Persuasive techniques used by Christian Dior when advertising the new Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet fragrance

In this post I will be exploring the persuasive techniques that have been used by Christian Dior in marketing his Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet perfume (see left) which can be found on the back covers of high end glossy magazines such as Glamour, Elle and Cosmopolitan, all magazine whose readership are primarily young women and which often contain scent sampling and make up samples.

Natalie Portman in Black Swan, 2010

 According to WARC research, an average women’s magazine included 30 pages of fragrance adverts, also noting in the research that women aged 19-24 placed much significance on brand imagery used (So… Successful, 1996). This may be a reason that the Miss Dior logo and the sense of prestige both feature so prominent within the print ad.

Natalie Portman in The Other Boleyn Girl, 2008

 The Dior website notes that Miss Dior perfumes (there is a collection including Miss Dior, Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet and Miss Dior Cherie) are ‘made for elegant spirited young women in love’. Natalie Portman is known, amongst many, for her roles as a queen in The Other Boleyn Girl and a ballerina in Black Swan, it’s easy to see why they drew such parallels between her and their intended target audience for the Miss Dior range, of which Natalie Portman is a long time ambassador.

(Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet - The Film. 2014)

 The use of celebrity endorsement on this occasion can be seem to be an attempt to encourage the target market young women to buy the product and wear it to feel the same way as Natalie Portman looks in the print ad, young beautiful and carefree and innocent. The suggestion being that Miss Dior perfume can help them feel this way and gain this ‘new love’ experience as per the description of the scent from Christian Dior website (The Designers Perfume, 2014). Christian Dior even explained the ideal Miss Dior as one of ‘absolute elegance’ which could indicate that this is how he wishes the wearers of this perfume to feel. Shaughnessy emphasised the importance of boosting ego when using persuasion in advertising which could be seen with Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet print ad partly due to the distinctive prestige brand and sense of increased self-worth from such a luxury item.

(Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet - The Film. 2014)

 Miss Dior retails at between £46 and £95 (The Perfume Shop, 2014) depending on bottle sizes and would be classed as a luxury perfume, one factor that McIntyre notes is prevalent in those that purchase luxury perfumes is an increased sense of attractiveness and desirability that will come from the ‘consumption of the luxury good’ (Perfume Packaging, Seduction and Gender, 2004). This increases the adverts effectiveness as it is not only selling the product but added value from gained confidence in oneself for example. Packard noted that celebrities are often used to say ‘you will be admired and valued like me’ (Packards Eight Hidden Needs, 2015). This sense of value could be extended to the purchase of the perfume ie ‘I deserve to have this’ or even to the outfit which Natalie Portman is presented, a piece of Christian Dior’s haute couture designed by Raf Simmons ‘this could be mine’ in terms of reassurance of self worth (Dior brings back Natalie Portman for Miss Dior expansion, 2014).

(Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet - The Film. 2014)

There also seems to be an element of storytelling, and customer involvement through social media and exclusive content (the new perfume was even introduced via MissDior's Facebook and Twitter pages), as this print ads adjoining television advertisement, which can be found on Christian Diors’ Youtube channel, called Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet - The Film. This is a short 23 second movie featuring a heterosexual, boy-meets-girl interaction between Natalie Portman and an unknown male which leads to a kiss, joyous smiles then relaxing from which the print ad with Natalie Portman on the stairs featured above is a screenshot.

The music that is used on this advertisement that links with the print advert is La Vie en Rose, originally by Edith Piaf which translates as life in pink which is the main colour in the print ad itself (La Vie En Rose: Edith Piafs remarkable voice comes back to life, 2007). Pink is a stereotypical feminine colour that is often linked to romance and could also be an indication of the rose-like floral notes of the perfume.

Persuasion is created by the use of a celebrity alongside a prestige product with undertones of added value via the possible increase in perceived confidence or self-worth in the hope that their target audience young women will buy Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet.


References

Assaf, S. (Tuesday 26 June 2007) La Vie En Rose: Edith Piafs remarkable voice comes back to life. Socialist Worker. [Online] Available from: http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=12189 [Accessed 06 January 2015]

Cory, J. & Brain, V. (1996) So... Successful. [Online] Available from: http://www.warc.com.proxy.worc.ac.uk/Content/ContentViewer.aspx?MasterContentRef=347a3d07-2977-4d35-a748-49c778424efe&q=jo+cory+vanessa+brain&CID=A5531&PUB=IPA [Accessed: 06 January 2015]

Dior, C. (2014) Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet - The Film. [Online] Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3N9wi-9X84 [Accessed 06 January 2015]

King, J. (Thursday 20 February 2014) Dior brings back Natalie Portman for Miss Dior exxpansion. Luxury Daily. [Online] Available from: http://www.luxurydaily.com/dior-brings-back-natalie-portman-for-miss-dior-fragrance-line-expansion/ [Accessed 06 January 2015]

O'Shaughnessy, J. & O'Shaughnessy, N. (2004) Persuasion in Advertising. 2nd edition. 128. Psychology Press

Packard, V. (2002) Packards Eight Hidden Needs. [Online] Available from: http://changingminds.org/explanations/needs/packard_needs.htm [Accessed 06 January 2015]

Petersson McIntyre, M. (2004) Perfume Packaging, Seduction and Gender. Journal of Current Cultural Reseach. [Online] 5 291-311. Available from: http://www.cultureunbound.ep.liu.se/v5/a19/cu13v5a19.pdf [Accessed: 06 January 2015]

The Perfume Shop, . (2014) Dior, Miss Dior. [Online] Available from: http://www.theperfumeshop.com/fcp/product/dior/miss%20dior/1707 [Accessed 06 January 2015]