Gucci cater for consumers in Europe, Asia, Australia, Switzerland and the US. Their target consumer are primarily female, middle-aged with a high income and high status. There are other popular competitors with a similar target consumer in Italy such as Armani, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada as well as other world wide brands including Chanel, Dior and Burberry; but Gucci remain one of the biggest selling brands due to their strong brand image and control over their distribution channels and process. Gucci advertise their products through the media, magazines, television and billboards, which I will now analyse.
This billboard in particular has been designed to advertise a perfume called 'Flora' by Gucci. Every design element of this image has been used to represent the word 'Flora', from the imagery to the fonts. The font used for the name of the perfume is very fitting in that it is feminine and elegant; which is what a company would want the consumer to think of a perfume that has a name stemmed from the words 'floral' or 'flower'. The brand's logo has also been included on the billboard to show the viewer who owns the product. The font and style of the logo suits the consumer as it looks classy and makes a statement. The only other font used on the billboard is for the word 'by'. This font is very simplistic and light weight so that it doesn't draw any attention away from the two main words that advertise the product and brand. Using a similar font for non-important text is something that I will have to remember when creating my own billboard.
The imagery for this billboard is also very feminine and elegant, but the editing and colours used suggest an element of power. The image used is aesthetically pleasing to the eye as it shows beauty and delicacy; this will make the viewer believe that they will appear this way if they were to purchase the product. The powerful element created by the lighting behind the model, making her appear 'godly', links with the target consumer as she will be of a high class and have power over others. In the bottom right corner, there is an image of the perfume bottle which is of a graceful design with a bow. Perfume adverts usually show an image or clip of the perfume bottle because it is used to create a visual statement that will represent the smell of the perfume; thus allowing the consumer to think that if they like the design of the bottle, they will like the smell of the perfume.
The colour pallet for this billboard is based on floral colour and mainly includes pastels. The main colours used for the image are blue, peach and white. These colours have come together to create a bright but slightly moody sky behind the model. These colours also feature in the model's lightly see-through dress, which when overlapping the sky, create a pinky-purple colour which adds to the femininity. The colours give an overall dream-like state to the image which adds an aspect of escapism, linking with Bulmer & Katz Gratification theory.
The model in the image is used in a similar way to the perfume bottle, in that the consumer will decide on whether they will like the smell of the perfume based on her appearance. She is posed a relaxed and serene way which again, looks very elegant. Her dress is made out of a lot of floating material that is wrapped around her and shows movement as if she is flying or has wings: this also links to the escapism theory and gives the image a sense of freedom. The use of the female model also links to Mulvey's theory that women are used as 'objects of sexual desire' in the media, as she is an 'attractive' female being used to sell a product. Although this may not apply to the women that buy this product, but men could buy the product for their partners based on the idea that they will become more like the model if they wear the perfume. The mise-en-scene and editing has been used to create a surreal and glamorous world that the consumer could relate to if they were to buy the product.
The layout of the billboard is quite straight forward in that the text is on the left, and there is a subject in the middle and on the right. The model starts to blend into the background of the image because she is wearing similar colours. This make the text and the perfume bottle stand out further because they are made up of mostly black which is very contrasting to the image.
As a conclusion, this billboard has been designed perfectly to fit with the product it is advertising. It makes the viewer think about the preferred reading of the product in that the perfume is elegant and feminine. After analysing this billboard, I have learnt that I will have to be certain about what product I am advertising on my design in order to get all of the design aspects to represent the product. This billboard shows the product and the link to escapism particularly well because of the contrast between the surreal world and colours of the image and the location and colours of the billboards surroundings. Although my product that I will be advertising will not be a perfume, I have learnt a lot about the way billboard advertising works through analysing this billboard.
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