Femininity within Marc Jacobs Daisy and Gucci Flora advertisements

Femininity is a concept which has defined media since advertising began. “The media regularly serve a menu of female stereotypes that stimulates misogynistic taste buds” (Macdonald, 1995, p13), a concept that is constantly seen throughout popular media. Perfume advertisements often depict a thin objectively beautiful woman posing next to the bottle, if a different model was used would the product be as popular?

Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau De Toilette, when released in 2007, was quite a ground-breaking perfume in terms of it’s packaging. It was something that hadn’t been seen before, the decorative floral lids, since then becoming a Marc Jacobs signature. The bottle itself is enough to persuade a young girl (13-16) to want to own this perfume, it’s a product which would look aesthetically beautiful upon their vanity. But through their clever advertising they also persuaded the parents of these young girls, to want to purchase this perfume.

The spring 2020 advert starring Kaia Gerber (her comeback as the face of the brand), featuring Adut Akech and Meghan Roche, shows 3 petite and young-looking girls innocently skipping through a meadow. It was shot entirely on film by fashion photographer Alasdair McLellan and creatively directed/styled by Katie Grand. All models are dressed in white non-revealing dresses with flower crowns on their head. The advert ends with an almost unsettling chant of the word “Daisy” repeated multiple times, of course, the name of the perfume. As a viewer sat at home not paying much attention, it seems basic as far as perfume adverts go. But when I sat down to analyse the choices made for this campaign, you see everything is done for a reason.

For example, the models have been dressed to look quite young which is something that would appeal to a parent that’s on the market to buy their daughters first perfume. Furthermore, the significance of the white dresses connotes purity and innocence as well as being the colour of a daisy. Skipping and dancing through a meadow, whilst wearing flower crowns, is stereotypically what you’d expect from a perfume advert. But it subconsciously makes us think of being young, playing outside and being surrounded by nature which reflects the perfumes “radiant floral fragrance” (Tan-Gilles, 2020). The advert screams femininity for all these reasons, leaving little room for question. Furthermore, as Johnathan Bignell said, “perfume ads do not literally announce that a perfume will make you seem beautiful… instead this message is communicated by the structure of signs in the ad” (Bignell, 2002, p34). Which I think applies to this advert perfectly as it alludes to the idea of a perfect feminine and beautiful girl who wears Marc Jacobs Daisy.

This directly links to the feminist theory of Liesbet Van Zoonen, who believes “the media portray images of stereotypical women, and this behaviour reinforces societal views… it reflects dominant social values (what people believe in) and male producers are influenced by this” (Anon, n.d.). Which is a strategy commonly used in marketing and advertisement, Marc Jacobs have specifically created stereotypically female visuals, something which would appeal to a larger audience, not just specifically their target consumer. It is pleasant to watch, not shocking or controversial, and suits society’s standards for women. This makes you want to watch the advert more as it’s familiar to what we’ve been conditioned to by the media our whole lives.

For example, in the book Fix the System Not the Women written by Laura Bates a list of real slogans on boys and girls’ t-shirts backs up this idea that the media conditions us from a young age to be familiar with these stereotypes. Slogans such as “Be Your Own Superhero” on a boy’s t-shirt compared to “Daddy is my superhero” on a girl’s t-shirt. Boys are taught to be a “Little Genius” and girls are taught to be a “Princess in Training” (Bates, 2022, p21). Further supporting the idea that this advert is simply another form of the media promoting this idea of perfect femininity.

On the other hand, with the Gucci Flora advert, I think they make more of an effort to allude to this visual of a stronger woman whilst still being feminine. The 2021 campaign, shot by Petra Collins, creatively directed by Alessandro Michele and Christopher Simmonds also stars Miley Cyrus.

The advert features Cyrus in a floral garden, joined by pure white cats and dogs, whilst Cyrus’s cover of Shampoo’s ’90s earworm “Delicious” features in the background of the video. She transforms into a cute kawaii Japanese style cartoon which is said to be “her true self” where she flies around as if she has gained magical powers. She frolics in a Barbie fantasy world featuring a pink house whilst she plays her pink guitar on an empty peaceful beach. Cyrus is dressed in a regal purple shirt with long sleeves and a high patterned neckline, purple being a noteworthy colour and the colour of royalty, luxury, power, and ambition. Paired with creme linen trousers, not stereotypically feminine dress for a woman throughout history, but surrounded by the pink Barbie world covered in flowers, it is a representation of modern-day femininity.

