Image Attribution: “Sephora’s Item Beauty: VISA 1500 Fall 2021” by Olivia Roberts is licensed under CC BY-SA. Aberdeen Mall, Trans-Canada Highway, Kamloops, BC, Canada (See interactive map)
Olivia Roberts
09/18/21
VISA 1500 Fall 2021
Terryl Atkins
Assignment #1 Part A
The presented image displays an advertisement made by the makeup company Sephora, which is displayed at the Sephora shop on the top floor of Aberdeen Mall in Kamloops, BC. The ad seems to be focused on selling lip gloss, a type of beauty product (specifically) for women. This is evident by the depiction of a young woman applying the lip gloss herself.
The colours used in the ad are bright and eye catching, particularly the shine that is found in the disco ball-patterned background and on the glossed lips. On the left side of the ad is a bright orange strip with the slogan “A Dose Of Self Love”, while the below right corner has a round green stamp with a leaf-like shape stating Clean At Sephora. In the center are white bold texts of the brand that Sephora is selling item Beauty, who is promoting it, and that the product is sold “Only At Sephora”. The woman promoting item Beauty is social media personality Addison Rae. The overall image can be described as being bright and bold, much like a beauty product is portrayed.
Being a cosmetic beauty product ad, the image is meant to convince women that the specific product will help make them more confident in their beauty and presentation. The slogan “A Dose Of Self Love” conveys that type of messaging. The bright colour scheme and the words “self-love” gives the ad an overall positive feeling that Sephora is using to sell its product(s).
One noticeable inclusion in the ad is the round green stamp with the title Clean at Sephora, which is part of Sephora’s environmental campaign for environmentally safe and human health products. These products are said to not contain ingredients that would harm humans or the environment. Coincidentally, the stamp is placed at the end of the slogan “Only At Sephora”, directing costumers to shop at Sephora exclusively.
The target audience for item Beauty appears to be young women, as the image features a young woman, (who is a celebrity), and beauty products are produced for (primarily) female consumption. Having a new young star like Addison Rae to promote the product adds familiarity and recognizability to said product. Despite being female myself, I have no interest in beauty products. So, while the ad is an appealing image on its own, my personal tastes does not line up with the ad.
As previously mentioned, I found this ad in Aberdeen Mall. A mall is a very fitting setting for a makeup establishment, especially for a large global chain like Sephora.
I do recognize the name Sephora, but I’m not very familiar with the companies products or practices. However, Sephora’s campaign Clean at Sephora, seems to be focused on both human wellness and environmental safety. In 2020, Sephora banned to use of mink fur for eyelash products after the abuse of the minks was revealed, (albeit with PETA’s involvement ). Regardless, it’s an improvement.
The image does it job by being straightforward and appealing.
Sources:
. “Addison Rae-Biography”. IMDB. Accessed September 18th, 2021.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11290905/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
. Louise Prance-Miles. “Sephora Honored For Sustainable Development Initiatives with Eco Award”. Global Cosmetics News. December 18th, 2015.
. Sophie Hirsh. “Sephora Will Stop Selling Mink Fur Eyelashes”. GreenMatters. July 1, 2020.
https://www.greenmatters.com/p/sephora-mink-fur-eyelashes
. “Sustainability”. Sephorastands. Accessed September 18th, 2021.
https://www.sephorastands.com/sustainability/