Spring has Sprung! Maybe not quite yet, but it sprung sometime in late January for most clothing companies. As the weather gets warmer, one image of spring portrayed by advertisers sticks in my mind better than any other. It is the Aerie Spring 2011 ad campaign selling the beauty of nature's revival and the revival of natural looking beauty. The ad induces a longing for fresh spring air and the warm spring sun with its outdoor setting and color scheme, and sells an image of natural beauty to young girls by blending their clothing into the background of the ad and bringing to the forefront a motto describing the company's image.
When I first saw this ad I noticed three things immediately. The sun, the balloon, and the grass. Each yellow item drew your eye to the next yellow item and pulled your attention to the focal point of the ad. The pretty brown haired girl blending into her surroundings. The warm yellow color scheme invoked a sense of optimism in the audience, and the girl's upward gaze reinforced this feeling. The big yellow balloon creates hope and desire in the audience for a playful and carefree spring that will lead into an unforgettable summer. The audience is now hooked on aerie's idea of spring and they have created an ethos for their company as natural and carefree, which they will use to sell their clothing.
The audience shifts their attention to the true focus of the ad, the 2011 line of spring apparel. But as we look at the girl, its hard to find her clothing because it blends in with the grass. Aerie employs this strategy to sell the idea of natural prettiness. Aerie's spring line consists of clothes with pale natural hues of grass greens and off whites. Hues that you would find in nature.
They tie this idea together with the slogan "pretty goes with everything" written in pale colors on what looks like a bleached burlap sack. The slogan motivates readers to let their beauty shine through, and to buy clothes that enhance their natural beauty instead of constricting it.
Just as the sun shining through the trees gives extra beauty to an already beautiful sun, aeries clothes will add beauty to an already beautiful you. Aerie conveys this message with a natural setting and an optimistic color scheme. There message is created by displaying their clothes as only an accent to the girl's beauty and the phrase "pretty goes with everything" inspires us all to feel a little more beautiful, and buy into Aerie's image of "natural pretty".
Katie,
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis. I feel like aerie always does an excellent job of advertising their new lines. The colors in the ad are warm and beautiful. I like how we don't really get to see the clothes in the actual ad. It seems strange that a clothing ad wouldn't display the actual clothing in the line, but it gives the ad a sense of mystery. It makes me want to go to aerie and check out the clothing line myself!
Sophia