Nina Ricci Nina Ricci was founded in 1932, by Maria ‘Nina’ Nielli Ricci who was known to be the contemporary Coco Chanel then the brand itself is known for perfumes and feminine clothing. Her main aim was to design pretty clothing, expressing the classic feminine silhouettes and shapes. At the beginning of it all, Ricci and her only son Robert Ricci formed a partnership and opened up an Haute Couture House in Paris. Expanding the brand further, they went into perfumery as they believed that beautiful perfume bottles were the ‘crowning jewels of a woman’s vanity table’ which soon became a big success...
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Modern day fragrance adverts are becoming more and more sexualised, however Nina Ricci are one of the few brands which have stuck to their roots maintaining their brand identity with this particular fragrance ‘Nina L’Eau by Nina Ricci’ – the reincarnation of the classic Nina Ricci fragrance. I’ve picked to review this advert because I come across it a lot in magazines and it never fails to be an eye-catcher. The campaign shot by Eugenio Recuenco captures what the brand stands for – elegance with simplicity and gracefulness.
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‘Each of my fragrances must be a work of art’
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- A famous quote by Robert Ricci which lives on with the brand to this day
This campaign expresses the romantic couture of the brand – following a fairy tale storyline of its own about a ‘pretty fresh-faced heroin’ called Nina being fascinated with this apple shaped glowing bottle. Snow White has definitely played a big influence on this advert which I feel gives a nostalgic essence to it, referring back to the founder’s childhood. Even though it has a link to a classic fairy tale, this campaign still appeals to Nina Ricci’s young target market of 18-35 as it is a story that has lived on ‘til the modern day. It’s all about the prettiness of the bottle being portrayed through a story advertisement, narrating the brand’s identity. With the feature of a unique Nina Ricci gown, reflects the ‘Princess’ story behind this advertisement. Snow White is a Disney Princess and here Nina, stood surrounded by mirrors, hiding the perfume bottle behind her, is another connotation of the Disney film with the famous quote: ‘Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest one of all’ said by the Evil Queen and the talking mirror responding ‘My Queen, you are the fairest here so true. But Snow White is a thousand times more beautiful than you’. Therefore it’s as if Nina the Princess in this advertisement is a subtle portrayal of the fairy tale, combining the Queen’s secret and Snow White’s beauty.
The apple shape of the bottle automatically makes me think of Snow White, which reminds me of my child hood with all the Disney princesses and I believe that other people my age will probably have the same thoughts when looking at this advertisement. The beautiful modern outlook on the fairy tale will fascinate many young females into the advertisement itself and the perfume too, which I feel that it a unique selling point of this advert – the story. Nina Ricci targets a young audience with this campaign as they are trying to attract new consumers and expand the client base. With this concept, of a modernised classic fairy tale welcomes a younger audience because it isn’t an intimidating sexualised advert, Nina Ricci has chosen the traditionally pretty and elegant way of promoting a women’s fragrance, rather than the new, sexualised way of promotion that doesn’t relate to everybody. Whereas this advert creates a friendlier approach in order to aim to their target consumer. Having a brand which has been described as ‘rich in heritage’ automatically creates a judgement, therefore Nina Ricci are straying away from that heritage reputation and expressing romanticism with a light hearted attitude through this Nina L’eau by Nina Ricci fragrance advert to attract a wider and younger range target audience.
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‘The creation of a perfume is an act of love, whether real or imaginary. I am romantic. I couldn’t imagine living without dreams.’ - Nina Ricci. With the use of soft pastel colours and giving the idea that where the perfume bottle is ‘heaven’ and the journey with this fragrance is a fairy tale; all appeals to the younger target market. Young females don’t want to be associated with sexual fragrances at their age; most females like being independent and growing up to feel sensuality and attractive for themselves, not other people as such. I feel that Nina Ricci is a traditional, feminine brand which successfully appeals to the young target market by always sticking to their brand identity and values. As said beforehand, fragrance advertisements are becoming all about sex and attracting the opposite sex, however I feel like this Nina Ricci advert, represents the traditional way of promoting a fragrance, it’s about focusing on the stunning bottle of the perfume, the beautiful story and meaning of a pretty perfume for a female. They have created an art piece with the props, the gown, the model and even the perfume bottle. This is one of few fragrance advertisements which stand out but not for the wrong reasons, it isn’t ‘over the top’ or ‘in your face’, it’s a beautiful reflection of a beautiful story and classic perfume of Nina Ricci.
References... - art7amby. (2013). Nina Ricci’s Nina L’Eau Fragrance 2013 Ad Campaign. Available: http://art8amby.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/nina-riccis-nina-leau-fragrance-2013-ad-campaign/. Last accessed 20th Mar 2014. - Jennifer Davidson. (2013 ). Nina Ricci Launches Nina L’Eau. Available: http://www.thefashionspot. com/beauty/178883-nina-ricci-launches-my-secret-and-nina-leau/. Last accessed 20th Mar 2014. - Jessica Vince. (2013). A Snowy Owl And A Couture Dress: Inside The Launch Of Nina Ricci's New Fragrance. Available: http://www.graziadaily.co.uk/beauty/product/nina-ricci-newfragrance-launch. Last accessed 19th Mar 2014. - Martin Moodle. (2006). Nina Ricci Fragrance Launch. Available: http://www.moodiereport. com/document.php?c_id=29&doc_id=11082. Last accessed 19th Mar 2014. - Nadin Reschke. (1998). A Semiotic Analysis of a Cosmetics Ad and Its Interpretation by Readers. Available: http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/nnr9501.html. Last accessed 21st Mar 2014 - naked-scent. (2012). Quote: Nina Ricci. Available: http://naked-scent.com/quotes-ninaricci/. Last accessed 26th Mar 2014. - Vogue Magazine. (). Nina Ricci (Brand). Available: http://www.vogue.com/voguepedia/ Nina_Ricci_(Brand). Last accessed 21st Mar 2014 - Wikipedia. (). Magic Mirror (Snow White). Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Mirror_(Snow_White). Last accessed 22nd Mar 2014.
Fig 1. Catwalk Yourself. 2014. Nina Ricci - Catwalk Yourself. [online] Available at: http://catwalkyourself.com/fashion-biographies/nina-ricci/ [Accessed: 26 Mar 2014]
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Fig 2. (Hprints.com, 2014) Bibliography: Hprints.com. 2014. Nina Ricci (Perfumes) 1948 L’Air du Temps Vintage advert Perfumes | Hprints.com. [online] Available at: http://hprints.com/Nina_Ricci_Perfumes_1948_ LAir_du_Temps-40695.html [Accessed: 26 Mar 2014] Fig 3. StyleFrizz. 2014. Nina Ricci’s Nina L’Eau Perfume Campaign With Frida Gustavsson. [online] Available at: http://stylefrizz.com/201301/nina-riccis-nina-leau-perfume-campaign-with-frida-gustavsson/ [Accessed: 24 Mar 2014]. Fig 4. Davidson, J. 2013. Nina Ricci Launches Nina L’Eau - theFashionSpot. [online] Available at: http:// www.thefashionspot.com/beauty/178883-nina-ricci-launches-my-secret-and-nina-leau/ [Accessed: 25 Mar 2014] Fig 5. Compositeimaging.co.uk. 2014. Branches. [online] Available at: http://www.compositeimaging.co.uk/ our-collections/drawing-monochrome-2/branches/ [Accessed: 26 Mar 2014] Fig 6. Anonymous. 2014. [online] Available at: http://ohmonbeaute.tumblr.com/post/57488094357/ stormtrooperfashion-frida-gustavsson-by-peter [Accessed: 28 Mar 2014]