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Fragrance advertisement perceptions: A semiotic analysis of consumer perceptions

Brittany O'Leary

1 December 2017

COM 495
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Abstract:

This study sought to explore how college-aged women develop expectations about

perfume scent, based on the corresponding advertisement. Past research relevant to this topic

included studies about advertising exaggeration, advertisings place in the fragrance industry,

audio and visual components in successful advertising, and the expression of olfactory senses in

advertising. An experiential survey was administered to 30 female students to evaluate the

Woman by Ralph Lauren perfume by using the Toncar & Fetscherins descriptors

(light/understated, bold/powerful, arousing/sensual, romantic/feminine, playful/flirtatious,

mysterious/exotic, earthy/musky, fruity/tasty, medicinal/bland, velvety/creamy) to describe how

the perfume was expected to smell based on the advertisement, and the evaluation of the perfume

scent (2012, p. 59). Lawes semiotic tool kit was used to analyze the content of the advertisement

based on the following aspects: visual signs, linguistic signs, aural signs, the implied

communications situation, textual structure, information structure, visual emphasis, genre, binary

opposition and contrast pairs, and communication codes (2002). Research showed that 96.7%

expected the perfume to smell bold/powerful and 93.3% described the advertisement as

luxurious because of the ads spokeswoman Jessica Chastain, her wardrobe, to using the color

gold, and the musical composition. Responses using Toncar and Fetscherins descriptors did not

develop any patterns to compare the expectation and evaluation of the perfume scent, despite

56.7% reporting the advertisement accurately or very accurately portrayed the perfume scent.
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I. Introduction:

The fragrance industry has continued to remain relevant to consumers of all ages, despite

the difficulty brands face with describing smell, and the difficulty consumers face when finding a

personal scent. Unlike other aspects of the retail industry that are based on looks, like fashion, or

function, like technology, consumers must imagine how a scent will smell. The experience of

finding a perfect or appropriate scent is deeply personal and subjective, which can make it a time

consuming process that cannot be transmitted in an online experience, like most retail

experiences. Because of this difficult obstacle consumers face, the brands job is to create visuals

that encompass the feelings and ideals evoked through a perfume. As Busch describes in an

article for the Global Cosmetics Industry magazine, consumers dont connect with the specific

ingredients that make up a perfume (2003). Consumers are more likely to imagine a scent that is

described as floral and enchanting, than one described as a unique blend of vetiver, lavender

and sandalwood because they can imagine enchantment, but they cannot imagine vetiver, if

they dont know how it smells (Busch, 2003).

The advertisements that brands create are intended to spark a consumers interest in the

perfume; and hopefully incline consumers to smell fragrances. The success of an ad campaign in

evoking an accurate representation of the perfume is thus crucial to the success of a brand.

If the perfume scent doesnt reflect what consumers originally imagine from the advertisement,

consumers views towards the brand may change, and affect their willingness to purchase that

perfume. I would like to explore, through interactions with college-aged women, consumer

perceptions of Woman by Ralph Laurens fragrance advertisement, and its level of accuracy in

portraying the scent.

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II. Literature Review:

The fragrance industry uses advertisements to create an identity for perfumes consumers

can relate to. Advertisements are an essential aspect of understanding the products, because they

enable consumers to identify with them, even before smelling the perfume. This review focuses

on four aspects of fragrance advertising: exaggeration in advertisements, advertisings niche

within the fragrance industry, visual elements of successful ad campaigns, and the expression of

olfactory senses through audio and visual senses.

Exaggeration in Advertisements

When consumers develop expectations based on exaggerations, and the product doesnt

live up to them, it could have negative implications for the perfume, even if consumers liked the

smell. If a fragrance is not what consumers expects, they may not be inclined to purchase it.

Because of these exaggerations, consumers create preconceptions about products being

advertised. The implications of exaggerations in advertisements have been studied for several

decades, and the findings are important to consider for this study of fragrance advertisements.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, puffery is defined as term frequently used

to denote the exaggerations reasonably to be expected of a seller as to the degree of quality of his

product, the truth or falsity of which cannot be precisely determined (1979). Although rhetorical

puffery has been studied, Toncar and Fetscherin filled a gap in this research by studying visual

puffery in fragrances specifically. Relative to American standards, verbal puffery is not seen as

deceptive, but Toncar and Fetscherin realized the implications that over-exaggeration in

advertisements could have on consumer perceptions (2009).

