Introduction
Calvin Klein is a renowned manufacturer of perfumes with famous brands across the world. Brands like Obsession, Escape, Eternity and others have contributed to the company’s success, having earned more profits from sale of their products. These products are very popular because they seem to enjoy endorsement from celebrities like Eva Mendes, David Beckham, among others. Since the celebrities are mostly considered role models or trendsetters, Calvin Klein’s Eternity brand has been popularized by the adverts in which they use very attractive female and male models. In the recent campaign of 2012 to market the product, Eternity Aqua was advertised and endorsed by the lovely Edita Vilkeviciute and the robust Ben Hill.
Culture Jamming
The Eternity brand for women became very popular in 1989 and has held its position up to date. Most women across the world love this perfume as it has been indicated to be one of the most successful brands for women’s fragrance (Pekic, 2012). Eternity has become a favorite for many classy women and it has created a brand loyalty. The reason being most women tend to stick to one brand for so long once they find it satisfying.
Being popular due to celebrity endorsement, it has become a success story in perfume industry. These endorsements are very effective in advertising the product everywhere. Today, it is very hard to discuss products in the perfume industry without mentioning Calvin Klein’s products, especially Eternity and Obsession fragrances as they dominate the market (Pekic, 2012).
The scent of the product is distinctive, and men and women can share this fragrance. This way, the brand has spread very fast as everyone has been eager to have it. The product continually gets reviews from clients who are loyal and proud. Many people consider it the best, thus this is a must for them to buy this fragrance.
The Advert
Eternity Aqua, a fragrance for women, has stirred the market of perfumes since a fresh campaign was initiated in 2012 to market the product. This perfume is a modern fragrance that people enjoy as it gives an euphoric feeling of sophistication, allure and touch of mystery (Pekic, 2012). The perfume presents a fresh aquatic aroma, and as its brand name (Aqua) correctly reveals, the cologne is enriched with woody scent and aroma of fresh flowers.
This campaign led by Edita Vilkeviciute, as the female model, and Ben Hill, the male model, made the Eternity Aqua brand dominate the market with a variety of scents ranging from Cucumber, White Peony, Pink Lady Apple to gardenia, jasmine, etc. The models starring in the advertisement, especially Edita, is seen on the poster of the perfume with very seductive look and glowering lips. Everything about this model seems perfect, especially her face, which looks like angelic (Pekic, 2012). This poster is a siren call to all the customers as it attracts them, and they aspire to become closer than the model through using the same perfume.
Subvertisement
A typical subvertisement usually uses the advertiser’s picture, message, and text to contradict what is being communicated by the advertisement. The adbuster I use for this paper is meant to make some slight alterations to the poster in regard to the face of Edita. The adbuster’s subvertisement shows a wasted model with spotted skins, purplish forehead, cheeks, neck, and hands. These are the effects of toxins contained in the perfumes.
The message in the advert says “the new fragrance for women”, however, the subvert’s message is adjusted to say “the new vagrancy for women”. This message is altered to expose the fact that perfume contains neurotoxins, just the same as those in glue and volatile chemicals.
Comparison
Besides the changes in the shade of color, the name Calvin Klein is corrupted to “Calvin Killing” in the Adbuster. The United States National Academy of Sciences has revealed that most of the fragrances have ‘secret ingredients’ that manufacturing companies never list on the bottles (Pitts, 2003, p.9). These chemicals easily cause diseases in humans. Typical perfume like Eternity Aqua contains mixture of chemicals mostly drawn from petroleum compounds. Such derivatives like aldehydes and benzenes can seriously affect the central nervous system or cause various types of cancers. These substances penetrate the body via skin. They travel through the blood systems and can damage the livers and kidneys as these are the places where these dangerous chemical are eliminated from the body (Pitts, 2003, p.9).
There are no clear restrictions to the amount of chemicals to be used in combinations or even outright prohibitions to the percentages of dangerous chemicals used for making perfumes (Epstein & Fitzgerald, 2009, p.88). As such, people suffer without knowing. The only way to fight this is via a social movement like subvertisement. The Eternity brand is one of the fragrances listed to have potentially damaging chemical compounds.
Conclusion
Whereas most women consider Eternity Aqua a very romantic flower perfume, the actual ingredients in this fragrance show a different kind of reality. Out of the 41 ingredients used in the manufacture of these perfumes, nearly 33 do not have reliable safety information (Epstein & Fitzgerald, 2009, p.88). However, the data available on the rest components indicate that there are toxic chemicals, irritant and sensitive to skin as they can cause allergies. The advertisers focus on creating more sales, while the subverts seek to caution or warn the consumers against the unknown safety concerns from the chemicals in the product. Consumers can at least choose the product at their own peril or wait until these dangers are terminated.
Reference List
Epstein, S.S., & Fitzgerald, R., (2009). Toxic Beauty: How Cosmetics and Personal-Care Products Endanger Your Health. Dallas, Tx: Ben Bella Books.
Pekic, S. (2012). Calvin Klein Eternity Aqua for Women. Fragrantica. Web.
Pitts, C. (2003). Get a Whiff of This: Perfumes (Fragrances) – The Invisible Chemical Poisons. Bloomington, IN: Author House.