Gender bending actor Alan Cumming launched an ad campaign for his
fragrance, Cumming, in the spring of 2004. The
ad campaign consisted of print ads and a video housed on his own
website. The fragrance was picked up by Sephora and sold in retail
outlets across the United States. During its run with Sephora, off
shoots of the fragrance were created and the entire line consisted of
shower scrubbers (Cumming off Buff), bar soap (Cumming in a Bar), shampoo (Cumming Clean), and body lotion (Cumming All Over).
Cumming was initially marketed as
the "anti-celebrity celebrity fragrance." This moniker references an
underlying motive in creating the fragrance. On his blog he states that it would "be
great to shake things up a bit and challenge people's perceptions of
celebrity endorsement." This motive is interesting in light of the fact
that celebrity endorsement of fragrances experienced a comeback of
sorts starting in 2000. Following the heels of Jennifer Lopez's
fragrance, Glow, a rush of
celebrity endorsements hit the marketplace complete with overtly
sexualized ad campaigns.
Although the scent itself received acclaim within the fragrance world,
the marketing campaign can be seen as the real jewel to be considered.
This is not necessarily a fluke. In fact, Alan Cumming was deliberate
in the creation of the video and print ads that would accompany his
fragrance. In response to not only the celebrity fragrance boom, but
also the sexualized status quo in fragrance advertising as a whole,
Cumming worked with photographer Steve Vaccariello to crate his print
campaign. All of the prints were based on old fragrance ads found in
the Fragrance Foundation's archives. Vaccariello and Cumming worked
together to recreate the lighting and feel of each image. This theme is
also present in the video ads produced for the fragrance. Cumming
channeled the Calvin Klein Obsession ads and the current trends in
fragrance marketing as inspiration for the videos. He has stated that
he "wanted to both make a sexy, provocative commercial but also at the
same time take the piss out of all those ads with people rolling around
in beds looking dreamy."
This
self admitted mocking of historical and contemporary fragrance
marketing in conjunction with a legitimate ad campaign designed to sell
a product for profit creates unique circumstances. The imagery depicted
in the Cumming print ads has a multi
layered quality that at times blurs the lines between manifest and
latent marketing intentions. In order to examine these facets of the
campaign, a closer look at some of the Cumming print ads needs to be
taken.
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Print Ad Analysis One:
Melissa Osborne
Image first appeared in the
June 2004 Issue of Vogue Magazine
IMAGE HISTORY:
The
historical significance of the image that Alan Cumming based this print
ad on is key to unpacking the intended meaning behind his imagery and
its effectiveness as a marketing tool. This print ad is based off of
the 2000 Yves Saint Laurent Opium ad that featured Sophie
Dahl and first appeared in the February 2000 issue of Vogue Magazine.
An interesting fact
about the original ad is that the billboards and posters of the ad were
banned in the UK. Complaints began rolling in because many individuals
found the posters to be degrading to women. They were quickly taken
down due to the perceived offensive nature of the imagery and the
potential to cause "serious widespread offense." This ad remains one of
the most complained about print ads in the Advertising Standard's
Authority's history.
RECOGNIZING CONTEXTS
AND CONSEQUENCES:
The
influence and subversion of the original image found in this Cumming ad reflects Susan Bordo's
argument in her article, "Material Girl." Bordo addresses the influence
of the media on the consumer's conceptualization of body image.
Specifically, she argues for "recognition of the social contexts and
consequences of images from popular culture." The original ad image
featured a woman in a sexually charged pose characterized by what Sut
Jhally would refer to as commoditization through female subordination.
Cumming has taken this pose and recreated it using imagery of a male
body and thus subverting the original message.
It
can be argued that not only was Alan Cumming influenced by the imagery
of historical fragrances ads; he succeeded in recognizing the social
contexts and consequences of the image. His deliberate recreation of a
female-bodied ad with himself (a male) as the model is evidence of
this. He has subverted traditional gender roles in marketing images,
all the while toying with the concept of the male-bodied individual
portraying highly feminine characteristics (vulnerable body position,
submissive head angles, hands on "breasts"). In fact, this image is
fundamentally aware of its social contexts and the consequences it has
on the consumer. Cumming has stated that a central focus of his ad
campaign was to make the consumer question the validity of his
celebrity status as a spokesperson as well as the validity of the
marketing tools used in fragrance ads. This motive behind the ad
clearly demonstrates Cumming's awareness of the sexualization of the
commodity and the relationship marketing imagery has with the
consumer's concepts of self.
THE BOTTOM LINE?
Regardless of the gender bending quality and the blatant re-questioning
of marketing tools found in this Cumming ad, the bottom line must
still be considered. As Sut Jhally put it, "The marketplace (and its
major ideological tool, advertising) is the major structuring
institution of contemporary consumer society." At it's core, this Cumming ad is trying to sell a
product. A product that advertises itself by taking gender and
sexuality and putting it on its head, but, it does do in a very
provocative and sexual manner. Although Cumming is very self aware of
the cultural contexts and consequences of his advertising campaign,
that does not mean he is not using them to his advantage.