In their study, the visual exaggerations of print advertisements for fragrances were

examined to measure the degree of visual puffery in ads, compared to consumers examination
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of the scent (2012). To compile this study, Toncar and Fetscherin developed a semiotic analysis

with corresponding literature to describe the scents and print advertisements using the following

descriptors: light/understated, bold/powerful, arousing/sensual, romantic/feminine,

playful/flirtatious, mysterious/exotic, earthy/musky, fruity/tasty, medicinal/bland, and

velvety/creamy (2012, p. 59). Seventy-five women under the age of 16 were randomly selected

outside an upscale shopping mall, and were asked to describe three different advertisements, Red

Delicious by DKNY, Hypnse by Lancme Paris, and Euphoria by Calvin Klein, and the

corresponding scents using the descriptors (Toncar & Fetscherin, 2012). The study found that the

imagery in advertisements led to product expectations that exceeded the actual product

evaluations.

In a study of visual puffery in advertisements, Vanden Bergh and Reid (1980) continued

research on puffery. Their research studied how ads with and without puffery affect consumer

readership, which is defined by Haskins as a measure of the attention or awareness value of an

ad[but] tells nothing about whether a magazine ad has any effect on purchase decisions (as

cited in Vanden Bergh & Reid, 1980, p. 79). Vanden Bergh and Reid (1980) compiled 50

automobile ads and presented them to a group of experts to measure the degree of puffery in

each ad. Research found that there was no significant difference in the readership of the ad

between puffed and non-puffed ads. When each isolated element was tested (headline, body

copy, and illustration), there was no significant difference in readership with ads containing

puffery versus those without puffery (Vanden Bergh & Reid, 1980). According to Vanden Bergh

and Reid (1980), the level of puffery in an advertisement has little effect on how consumers

understand the objective of the advertisement.

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Consumer dissatisfaction, described by Anderson (1973), measures the degree of

disparity between expectations and perceived product performance (p. 38). This study examined

what caused this by looking at four variations of consumer expectations: assimilation theory,

contrast theory, generalized negativity theory, and assimilation-contrast theory. Results showed

that students gave a more favorable product evaluation when they were given an accurate

product description, than with no prior information about the product. The study found a

significant difference in evaluation and perception of the product depending on product

expectations. To receive the greatest possibility of consumer satisfaction, promotional materials

for the product should be realistic and minimize exaggeration of the products capabilities

(Anderson, 1973).

Advertisings Niche Within the Fragrance Industry

When people choose to buy perfume, they are buying into the image or feeling that

perfume brands itself as, through advertisements. In an article written for The Perfume

Magazine, Vosnaki (2012) explains the power of advertisements, explaining, Therefore

advertising offers this desirable illusion back to the buyer for the price of the product (2012, p.

6). The purpose of fragrance advertising, Vosnaki argues, is to show consumers dissatisfaction

with their own lives, which can be improved by purchasing a perfume that feels luxurious and

sophisticated. Vosnaki ultimately says that fragrance advertisements are as much about the

formal elements of an ad as they are personal interpretations (Vosnaki, 2012).

Elements of Successful Ad Campaigns

Research studying the effectiveness of fragrance advertisements must consider consumer

reactions, as well as formal elements, like metaphor or rhetorical figures that appear in the ads.
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Understanding both the content and consumer reaction to fragrance advertisements will give a

comprehensive framework to analyze the differences between ads.

Past research has proven how messages are constructed will affect how consumers

receive this information. Artful deviation, according to Phillips and McQuarrie (2009), can be

defined as a metaphor that relies on cross-domain comparison, and is classified as a type of

rhetorical figure (2009, p. 49). This study tested the impact of metaphors in physical exercise

advertisements, on consumer beliefs, by looking at metaphors with and without artful deviation.

Findings show that metaphors containing artful deviation are more important than metaphors

without, in predicting a consumers response to advertisements (2009). The research concluded

that metaphors can shift consumer beliefs if they are highly figurative, and is seen to the

consumer as an artful deviation. Expanding on this study, Stathakopoulos, Theodorakis, and

Mastoridou (2008), studied visual and verbal rhetoric in advertisements.

In this study, the researchers focused on the rhetorical device resonance, that is defined

as an echoing of meaning among advertising stimulus elements, which most commonly

consists of one verbal and one visual element (2008, p. 631). The study posed several hypotheses

relating the consumer reactions to ads in relation to resonant ads, both plain and reinforced, and

congruent ads. The study found reinforced resonant ads to be more artful and significantly more

liked than the plain resonant ad. Overall, the resonant ads provided consumers with a deeper

thinking, but were not intellectually more difficult to understand (Stathakopoulos, V.,

Theodorakis, G., & Mastoridou, E., 2008).

Expressing Olfactory Senses Through Visuals and Audio

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A challenge of fragrance advertising is describing scent through visuals and audio.

Understanding the techniques used to advertisements accomplish this are important to consider

when analyzing fragrance advertisements in this study.

