Sunday, 12 October 2014

Understated Elegance



Chanel is a timeless brand with a rich history; the name itself exudes sophistication and elegance. Whether it be their handbags or their line of cosmetics, Chanel creates breath-taking products and their advertising is no different. Although the brand has recently come under fire for their commercial featuring Brad Pitt, which can only be described as awkward, the majority of their print ads are always made to look both classy and classic.

I was flipping through ELLE Canada magazine when this Chanel ad caught my eye. At first, the ad looks pretty customary for the brand but what struck me was that on the right page they decided to rotate the model to be sideways. I found this subtle detail to be interesting and began thinking about why they chose to do this. I rotated the magazine myself to see the photo straight on and thought, sure it’s a lovely image of a model wearing lip gloss but when it’s placed on its side like they did, it just brings so much more interest to the ad. I commend Chanel for stepping outside of their box, even if it’s only a baby step.

I find the ad itself to be quite striking the way they’ve used contrast and repetition, it’s simple yet still makes an impact. I appreciate that Chanel didn’t see the need to fill the ad from top to bottom with ornate images and that they instead went for an understatement.


Any beauty-loving woman will enjoy gawking at this ad and will probably get the urge to visit a Chanel counter. I know this ad makes me want to go out and buy a $34 lip gloss.

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