One
the one hand, he is challenging the status quo to own up to its devices
and blatant misuse of sexuality in marketing. However, on the other
hand, he is using the same tools in a somewhat shocking way to garner
response from the consumer in the form of a purchase. It is not a
coincidence that the fragrance's target audience initially was
homosexual men. Nor is it a coincidence that the name of the fragrance
itself alludes to very sexually charged imagery. Ultimately, through a
masterful use of subversive techniques, reliance on sexuality, and use
of social commentary through image Cumming was capable of drawing from
an even larger pool of consumers that its contemporaries. In the end,
this ad makes the consumer question the overtly gendered and sexualized
status quo while simultaneously drawing them in and capturing their
desire and money.
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Print
Ad Analysis Two:
Ben Nortey
In this ad, Alan Cumming
constructs tongue in cheek allusions to the image of the 1960's pin-up
model. Within the recent decade, the pin-up style has once again
reasserted its presence in popular culture as celebrities, fashion
designers, and advertisement companies amongst others look back at the
idealized woman of the 1950's and update her in accordance with the
more modern forms of eroticism and consumerism that shape a globalized
mass media and modern popular culture. The term pin-up has its origins
in the late 19th and early 20th century as technological advancements
dramatically revolutionized the ways in which media was disseminated to
the general populace. Calendars, magazines, art posters and other
prints portraying celebrities, actresses and models became extremely
popular especially during World War II and after. Servicemen stationed
on the war-front would receive images of popular sex symbols such as
Betty Grable in the mail from America and pin them up on the walls of
their mess halls. The pin-up has become a mainstay in American culture
undergoing some sort of transformation throughout each decade since its
creation.
The
pin-up model, also known as cheesecake, is a provocative and
hyper-eroticized idealization of beauty. Always situated in a highly
sexualized context and seen in a sexually suggestive pose, the pin-ups
allure is what many believe the all American woman should look like.
Pin-up models are curvy, voluptuous and seductive, often semi-nude and
usually wearing lingerie or clothes that sexualize and draw attention
to certain parts of the body (particularly the breasts, hips and
buttocks). The cheesecake has her counterpart in the beefcake: the
muscularly toned semi-nude male model. The beefcake's sexuality is
literally embodied in each ripple of muscle. Images of beefcakes often
show muscular men proudly displaying their bodies for everyone to see.
This
advertisement for Cumming Fragrance bares stark
similarities to the famous pin-up of Betty Grable shot by photographer
Frank Powonly. Powonly's photo of Betty Grable and her widely desired
legs (insured for $1 million with Lloyds of London) was reportedly
owned by one out of every 10 servicemen during World War II. Wearing a
tight fitting bathing suit and with her back towards the viewer, Betty
Grable coyly smiles as she overlooks her right shoulder and staddle her
hips with her hands accentuating her bottom. She further draws
attention to the curves of her body by slightly leaning to the left
with her back. This famous image of Betty Grable is considered one of
the 100 photos that changed the world.
This
Cumming Fragrance ad print bears a
stark resemblance with Powonly's iconic pin-up photo of Betty Grable.
The photo, shot in black and white, creates a strong contrast which
immediately pulls Alan Cumming to the foreground of the image and
positions him as the center subject of the audience. The black and
white photo aesthetic further juxtaposes Alan Cumming with the retro
pin-up girl shown in the magazines and photos of the 1940's and 1950's.
He wears nothing but what appears to be a towel wrapped tightly around
his waist. Standing with his back towards the audience, Alan cocks his
head over his left shoulder, this time looking directly at the viewer
from he corner of his eyes in an alluringly manner while still
maintaining the erotic element of the pin-up aesthetic. Clutching a
bottle of Cumming in his hands and a fat
ciger lit between his grinning smile, Alan is calling on his viewers to
join him in this playfully intimate space. The photo's frame ends at
Alan Cumming's knees unlike Powonly's photo; in addition, Alan Cumming
is not showing off his legs like Betty Grable, but rather they are
covered by a towel that almost resembles a pencil skirt. This framing
mainly shows the upper body and suggests some allusion to the image of
the beefcake whose muscular upper body is typically the main focus of
the photo. The photo thus plays with notions about masculinity; instead
of its embodiment in the muscles of the model, it is displayed through
the bottle of Cumming Fragrance and the cigar
that is lit in his mouth. This ad is ultimately marketing sexual
ambiguity as a selling point for the gender-neutral fragrance.
Combining elements of cheesecake, beefcake, and other pin-up aesthetics
this Alan Cumming print ad repackages and parodies normative
conceptions of beauty and sexual attractiveness in an effort to appeal
to a broader audience.
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Video Ad for the Cumming
Fragrance Campaign:
"Cumming is ... earthy, really earthy."
Webpage created for:
Anthropology 344 (Sex and Gender). Professor: Charlene Makley. Reed
College, spring semester 2011.