Ellen and Bone (1998) studied the relevance of olfactory cues in advertisements via

scratch and sniff panels, commonly using in fragrance advertisements. The importance of

olfactory cues in advertisements was tested using two ads (one for a destination called

Brooksville, the other a Rockports shoe ad), and four scent conditions with varying levels of

consistency to the ad.. The study found that scents with a higher consistency to the ad produced

no significant difference in the overall attitude towards the ad (Ellen & Bone, 1998). This poses

an interesting question as to how this differs with fragrance advertisements and olfactory panels

specifically.

Another study that can explain how audio and visual elements are used to express

olfactory cues is Lawes tool kit of semiotics, which is the study the signs and symbols (2012).

Lawes analysis tool kit provides a framework for the content analysis component of this

study, which was conducted after the experiential survey data was collected, in order to explain

the participants perceptions about the advertisement. According to Lawes, semiotics can be

used following qualitative research to help explain interesting or unusual findings in

respondents talk (2002, p. 260).

This literature provides a framework for this study by establishing past knowledge about

exaggeration, describing olfactory cues, and visual and textual elements in fragrance

advertisements. All this leads to the following question:

Do female college students expectations of the Woman by Ralph Lauren perfume align with the

brands corresponding advertisement, and how to these women develop these expectations?
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III. Methods

Participant Sample. For this study, I surveyed 30 female college students from Elon

University because I do not have access to a diverse age range in Elon, North Carolina. The

study was conducted through in-person experiential surveys. The participants were given three

questionnaires for this study: one for the advertisement, one for the perfume, and one to compare

them.

Fragrance Sample. This study examined Woman by Ralph Lauren and its corresponding

digital advertisement, to explore the accuracy in representation of the scent in digital

advertisements. This perfume and advertisement was chosen for several factors including the

launch date, base notes, and visual differences between the advertisements, which will give

participants a diverse set of content to examine.

The chosen sample debuted this August, making it a brand new product. By choosing a

new product, the probability of participants already being exposed to the scent were slim, as it

has only been on the market for roughly two months when the study was conducted. Woman by

Ralph Lauren is a scent that embodies the essence of modern femininity, with notes of

tuberose, white flower, wood, pear and black current (Ralph Lauren, 2017).

Advertisement Sample. The advertisement used was the corresponding digital campaign

to Woman by Ralph Lauren. The ad is thirty seconds long, featuring distinguished actress,

Jessica Chastain (RLTVralphlauren, 2017a). The ad was played from the Ralph Lauren official

Youtube channel, which was shown to participants on a projector screen.

Advertisement Analysis. Participants started with reviewing the advertisement to remain

unbiased of the expected scents. First, they were asked to give their initial reactions to the

advertisement, whether they liked it or not on a scale of 1 to 5, with one being they do not like
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the ad at all and five being they loved it and would consider smelling the perfume. The

participants were asked to describe the ad using the following adjectives: light/understated,

bold/powerful, arousing/sensual, romantic/feminine, playful/flirtatious, mysterious/exotic,

earthy/musky, fruity/tasty, medicinal/bland, and velvety/creamy, developed by Toncar and

Fetscherin (2012, p. 59). These descriptions will help participants formulate a potential smell

based on industry vocabulary, to keep the responses consistent. See Appendix 1 for the full

questionnaire.

Fragrance Analysis. After watching the advertisement, participants smelled the

corresponding fragrance without prior information about its smell, and evaluated several factors

including their initial impressions, their perception of the fragrances ideal user, and their

description of the scent. To evaluate their impressions, they used the same five-point scale used

above, and Toncar and Fetscherins descriptors to describe the scent (2012). Then participants

wrote down whom they picture as wearing this scent, or the ideal target audience, including age,

gender, demographics, and personality traits. See Appendix 2 for the full questionnaire.

Fragrance and Advertisement Comparison Analysis. For the last experiential survey,

participants compared the fragrance to the advertisement to measure the accuracy of the

advertisement to the scent of the perfume.

Participants were asked a series of questions comparing the advertisement to the

fragrance including, if the perfume was what they imagined based on the ad, whether the

advertisement accurately portrays the perfume scent, and whether specific elements of the

advertisement, like setting/scenery, user of the perfume, color scheme, clothing, music, and

verbal audio, accurately portray the scent, using the same scale. See Appendix 3 for the full

questionnaire.
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Data Analysis. To analyze this data, I compiled the scaling and descriptor responses for

each question in an Excel document, and developed themes and patterns from these finding.

After analyzing the questions individually, I compared the responses from the advertisement, to

the perfume responses to see how participants perceptions of the ad changed after smelling

Woman by Ralph Lauren. After compiling the data from the experiential surveys, I used Lawes

semiotic tool kit analyzing visual signs, linguistic signs, aural signs, the implied communications

situation, textual structure, information structure, visual emphasis, genre, binary opposition and

contrast pairs, and communication codes (2002).