The advert is very on trend with popular culture, kawaii and cottage core have ingulfed many “Gen Z” TikTok users over recent years, and it’s become a popular aesthetic which has made its way to many mainstream shops and restaurants. I think the euphoric sense that the advert creates is appropriate as the TV show Euphoria was also popular at the time of the adverts release, which would make sense as Petra Collins has done a lot of photography work with the cast of Euphoria. Thus, creating hype for the release of this product, as the campaigns content works well for social media algorithms, because it contains trendy aesthetics which keep the viewer engaged in what they’re watching.

Typically, Gucci’s consumer ranges from “18-34” online (Parisi, 2020), but this advert can also appeal to a 12-17 aged audience who are constantly online. Overall, whilst Marc Jacobs seems more familiar to us as far as perfume adverts go, Gucci is much more on trend and in touch which modern day femininity.

The fragrance itself according to Gucci’s creative director, “describes it as ‘a modern reinterpretation of the gorgeous white gardenia notes’ “(Smith 2021). Gucci’s own website describes the scent as “inspired by the believed mystical power of gardenia flower” (Anon, 2021). These descriptions represent the perfume as a powerful magical scent which when wearing it you will become this feminine and independent woman. Additionally, the decision to use Cyrus as a model is important, she is known in the pop culture world as a woman who is always willing to go against typical expectations of women (such as her iconic wreaking ball music video) and she is also an inspiration to many girls in the younger generation. As she is an influencer a consumer is more likely to buy a perfume with a familiar face on it, compared to a regular model “it is worth considering what would happen to the meaning of the ad, if a different type of model was used” (Bignell, 2002, p35).

After visiting a Boots store in person and testing the scents of each perfume out for myself, Gucci Flora is a more musky and mature scent compared to Marc Jacobs Daisy which is very floral and light. I think both perfumes are marketed towards a younger audience (ranging 12-18), however the difference between each marketing strategy is that Marc Jacobs is directed towards a parent buying for their daughter whereas, Gucci Flora is aimed towards the daughter who wants to own this empowering perfume which is advertised using their favourite pop star.

Both adverts are feminine in their own sense, Marc Jacobs Daisy is very stereotypically feminine and it’s an easy watch, nothing controversial or shocking and it sticks with you as they chant “Daisy, Daisy, Daisy” at the end of the ad. On the other hand, Gucci is more innovative with their advert, whilst it’s still feminine, it approaches femininity with a more modern-day twist to it promoting a powerful independent woman rather than a dainty, delicate and innocent young girl.

Anon, 2021. Gucci Flora [online]. Gucci. Available at: https://www.gucci.com/uk/en_gb/st/capsule/gucci-flora-gorgeous-gardenia [Accessed March 1st, 2023]

 Anon, n.d. Van Zoonen – Feminism and Patriarchy Theory [online]. Media studies @ Guilsborough Academy.

Available at: https://guilsboroughschoolmedia.wordpress.com/2017/08/25/van-zoonen-feminism-and-patriarchy/ [Accessed March 6th, 2023]

Bignell, J., 2002. Media Semiotics: an Introduction. Manchester; New York: Manchester University Press

Macdonald, M., 1995. Representing Women: Myths of Femininity in the Popular Media. Edward Arnold

Parisi, D., 2020. Gucci embraces resale in latest move to win over Gen Z [online]. Glossy: Digiday Media. Available at: https://www.glossy.co/fashion/gucci-embraces-resale-in-latest-move-to-win-over-gen-z/ [Accessed March 2nd,2023]

Smith, E., 2021. Watch Miley and Her Mullet Get the Anime Treatment [online]. The Cut: New York Magazine. Available at: https://www.thecut.com/2021/07/miley-cyrus-gucci-flora-gorgeous-gardenia-campaign.html [Accessed March 2nd, 2023]

Tan-Gilles, H., 2020. Sisterhood and optimism: Coty reveals new media campaign for Daisy Marc Jacobs [online]. The Moodie Davitt Report: Moodie International. Available at: https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/sisterhood-and-optimism-coty-reveals-new-media-campaign-for-daisy-marc-jacobs/. [Accessed March 2nd, 2023]

Marc Jacobs Daisy