Analysis Of Oh Lola Advertisement

Cecilia Zhu

Ms. Lawrence

ENG 4U1-03

November 14th, 2017

Analysis of Oh, Lola! Print ad -- a Biased Commercial Implies Sexualization of Children

In the advertisement of Oh, Lola! Women’s perfume by Marc Jacobs, many signifiers are used to draw upon biased social narratives, including female stereotyping and objectification. To begin with, the advertisement utilizes a variety of elements to promote its core product-- Oh, Lola! Perfume. The model is wearing a translucent pink dress while sitting on a pink floor, against a pink background. The elements that are presented appear to all be through a pink filter. She is holding a perfume bottle that has a giant rose on the top, intentionally placed between her legs. Besides being the focus of photograph,

Thus, through denoting the signifiers present in the advertisement, the perfume is clearly indicated as the core product. According to the second order of signification, these signifiers in the advertisement convey implicit messages. One of the most obvious messages is the objectification of females. In the advertisement, the perfume bottle is placed in her private part. The flower at the top is a yonic symbol and is often used to represent the female reproductive organ. In some cases, it is also used to represent virginity as the term “deflowering” has an implicit reference to taking a woman’s virginity. Thus, the advertisement delivers a message that virginity is precious, which objectifies women as it magnifies a specific characteristic of the female anatomy, and adds an abstract value to it. Hence, a female audience will have an emotional connection to the product thinking they should value their virginity more. On the other hand, a male audience will objectify women and associate virginity with a pleasantly scented flower which is problematic in its own right. Furthermore, another connotation present in the advertisement is stereotyping the female gender. The model is a very petite and thin framed girl

This standard of beauty is not representative of the female population that this advertisement is aimed at. In addition, every single item of significance is the colour pink. Pink is often associated as being feminine and girly, which is why it seems to be washed over this entire advertisement. Overall, through stereotyping women, the sign system intends to evoke emotion appeal from females. It proposes the belief that following societal expectations of beauty and gender stereotypes will make them more alluring, akin to wearing the perfume. The sign system also evokes the emotional appeal to males and indicates that their ideal partner should be similar to the model, who is a white girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a thin body. In conclusion, after analysing the denotative aspects, many components in the advertisement work together to highlight the core product which is the Oh, Lola! Perfume. Looking at the connotative aspects, the sign system within the advertisement intentionally stereotypes and objectifies