Here is a brief description of these tools:

Visual signs: Signs to mean something (e.g. a heart to symbolize love) (Lawes,

2002)

Linguistic signs: Words and phrases (metaphors) (Lawes, 2002)

Aural signs: Signs you can hear (tone of voice, accents, ambient sounds, music like

the National Anthem, Happy Birthday song, etc.) (Lawes, 2002)

Implied communication situation: who is the speaker, and who is the receiver

Textual structure: The technical features of how something is constructed. These

may include things like narrative structure how it is designed so as to tell a story

or a set of rhetorical devices that have been used to give the impression of a

truthful report (Lawes, 2002, p. 263).

Information structure: Assessing the content as what is being presented; what

information is new, or an important point. (Lawes, 2002)

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Visual emphasis: The visual presentation of objects relative to one another (what is

peripheral, what is in the foreground, what is their size, how is space used in the

frame). (Lawes, 2002)

Genre: a class of human communication (e.g. an advertisement). (Lawes, 2002)

Binary opposition and contrast pairs: Assessing how people understand things

through reference to how they are different from something else (e.g. low-fat, new

and improved, qualitative versus quantitative). (Lawes, 2002)

Communication codes: Codes are the set of unspoken rules or beliefs that structure

sign systems and create meanings for signs. (Lawes, 2002)

By studying semiotics in the Ralph Lauren advertisement, I was able to establish the

cultural connections to my participants responses, and attempt to understand why elements of

the advertisement were perceived in a certain way, which affected participants overall

expectation of the perfume. The results of this analysis are compiled in the next section.

IV. Findings

Experiential Survey Analyses:

Reactions to the advertisement. Of the 30 female Elon students who participated in this

experiential survey, half rated their initial impressions to the ad as a 4 out of 5, with 5

representing Loved it and would consider smelling the perfume, 3 meaning Neutral towards

the ad, and 1 being Did not like it at all. Although this number system can be open to

interpretation, 4 could potentially mean that respondents like the ad, but did not necessarily love

it. The other 15 respondents answered with 3s and 5s, with 13 respondents, 43.3%, circling 3,

and 2 respondents, 7%, giving the ad a 5. The average score for initial reactions to the

advertisement was 3.6.

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The most common word that was used to describe the advertisement was luxurious, with

responses from 28 out of 30 respondents, or 93.3%. Additionally, 80% of participants, said the

ad was sexy, 13 said the ad was exciting, 11 said it was romantic, and another 11 respondents

described the ad as magical. In the other section, 10 respondents called the ad empowering.

Five more respondents described it as strong, and two said it was professional. Other terms

mentioned were dramatic, intense, and mysterious. Figure 1, shown below, describes this

information.

Words that apply to Respondents

the advertisement
Carefree 5 16.7%
Dangerous 5 16.7%
Romantic 11 36.7%
Magical 11 26.7%
Luxurious 28 93.3%
Sexy 24 80%
Foreign 2 6.7%
Exciting 13 43.3%
Funny 1 3.3%
Young 7 23.3%
Others: Strong 5 16.7%
Empowering 10 33.3%
Professional 2 6.7%
Dramatic 1 3.3%
Intense 1 3.3%
Mysterious 1 3.3%
Figure 1. Words applying to the advertisement. This graph depicts participants responses of

descriptions that apply to the ad.

Reactions to the perfume. Of the 30 women surveyed, 86.7% of them recorded positive

reactions to the perfume scent, by circling a 4 or 5. Fourteen women, 46.7%, recorded a 4, while

12 women, 40%, recorded a 5 for their overall reaction to the perfume. Three more women

recorded a 3, feeling neutral to the perfume, and one woman recorded a 2. The average score for
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the perfume scent was 4.2, which is higher than the reaction to the corresponding advertisement.

Overall, participants recorded a more positive reaction to the advertisement with 57% recording

a 4 or 5, and the remaining 43% recording a 3. The differences in these reactions are further

examined in the content analysis of the advertisement.

Ideal user based on the advertisement. After watching the ad, featuring actress Jessica

Chastain, all 30 respondents predicted the ideal user to be a woman. This is to be expected

because of the perfumes name, Woman by Ralph Lauren, as well as its advertising as a perfume,

a scent associated with women, versus a cologne, a scent that is advertised towards men.

Forty percent, or 12 respondents, predicted the ideal user to be in her 30-40s, 10 of the

respondents predicted a woman in her 20-30s, and 7 suggested a middle-aged woman. This

term can be open to interpretation, but is most likely a woman in her 30s to 50s. These responses

may be a reflection of Ralph Laurens choice to use Chastain as the spokeswoman for this

campaign, as she is 40 years old. This subject will be discussed in more detail in the implied

communication situation, which is evaluated as part of the advertisements content analysis.

