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April 12, 2005

Ad Spotlight: Cosmetics and Beauty -1 of 2 parts

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? What's more important... advertising or public relations? How does your marketing effect your advertising and how does advertising relate to your public relations? Do all they all talk to one another for maximum results?

All good questions that deserve answers, and I invite you to call the Pierce Mattie Public Relations team and discuss the topic in detail.

In order to garnish the best possible publicity for our clients I believe we need to be highly informed in all "disciplines" (marketing & advertising) and a master of one, that being public relations of course. At Pierce Mattie I like to think of us as "Ultimate Fighters" rather just expert "boxers" in this competitive business.

That being said, I wanted to share with you a very good cosmetic advertisement that makes marketers and publicity teams sigh with relief as I feel it was executed very well.

SPOTLIGHT:
PHYSICIANS FORMULA COSMETICS

The typical cosmetics ad combines a pastiche of romantic imagery with the reverently photographed face of a gorgeous (and, preferably, famous) woman. The ad shown here, by contrast, employs the sort of photography that seems calculated to make a pretty woman look silly. And much of our attention is drawn to a bunch of balloons that, at first glance, look like defective soccer balls. Yet, for women who are sufficiently curious to read the text, the ad yields a coherent sales pitch. "Your face isn't just one color," begins the copy, "so why should your face powder be? Just the right combination of colors blend together to naturally enhance skin tone. Get a healthy-looking glow with Powder Palette, Magic Mosaic or Retro Glow Mosaic Face Powders." Once having read this text, a reader realizes that the balloons are emblematic of the product's mixture of colors. The same can be said of the woman's dress, which would otherwise be inexplicable attire for a model in a fashion-related ad. All in all, the imagery could hardly be more unglamorous. But then, how glamorous can a brand hope to be when its name is Physicians Formula? The message a woman will take away from the ad is not, "If I use this product, I'll look like a supermodel." Only the most credulous readers would believe that anyway. Instead, the ad will leave some readers feeling, "If I use this product, I'll look better than if I don't use this product." This message is so much less aspirational than the category's norm that it will leave many women cold. (Indeed, I suspect some of them will turn the page without even having realized this is a cosmetics ad.) But there must be a decent-sized market of women who'd rather buy a product whose claim is credible, even if it is short on romance. Just look, after all, at the men some women are willing to marry.

NEXT WEEK'S AD SPOTLIGHT:
JANE IREDALE COSMETICS

Posted by Steve Hultgren at April 12, 2005 10:45 AM

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