the image and makes it eye catching because it looks very interesting.

3) This image is very similar to the previous one, the only subtle difference is that her mouth is slightly more relaxed, making it look less of a pout and a bit more serious. I like this, however it almost makes her a look a bit grumpy, rather than strong like I intended. Therefore I do think I prefer the previous one slightly more.

4) I think this image is my favourite because my models chin is in the prefect place. It appears brighter than the rest so wouldn't take as much editing and the make up looks very defined and just like the actual advert. The only slight issue I have with it, is the hair on the left hand side because in the original, there is no hair there, it is all behind her back. However, I could easily edit it out by using the cloning tool to make it disappear into the background. This way you would never tell it was there. Therefore, with this being edited out and a bit of brightening, I think this image would be perfect.

5) My models hair is in the right place on this image. However, her head is turned slightly too far, the angle is just slightly off. The make up looks very good still, like it does on all of them. I think this image seems very dull and not very sharp either. You can also see her finger nails on the underneath hand which doesn't look very professional, therefore even though the hair is correct, I don't think this is the best image.

6) This image is brighter than the previous one, and her hair is in the right place so I definitely prefer it. Her make up looks effective. However her head is still too far turned and the angle is wrong again. If this wasn't the case I would probably like this image the best, but this can't be edited so therefore I don't think it would work due to it looking too far from the original.








So therefore, overall my favourite image is number 4. This is because the make up and angle of my models chin is perfect. The hair is an issue that can easily be fixed, so I think this is the image I will use when I recreate the advert.

Statement of Intent

I am making an advert for cream that lightens skin and removes spots. The target audience for my product is females aged 13-25, of a demographic group C or above.  This is because skin care is predominantly a female thing and it is most useful for this age group because teenagers and young adults often find themselves with spots, so would really appreciate a good spot cream. Other teenagers with fewer spots would probably still appreciate it as it lightens skin, and teenagers of today are very image conscious so would want the best products in order to give them the best skin. The target audience is females of a demographic group C or above because the product is fairly expensive and it isn’t really a necessity so it is more for middle – upper class people with more money. I will use an image of my model (Daisy) posing in a strong, powerful way. She will have giraffe print down her right arm, which will link to the text at the top ‘Not all species enjoy spots’. She will have heavy contour on her cheeks to make the cheek bones stand out. This make up will work as a visual sign to signify that, like intended, she is strong and powerful. This is a representation that is more modern of women that a feminist such as Bell Hooks, would approve of.  My choice of background is a white vignette background meaning it is white in the middle and gets darker in the corners; it fades very subtly and smoothly. This would appeal to the audience because it is clear and smooth, just like how their skin will be if they use the cream. It doesn’t take away any attention from the model; it will almost create a glow around her, representing her as radiant, making the audience want to buy the product so they can be like her. Her costume will be a white dress and this visual sign will signify purity, representing the model as pure and clean, just like how the audiences’ skin will be if they use the product. My advert would appear in the windows of pharmacists and chemists and other beauty shops because this way my target audience would definitely see them when they visit the shops looking for a product like this. You would also maybe see it in magazines similar to teen vogue, as these magazines are the ones that my audience tend to read and look to take advice from.

Backgrounds for my advert

The advert I have chosen to remake is advert 2, the skin care advert.
These are some possible 'found' images I could use as backgrounds.

1) I could use a simple cream background because this way, like the original it takes no attention away from the model and anything else in the frame. I think this would work effectively for these reason and also because it is clear, relating to the purpose of the skin care cream, to make skin clearer. Although, I like how the actual advert uses a vignette and fades from light in the middle to dark around the edges, so I would prefer a background that also does this,.

2) This is a cream vignette background. I like how it creates emphasis on the centre which is where the model would be, so it works well like the original advert. However, I think it is perhaps a bit too dark and it doesn't quite look as good as the original because the colours on the outside are very contrasting with those in the centre so it isn't as subtle as I would have liked. It won't create the same subtle glow from the model and this was what I really enjoyed about the original advert.

3) I then found this background which is a white version of the one above. I think this creates a much better effect as it is much more subtle and the colours aren't too harsh. They fade into each other smoothly and seamlessly. I think this would really give the model the glow I liked from the original, therefore it is definitely one to consider.

4) I wondered if a different background might be more effective, a background different to the original but still relevant. I found this black and white background of leopard print. I think this would be effective because it wouldn't take attention away from the model due to it being black and white and she would be in colour. Also, it sticks to the theme of animal spots. I do feel it might look a bit unusual with the model in colour with orange giraffe spots and then a black and white background though.

5) Therefore I decided to explore leopard print backgrounds in colour to see if they would look any better. Looking at this background I think it would be too off-putting and it would take too much attention away from the model and the text. It is so dark in places that I don't think some of the text would show up, consequently I don't think this is the best option.

6) I had a look at giraffe print backgrounds so that the background linked to the pattern on the models arm. However, again I think it would just be too off putting because it is very busy and the colours are dark in places so the text wouldn't stand out enough on top of it. I also feel that if I were to use this background, the giraffe print on the models arm wouldn't be as obvious and so it wouldn't look as good. Therefore I don't think this is a good idea for a possible background.





Overall, looking back on the possible choices, I think the best one is the third one as it is most similar to the background used in the original advert and it would still allow for the subtle glow to come from the model whilst not taking away any attention from the image or text.

Advert Research 2

This is an advert for skin care cream, designed to lighten skin and remove spots. The background is a light cream colour that darkens round the edges and is lighter in the centre. This is very effective because it pulls all focus onto the actual image as it is a plain background, but also due to it being lighter in the middle, it is almost as though the image glows. The audience of this advert is most likely females due to the model being a woman. There are 2 other adverts similar to this as part of this campaign and both of them use a female model, again suggesting it is aimed at females. The age could range from teenagers up to older people because all ages would like to have fresh clear skin. 