Aside from the users age, participants also added potential descriptions of the users

career, economic standing, and personality traits. Seventeen of the respondents said she was a

career woman, professional, or businesswoman. One participant described the user as an

established middle-aged woman; determined and feminine. Others described the user as

empowered and strong, a working woman in her late 20s or early 30s, someone who is very

confident and powerful, and a businesswoman focused on her career with strong personal

goals and a sense of self. Overall, 93.3% believed the model was a somewhat to very accurate

portrayal of the perfume scent, with 28 respondents answering in the 3 to 5 range.

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Ideal user based on the perfume. Of the 30 participants, 17 recorded a similar or identical

response to the ideal user based on the perfume, as they recorded with the advertisement. Ralph

Lauren was able to successfully grasp the ideal user for the fragrance in the advertisement. The

remaining 13 responses were more varied than the responses based on the advertisement.

Although the age demographic primarily stayed the same, respondents also described a user

beyond just her professional ventures. Several participants described a multifaceted woman

writing, a female, 18-40, who is powerful and driven, but with a soft side, and a woman in her

early 30s, who has a strong career and is serious about work, but also likes to have fun. Other

participants also imagined a woman who is not career-centered, writing 20s, fun, well dressed,

and social, outgoing, sexy, dangerous, stylish, and a woman in her 20s, 30s, or 40s, who is

girly, younger, pretty, sophisticated, and kind. These responses are more varied, which can be

attributed to participants differing interpretation of scent.

Expectation of the perfume scent based on the advertisement. From the advertisement

96.7% expected the fragrance to smell bold/powerful and 53.3% predicted the scent to smell

romantic/feminine. The results of participants predictions on the perfume scent, using Toncar

and Fetscherins descriptors (2012), are displayed in Table 1 below, in blue writing.

Perfume scent description. Based on responses from the experiential survey, the largest

percentage of participants, 60%, described the scent as romantic/feminine. The following

descriptors provided by participants are listed below. Although this study primarily studied the

advertisement for Woman by Ralph Lauren, the analyses of the perfume is important for

comparison between the portrayal of the perfume scent, and the perfume scent itself. The results

of the perfume scent evaluation are shown below in Figure 2, in red writing. Figure 3 is a visual

representation of this data with the expectations shown in blue, and evaluations shown in red.
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Comparison of expectation of perfume scent vs. evaluation of the scent

Descriptor Expectation of scent Evaluation of scent
Bold/powerful 29 (96.7%) 17 (56.7%)
Romantic/feminine 16 (53.3%) 18 (60%)
Arousing/sensual 11 (36.7%) 8 (26.7%)
Mysterious/exotic 8 (26.7%) 6 (20%)
Earthy/musky 4 (13.3%) 5 (16.7%)
Velvety/creamy 3 (10%) 8 (26.7%)
Playful/flirtatious 1 (3.3%) 11 (36.7%)
Fruity/tasty 9 (30%)
Medicinal/bland
Light/understated 5 (16.7%)
Figure 2. Comparison of expectation of perfume scent vs. evaluation of the scent. This table

shows a comparison of the expectations of Woman by Ralph Laurens scent, based on the

advertisement, vs. the evaluation of the scent using Toncar and Fetscherins descriptors (2012).

Comparison of expectation of perfume scent based on

the advertisement vs. evaluation of scent
30
28
26
24
22
20
18
16
14
12 Expectation of Perfume Smell
10 (based on ad)
8 Description of Perfume Smell
6
4
2
0
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Figure 3. Comparison of expectation of perfume scent based on the advertisement and evaluation

of scent. This is a cluster-column bar graph, which visually displays responses to the expectation

of the perfume smell and the evaluation of the smell.

This cluster-column graph shows that participants had very different responses for each

descriptor. Although results for earthy/musky, arousing/sensual, romantic/feminine and

mysterious/exotic were similar between both responses, many results were vastly different in

comparison. Participants were unanimous, with the exception of one, that the advertisement was

bold/powerful, yet only 17 participants recorded the perfume to be such. Similarly, participants

had differing responses to the light/understated, fruity/tasty, velvety/creamy, and

playful/flirtatious descriptors when predicting the scent smell, and evaluating the scent.

Although participants did not report similar expectations and evaluations with the

descriptors, they did, however, positively respond to the advertisement with 56.7% giving the ad

a 4 out of 5 in how accurately it portrayed the perfume scent. Additionally, 53% responded a 4 or

5 in whether their perfume was what they imagined.

Advertisement Content Analysis:

Visual signs. Advertisements are deliberate with the visual and aural signs to portray a

message and develop a key audience to attract. The visual signs in this advertisement create a

strong message towards femininity and bold female power, which accounts for the large number

of participants that predicted the scent to smell bold/powerful and romantic/feminine.

