The leading luxury brand Gucci launched a campaign film in 2018 for its signature handbag: the Sylvie, which features multi-award winning actress Faye Dunaway who starts her day being ferried around in a chauffeur-driven limo, signing autographs, shopping on Rodeo Drive, lounging poolside, playing tennis and living a life of luxurious leisure. This is seen through the eyes of her daughter, played by the French singer songwriter and actress Soko, who is often her companion, while the film concludes with the mother giving her daughter a Sylvie handbag of her own as a symbolic gift to treasure across generations.
The most noticeable propaganda technique used in this advertisement would be snob appeal. By starring prestigious Hollywood actresses, Gucci aims to portray itself as a brand honoured by the richest, the elite and the most discerning people. In doing so, it hopes to influence the consumer’s purchasing mindset that they are not just buying a handbag but investing into living a lifestyle just like those who belong to the top social class. Since consumers’ buying behaviour often reflects their identity on how they perceive themselves as well as the way they want people around to recognize them, buying decisions are made based on what they value. Even if a Gucci bag may not be extraordinarily superior in terms of quality or design as compared to its competitors, Gucci had been so successful in branding its products that loyal customers are still willing pay extreme prices leveraging on snob appeal, for the brand image associated with a prestigious and luxurious lifestyle.
Another technique being used in the advertisement was emotional appeal. through the relationship between mothers and daughters, when the Sylvie handbag was dedicated as a gift to the young girl. Together with a tagline for this campaign tagline which says “Mothers, Daughters & the Sylvie”, it triggers consumers into feeling that giving a Gucci handbag as a gift is the way that a mother could show love to her daughter that touches the heart, and the bag as a symbol of best wishes passed on through generations.
Lastly, relating to the Maslow Hierarchy of needs, owning a luxurious handbag would not belong to the basic needs but rather self-esteem and recognition. But some people are willing to sacrifice part of their spending on daily necessities just to make a thrifty purchase on a branded handbag. This shows how advertising through branding is powerful enough to manipulate the order of our desires over essential needs. This relates to another aspect of consumerism where products are thrown away quickly as well, especially in the fashion industry where trends have limited lifespan. Marketers aim to overcome the durable mindset of consumers by engineering a change in the way we look at fashions items that must be thrown away not until they are worn-out but just as they are no longer socially valuable since there are already new designs and trends out in the market, which makes consumers feel anxious and fear of missing out to constantly make new purchases to fulfil their high-end wants even when they do not need them essentially.
With these, since consumerism is what advertisers aspire to instil in us through altering our desires, making us buy and dispose products unnecessarily, does it mean that it is always bad for the consumers? I believe that in the heart of consumerism, it is not just about spending money, but the sense of power possession as consumers make their choices to attain the best values with limited incomes, hence are willing to spend a relentless amount gauging on their purchasing power but on things they associate great values with and obtain extra satisfaction from the purchase.
Leave a comment