WHY THURMAN?

Whenever there is an inkling that the now-longstanding trend of having celebrities be the faces of fashion and beauty ad campaigns might be reversed, it ends up falling flat.

In recent polls done by Ad Week, it was found that having celebrities star in commercial ad campaigns — Jessica Alba for Revlon, for example — doesn’t make consumers any more likely to buy that particular product. In fact, only eight percent said that celebrities make them more likely to buy something, while 12 percent said it makes them less likely to buy something and 78 percent said it makes no difference. Those polled who were over the age of 55 were especially averse to celebrity ads, which ties into the fact that most celebs are now being chosen for their ability to appeal to younger demographics.

Of course, one wonders how honest respondents were.  In fact, one person polled commented, “most of us would rather die than admit to being ‘swayed by glamour’ in a purchase decision.” While clearly when the “right celeb” is matched with the “right product” there is added credibility, for the most part models are equipped in a way that celebrities aren’t when it comes to posing and turning a simple ad into something with more of an artistic value. Why do we scoff at models turned actresses, and never blink twice when the opposite occurs?

According to Parfums Givenchy, who just hired actress Uma Thurman to star in their latest ad campaign for their fragrance Ange Ou Démon Le Secret (Angel or Demon the Secret), Thurman was chosen because of her contradicting filmography which includes a mix of both romantic comedies and darker, action films like Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill” and “Pulp Fiction.” So, in other words, Thurman is the acting equivalent of Kate Moss and Agyness Deyn.

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Personally, I’m too distracted by Thurman’s awkward glare and oddly posed legs to focus on the fragrance in the print ads which were shot by Mario Testino. Mira Nair shot the film advertisement and the actresses is in a white Givenchy dress that was created by the house’s current creative director, Riccardo Tisci. I’m not a fan of this ad, and think that most who will see it will focus on the odd positioning of the actress without even taking in the fragrance, so I’m very curious to see how it will be received when it launches next month.

Images courtesy of the Fashion Spot forums.


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