Jessica Chastain, the spokesperson for this perfume, is shown in three different outfits: on

a long, formal black gown paired with a long, black coat, a sleek, black suit with a white Oxford
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shirt and untied bowtie, and a long-sleeved black turtleneck, all shown below in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Visual signs in Woman by Ralph Lauren advertisement. This figure shows Chastain

wearing three outfits throughout the 30-second advertisement.

When speaking directly towards the camera, she is wearing the black turtleneck, while

the other two outfits were used for b-roll. The sleek black suit represents power in this

advertisement. The black evening gown that Chastain wears represents luxury and femininity.

Evening gowns are luxurious because they are for a special event, commonly associated with

black tie events, awards seasons, or simply with wealthy people. By seeing these visual signs

through Chastains wardrobe, 28 of 30 respondents associated her long gown with luxury, and 29

respondents associated her black suit with power. Not only do these visual signs appeal to the

workingwoman, who can also be sexy and feminine, but it relates directly to Ralph Laurens

message of a woman embodying sensuality, power, strength, and grace (RLTVralphlauren,

2017a).

Another visual sign important to examine is Chastains body language and mannerisms.

In the advertisement, she is seen holding her shirt collar with her hands, intertwining her hands in

front of her face (Figure 4), taking off her coat, crossing her legs, and smiling, which are all

elements that a support Ralph Laurens ultimate user of Woman by Ralph Lauren.

Linguistic signs. The following paragraph is a transcript from the Woman by Ralph

Lauren fragrance advertisement.

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Strength can be a subtle notion

Balancing power with grace.
Leading with love and intuition
I am the designer of my own dreams.
I am a woman above all

As described above, the Ralph Lauren woman is someone who is bold and feminine. In

this transcript, Chastain describes a modern woman who can be both powerful, and graceful.

Here, strength is not described as physical strength, but rather is described as strength from

within. Participants responded positively to these linguistic signs by directly correlating the

words strength, power, grace, and woman above all, with feminine/romantic,

bold/powerful to describe the perfume, and romantic, luxurious, sexy, and empowering to

describe the advertisement. Further, 83.3% of participants found this dialogue to be a somewhat

to highly accurate portrayal of the perfume scent.

Aural signs. Jessica Chastain speaks with conviction in this advertisement. Her tone is

assertive, but not aggressive, to show how women can be strong without being aggressive. As the

Woman by Ralph Lauren advertisement attempts to explain, females are multi-faceted humans

who can be strong, while still being feminine, which is exhibited in Chastains smooth, but

strong tone. Additionally, Jessica Chastain has an American accent. Americans are often viewed

as strong, outspoken and confident individuals. Her American accent is a factor of respondents

expectation of the perfume to be bold/powerful.

Implied communication situation. In any campaign or advertisement, the spokesperson is

deeply valued in the overall impression for the product. One participant wrote I base a lot of this

[the ideal user] on who was portrayed in the ad. For me, I would see a woman 30 or above. She

has to be someone who is professionally situated with money to spend. She probably wears this

in a professional setting.
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Ralph Lauren describes Jessica Chastain as an award-winning actress, producer, and

style icon, (RLTVralphlauren, 2017a). Like the fragrance is trying to promote, Chastain is

multifaceted in her career by assuming different roles within the entertainment industry.

According to Chastain in a behind the scenes look at the campaign, the Ralph Lauren woman

embraces their many dualities, which is representative of Chastains diverse career path

(RLTVralphlauren, 2017b). This is a further extension of how respondents believed the

fragrance could be both feminine and bold.

Textual structure. The script used in this advertisement began with statements that were

perceived as bold, yet feminine, by the tone of Chastains voice. Between each sentence, she

pauses between each phrase, in order to add value and emphasis to the words. This helped further

strengthen participants ability to digest the information and understand whom the Ralph Lauren

woman is.

Information structure, genre and binary opposition/contrast pairs. Woman by Ralph

Lauren is a new perfume that was launched in August 2017. Although the information structure

is not entirely relevant to the success of this ad in reference to its portrayal of the perfume, it is

still important to note. The genre of this information is an advertisement, and it promoting a new

fragrance by Ralph Lauren.

Visual emphasis. The visuals of this advertisement are a key emphasis of luxury and

power, which respondents pointed out in their analysis. Luxury was a central theme throughout

the 30-second ad, largely through visuals of gold, black and white colors, as well as the large

estate used to film the advertisement. The first shot of the ad is a gold liquid, representing the

perfume itself, shown in Figure 5.

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Figure 5. Gold visual emphasis. This figure is the first shot of the advertisement, and represents

luxury.

The color gold is associated with wealth and luxury, thus leading respondents to believe

this product is luxurious. Additionally, the ad is in colored in black and white, representing

sophistication and elegance.

Other elements of wealth and luxury are the grandiose size and sophisticated details of

the home. Wide shots with a large depth of field show Chastain walking through a grand foyer

and up a grand marble staircase with an intricate wood bannister. Chastain also stands in a grand

room, complete with wainscoting, French doors, decorative sconces, and high ceilings.

