Perfume ads are known to be dramatic and over the top while not actually saying anything substantive. Unlike ads for most things, where companies can show their product being used, perfume doesn’t do anything and you cannot smell a scent through a screen. This means that companies need to tap into the consumer’s emotions and desires through a video in order to sell their product. To do this, they create advertisements that sell a very specific aesthetic: sex. Perfume ads are loaded with sexual imagery and tones and often have roles played by celebrities or individuals who are the beauty standard. The advertisements are ultimately trying to say that if you buy our perfume or if you smell a certain way, you too will be sexually desired, beautiful, and successful. The specific perfume advertisement I chose to analyze was for Jean Paul Gaultier’s perfume “Le Male”. I originally saw a very condensed version of this on TikTok, but I will be looking at the full video for my media analysis.
The opening scenes of this advertisement depict scenes of male presenting sailors in a port. These sailors are all muscular and well-defined, shirtless, and engaging in activities that are stereotypically masculine and physical – carrying and pulling ropes, arm wrestling, carrying large boxes. Most of them are white and the main character in the video is a blond, blue-eyed, tanned, (and shirtless) man. He becomes entranced by the female lead in the advertisement, a white blonde woman in bright red lipstick wearing a pink bustier/bodysuit. She sings opera from the top of a lighthouse, and the male sailor begins running towards her, cutting through the crowd of people and jumping over things.
Along the way, he evades seduction attempts from other women in bodysuits and a group of shirtless male sailors (pictured above and below). These moments from the advertisement had overt bisexual undertones, which I thought was interesting. As one commenter stated, “Never in my life have I seen a commercial with bisexual energy like this. Gay energy, sure. Straight energy, totally. Bi energy? First time. I am very happy.” I thought this was a positive inclusion, but did not erase the much stronger tones of misogyny and heteronormativity.
He eventually makes it to the top of the lighthouse and he and the woman kiss as the crowd of sailors and women in bodysuits look on. The advertisement includes a short scene of a young boy in a sailor outfit tipping his hat to them before they kiss. This scene of the young sailor was also included in the shortened version of TikTok, and is one of the reasons I selected this piece of media. Many portions of this advertisement felt unnecessary, but this was perhaps the most unnecessary scene in the whole video.
Overall, this is an extremely over-sexualized advertisement that has absolutely nothing to do with the product it is selling (or even perfume in general). Additionally, it enforces the societal beauty standard, is unnecessarily gendered, and has misogynistic undertones. These can be seen through the individuals cast in this video, what they are wearing, and the plot of the advertisement itself. It suggests that women are a type of prize or reward, and that it is a man’s job to pursue and ultimately get to the woman. Even the name of the perfume “Le Male” translates into “The Male”, and implies that to be a “true male”, you have to look, act, and ultimately smell a certain way. The advertisement makes it clear what this “male” look is – shirtless, well muscled and defined, and gets the girl in the end. Beyond this, the creation and advertisement of a perfume specifically made for men suggests that men are only allowed to smell specific ways. This advertisement is not unique in these qualities, as I think it is very common for perfume ads to be very heteronormative, gendered, and marketed in a manner that sells sex or a specific aesthetic. As I stated previously, perfume ads are the perfect storm for these kinds of issues because it is impossible to advertise a perfume online in a way that allows people to smell the product.
The comments on this ad from YouTube are a little bit all over the place. Many were in french, and others were praising the advertisement itself or the product: “I’m going to buy this because it will make me handsome and beautiful women will long for me”. I honestly wasn’t sure if this was a sarcastic comment or not, but either way, it targets one of the overarching problems with this advertisement and many perfume ads in general. There were a few comments criticizing the advertisement for the same issues I had recognized in the video: “Men and women are so sexualized these days. This is so unnecessary. What kind of implicit messages does this ad send?” and, “No hate but is it just me who thinks this contains gender roles and is slightly misogynistic?” It seems as if other viewers were able to pick up on the same reasons why I chose this advertisement to analyze.
Hi! I definitely agree with your evaluation that you provided here for the “Le Male” perfume commercial. I am still curious what the significance was of the boy tipping his hat towards the end of the video. Perhaps he was doing it as a sign of respect or indicating that the main character was doing something that he looks up to? I am unsure what the intention was of including that scene, but I am confident that there is some value there, and I would be interested to hear what the commercial’s producers would say about it. On another note, the aspect that stuck out to me most was that everyone in the video had the same body size. If someone watches this ad, they will subtly be told that being “fit” is normal, and anything else is abnormal. This norm is something that fat studies tries to work against. – Brandon Reid
I’m glad you brought attention to this ad. There was a lot to unpack, and it was also very bizzare. One thing that disturbed me was the way that as soon as the sailor saw a woman he thought was attractive, he never questioned if she wanted to be with him or was attracted to him. He assumed the feelings were mutual and that her singing and appearance was for his benefit specifically. This ad plays out a male fantasy that a beautiful woman will automatically fall into a man’s arms and want to be with him. I think this is enforcing a harmful and dangerous idea that a man can be with any woman once he decides he wants her. Seemingly innocuous portrayals like this advertisement are contributing to a culture that does not value consent as much as it should.
Perfume advertisements have been problematic for a long time, which makes me wonder why they continue to impose sexist and racist undertones in their advertisements. I completely agree with you that this is extremely over-sexualized and has absolutely nothing to do with the product it is selling. Also, considering that the advertisement is available to children watching TV, it reinforces the already existing racism and sexism kids face growing up.