The font used for the text above and below the image is a sans serif font, so it is very simple and quite bold. It is in capitals and the sentence at the top is in quite a large size font so it is eye catching and stands out well. This particular sentence is very clever. It reads 'Not all species enjoy spots', suggesting although animals such as leopards and cheetahs enjoy having spots, humans do not. This links well with the image on the advert.

It depicts a woman, centre of frame, and down her right arm she has a giraffe print painted. It helps us to understand and make sense of the headline, because instantly we recognise that the species that do enjoy spots are the wild animals such as leopards and giraffes and then the species that do not are humans. This may have been confusing without the image of the woman and the animals spots because when you hear spots in a skin care advert you don't think of animal print spots, you think of spots that humans get.

The mise en scene is very effective here. The woman's costume is a delicate, white dress that represents purity, however this contrasts with her hair and make up. Her hair is very dark and she has a big quiff which makes her look powerful and bold, very different to the delicate white dress. Her make up is subtle in some ways but bold in others. For example, she has nothing on her lips and appears to have very little on her eyes, her skin also looks completely flawless with no blemishes. This represents her as pure and the flawless skin perhaps shows the results of the product. But she has lots of make up on her cheek bone area to make them look very defined. This represents her as powerful, and so does her facial expression which is very serious and strong. It encourages the audience to buy the product to not only get flawless skin but also be like her - confident and strong.

In the bottom right corner there is actually an image of the product being advertised. This is useful because it allows the audience to see how much product they will get in the bottle as it says 30ml on it. It allows the audience to see exactly what they are purchasing. 

The model in this advert wears a plain, simple white dress which represents her as classy and pure. Maybe a reflection of the spot cream - it has made her skin more pure. This creates brand identity as it depicts the brand as classy, this is how the brand wishes to perceive itself.

Advert Research 1

This is a Benefit Cosmetics make up advert and it is advertising one of their eyebrow products.

The background of the image is pink which is a very stereotypical girl colour. It suggests femininity and as it is light pink, it is more soft and gentle, representing the model as young and delicate. The audience for this advert is definitely teenage girls so this works well with the light pink tones as opposed to bright pink which is a lot bolder and less delicate so would perhaps suggest a different audience. The light pink also helps to create brand identity as Benefit is well known for its pink colours. Everything at Benefit involves pink, for example all of the products they sell use a pink font on them. This creates brand identity as the common use of pink represents Benefit as girly and feminine.

The font used at the top of the advert is the font that Benefit actually use on their products. It is a sans serif font, this contrasts with the pink colours because you would expect a girly make up advert to use a girly serif font. However, I think the bold sans serif font works well because it stands out and makes it more eye-catching, I like how it challenges the traditional feminine stereotype. It is a slightly darker shade of pink so it still shows up against the background and because it continues the pink theme, and so still represents Benefit cosmetics as being feminine. This font also helps to create brand identity because it is pink again representing femininity and I recognised it as soon as I saw it due to it being on the front of every product. The advert doesn't have the brand name on it, but because I recognised the font and colours, I knew that it was Benefit cosmetics.

Just above this, there is a puff containing the buzz word 'NEW'. The font used is still the same as the normal font, however it is slightly smaller. Often buzz words are bigger to attract attention, so I like how they have done it the other way round so that it is the product that first catches your attention, followed by the fact it is new. The black and white make a nice contrast and the black helps to make the puff stand out against the pink background.

In the actual image we see a young woman and she appears to be getting the new product put on her eyebrows by a gorilla. One of her eyebrows is big and fluffy, like a gorilla, and the other is beautifully neat and shaped perfectly. It suggests that the product has transformed the good eyebrow from looking like the bad eyebrow, making it seem very impressive. The gorilla hands tie in with the big bushy eyebrow and make it quite humorous as clearly you wouldn't really have a gorilla doing your eyebrows. The gorilla hands even have bright pink stick on nails attracted to them which again creates humour. It continues the girly theme as they have even made a gorilla, perhaps one of the most unfeminine animals, feminine.

The girl is pulling quite a pleasantly shocked face up at the gorilla that is applying her make up. In terms of mise en scene, her make up is very subtle and flawless. Her skin is fair and it looks perfect with no blemishes, this represents youth and suggests Benefit is more for teenagers rather than adults. She seems to have hardly any make up on her eyes and on her lips she has a soft pink lipgloss. This again represents youth and femininity. Her hair is tied back into a low ponytail and it has a gentle wave running through it, suggesting delicacy. Her costume is white with a blue ribbon tied around the neck. The white suggests purity and innocence, suggesting the younger audience and the light blue again represents youth as it is the other baby colour - baby pink and baby blue. This advert uses both. It is interesting that she is wearing blue as it is stereotypically a boys colour, but the fact it is light makes it work as it seems pure and youthful.

Also in the frame above the gorillas hands, the actual product is featured. Showing both the inside and outside of it. This is helpful because it allows the audience to see what it is they would be purchasing and how much product you actually get inside the package. All around the frame are little white stars and 4 bigger black ones. They create a pretty, girly effect and give the advert that little bit more detail that makes it look more attractive. The girl, who appears to be centre of frame, has what looks like a white glow radiating from her, especially from round her face. This subtly makes the area more eye-catching as it almost glows. It represents her as quite angelic and pure making the audience want to buy the product and be like her. The white stars then stem from this white glow. The black ones do stand out more due to the contrast between pink and black. Despite being black which isn't typically a pretty, girly colour, they do work quite well because they tie in with the other dark tones, such as the gorilla hands and her dark hair and the puff.