Figure 6. Architectural visual emphasis. This figure depicts luxury through the intricate details

of the home and its grand size.

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These elements are all characteristic of a large traditional home that is worth a significant

amount of money. Using this large house as the set for this fragrance lends viewers to predict this

fragrance is for luxurious and wealthy women.

Communication codes. The Ralph Lauren advertisement has several communications

codes that are evident throughout the 30-second video in largely visual forms. First, having a

celebrity spokeswoman communicates an image to viewers beyond the spokeswomans

appearance. By choosing a well-known figure like Jessica Chastain, viewers associate not only

her physical appearance with the fragrance, but also her economic wealth, her career path, and

philanthropic work as factors in creating the ideal user of Woman by Ralph Lauren. By choosing

an award-winning actress as the spokeswoman for this campaign, respondents interpreted that as

wealthy, career women wearing this perfume.

The venue for this advertisement also communicated that idea of wealth and power. The

home was very grand and traditional with high ceiling and unique architectural details, show in

Figure 6. These aspects led respondents to assume a woman wearing this perfume would be

wealthy.

Another common belief is that gold represents luxury and wealth. In the advertisement,

the viewer is not only shown the color of the fragrance liquid, but is also shown the design of the

bottle, both of which are gold. Showing viewers this theme of gold, which is the only color used

in the advertisement, is another attempt by Ralph Lauren to emphasize luxury in this fragrance,

shown in Figure 7.
 23

Figure 7. Gold color representing luxury. This figure depicts the use of gold to represent the

luxurious nature of this fragrance.

V. Conclusions

This study sought to learn how female college students perceptions and expectations of a

fragrance advertisement correlated with the fragrance scent. After analyzing 30 experiential

surveys from female students, and a semiotic content analysis of the advertisement, several

themes emerged. One aspect that Ralph Lauren successfully captured was the ideal user of the

perfume based on the advertisement, through their choice in spokeswomen and the textual and

linguistic choices of the script. Although participants were able to distinguish whom Ralph

Lauren tried to target, many participants did not necessarily think this audience fit the scent. This

could be attributed to peoples differences in smell. Because of varying levels of smell and the

ability to pick out certain notes within one scent, discrepancies in whether an advertisement

accurately portrays a perfume can be difficult to draw a definitive conclusion among consumers.

Using Toncar and Fetscherins descriptors (2012), there was no significant pattern

between the expectation and the evaluation of the scent. Of the 10 descriptors, only

earthy/musky, arousing/sensual, romantic/feminine, and mysterious/exotic had differences of

less than 4 in the responses for the expectation and the evaluation of the scent. While only 4

descriptors had similar responses, the majority of participants still believed the advertisement
 24

accurately portrayed the perfume. While consumers can make associations with a perfume and

its corresponding advertisement through semiotics, it is more difficult for them to associate the

perfume and the advertisement based on smell.

This study was largely built on Toncar and Fetscherins study of visual puffery in

fragrance advertisements (2012) and Lawes study of semiotics (2002). While Toncar and

Fetscherin studied puffery using only the descriptors they developed, I used this method to

expand on how these perceptions were developed using Lawes semiotic tool kit to distinguish

the visual and aural elements in the ad that influence participants responses. Toncar and

Fetscherin studied advertising through puffery, but my research showed how varying degrees of

capability in smell might affect this type of research. Much research in the past has focused

exaggerations in advertising and how scent is portrayed in advertising, but there are few studies

that have explored these two topics, aside from Toncar and Fetscherin, described above (2012).

Because this is only a semesters worth of work, this study has several limitations. My

sample was compiled through a convenience sampling of my peers. My sample was relatively

small and was not diverse in age. In the future, I hope to have a larger sample size with a larger

age range to understand differing levels of analysis based on age. Additionally, I would like to

study multiple perfumes and corresponding advertisements to explore if certain brands are more

successful in creating advertisements that accurately portray a perfume, and how they do that.

Future research can explore how varying levels of smelling capabilities affect how consumers

analyze a fragrance advertisement and its corresponding scent. If sense of smell affects fragrance

evaluations, this may change how fragrance advertising is studied in the future.
 25

References:

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Ellen, S., & Bone, F. (1998). Does it matter if it smells? Olfactory stimuli as advertising

executional cues. Journal of Advertising, 27(4), 2939.

Fernndez, P.F., Gonzlez, M.B., & Garca, F.G. (2014). Iconographic analysis of perfumes

audiovisual advertising. The case JAdore. Icono 14, 12(1), 398-430. doi:

10.7195/ri14.v12i1.549

Federal Trade Commission. (1979). Statement of policy regarding comparative advertising.

Retrieved September 28, 2017, from https://www.ftc.gov/public-

statements/1979/08/statement-policy-regarding-comparative-advertising

Lawes, R. (2002). Demystifying semiotics: some key questions answered. International Journal

Of Market Research, 44(3), 251-264.

Milotic, D. (2003). The impact of fragrance on consumer choice. Journal of Consumer Behavior,

3(2), 179-191.

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Delineating the contribution of comparison versus deviation factors. Journal of

Advertising, 38(1), 49-62.

Ralph Lauren. (2017). Woman 3.3 Oz. Eau De Parfum. Retrieved October 18, 2017, from

https://www.ralphlauren.com/women-accessories-fragrance/woman-3.3-oz.-eau-de-

parfum/427130.html?cgid=women-accessories-

fragrance&dwvar427130_colorname=Rose%20Gold&webcat=women%2Faccessories%

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 26

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wcB&start=1&cgid=women-accessories-fragrance

Rimkute, J., Moraes, C., & Ferreira, C. (2016). The effects of scent on consumer

behaviour. International Journal Of Consumer Studies, 40(1), 24-34.

doi:10.1111/ijcs.12206

RLTVralphlauren. (2017, July 24)a. Woman by Ralph Lauren. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3to7GakPcI

RLTVralphlauren. (2017, July 26)b. Woman by Ralph Lauren: Behind the Scenes with Jessica

Chastain. Retrieved November 11, 2017, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyeOZdKxIbU&pbjreload=10

Stathakopoulos, V., Theodorakis, G., & Mastoridou, E. (2008). Visual and verbal rhetoric in

advertising. International Journal of Advertising, 27(4), 629658.

https://doi.org/10.2501/S0265048708080177

Toncar, M., & Fetscherin, M. (2012). A study of visual puffery in fragrance advertising: Is the

message sent stronger than the actual scent? European Journal of Marketing, 46(1/2), 52-

72.

Toncar, M., & Fetscherin, M. (2009). Visual puffery in advertising. International Journal of

Market Research, 51(2), 147-147.

Vanden Bergh, B., & Reid, L. (1980). Puffery and magazine ad readership. Journal of

Marketing, 44(2), 78-81.

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No.5. Retrieved September 16, 2017, from

 27

http://www.theperfumemagazine.com/december2012/Ways-of-Seeing-Perfume-

Advertising.html
 28

Appendix 1: Fragrance ___ Advertisement

1. What are your initial reactions to the advertisement?

12........3........4....5
Did not like it at all Neutral Loved it and would
consider smelling the perfume

2. Circle any words that apply to this advertisement:

Funny Dangerous Write any others here:

Sad Romantic
Happy Magical
Sexy Luxurious
Tropical Foreign
Bohemian Exciting
Carefree Young

3. Describe the ideal person that would wear this perfume (gender, age, personality traits,
etc.) based on the advertisement

4. How do you expect the fragrance to smell, based on this advertisement? Circle all that
apply

light/understated earthy/musky
bold/powerful fruity/tasty
arousing/sensual medicinal/bland
romantic/feminine velvety/creamy
playful/flirtatious
mysterious/exotic
 29

Appendix 2: Fragrance ___

1. What are your initial reactions to the perfume?

12........3........4....5
Did not like it at all Neutral Loved it and would
consider buying/wearing the perfume

2. List any associations or reminders that the fragrance presents:

(Do you smell something specific like bananas, or does it remind you of the woods, etc.)

3. Describe the ideal person that would wear this perfume (gender, age, personality traits,
etc.)

4. Circle any words that apply to the scent of this fragrance:

light/understated earthy/musky
bold/powerful fruity/tasty
arousing/sensual medicinal/bland
romantic/feminine velvety/creamy
playful/flirtatious
mysterious/exotic
 30

Appendix 3: Fragrance & Advertisement ___ Comparison

1. After watching the advertisement, was the perfume what you imagined it to smell like?

12........3........4....5
Not at all Somewhat Very accurately portrayed
the perfume

2. Regardless of your expectations, do you think the advertisement accurately portrayed

the perfume scent?
12........3........4....5
Not at all Somewhat Very accurately portrayed
the perfume

Did the setting/scenery of the advertisement accurately fit the perfume scent?
12........3........4....5
Not at all Somewhat Very accurately portrayed
the perfume
User in the advertisement (the model)
12........3........4....5
Not at all Somewhat Very accurately portrayed
the perfume
Color scheme
12........3........4....5
Not at all Somewhat Very accurately portrayed
the perfume

Clothing
12........3........4....5
Not at all Somewhat Very accurately portrayed
the perfume

Music
12........3........4....5
Not at all Somewhat Very accurately portrayed
the perfume

Dialogue
12........3........4....5
Not at all Somewhat Very accurately portrayed
the perfume

Which of the three advertisements portrayed the scent most accurately?