Pana Liana Cristina

AMS – Anul III

COCO MADEMOISELLE: THE FILM - CHANEL (2011)

Coco Mademoiselle is a women’s perfume in the Chanel collection that was introduced in 2001 for the younger Chanel fans. The fragrance was created by Jacques Polge, the nose of Chanel since 1978.

In 20011, three years after the first commercial film, Chanel launched a new advertising film starring current spokesmodel Keira Knightley and Alberto Ammann. The film was directed by

Joe Wright who is a winner of BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts). Compared with the first film of Chanel Mademoiselle, which presents long evening gowns, the version of 2011 takes on a more urban feeling, with Keira appearing on the streets of Paris in a chic, beige motorcycle jumpsuit.

According to a research on the commercial, the background of the film is a famous fashion street in Paris, the center of the fashion industry, which presents a clear idea, that the Chanel Coco Mademoiselle indeed is a top fashion brand. Also, the antique background seems to prove the quality of the film.

The film begins with the scene where Keira Knightley wakes up in the morning after sleeping in a luxurious bedroom. Before she goes anywhere, the first thing she does is to grab the Coco Chanel Mademoiselle perfume and looks at her in a front mirror. There is a suggestive image when the camera zooms on her face highlighting her determined facial expression while she carefully applies the perfume. Then the setting changes to the street in Paris when she jumps on her Ducati motorcycle arriving for a photo shoot. There the photographer (Alberto Ammann) stands but the balcony as if he has been waiting for her to arrive. During the photo shoot, they exchange looks; he becomes hypnotized by her beauty and power of seduction. It gets interesting when in this sensual flirting between both of them, she hints at the guy to shoo the crew away. They are left alone by themselves and things start to get intimate, implying romantic scene. When Keira tells him to lock the door, the photographer loses his attention for a second and she makes a spectacular escape through the window. She jumps on her motorcycle and quickly disappears, leaving the guy in a daze and confusion.

I chose to analyze the Coco Chanel Mademoiselle commercial not just because it is my favorite perfume that represents me perfectly, but also for the high quality of the commercial. The advertising film gives a clear brand image to the customers in a unique way of presenting the product through the commercial film.

I consider that Keira Knightley is the best choice for the image of Coco Mademoiselle, as a modern Coco Chanel. Her beauty, her style, her excellent skill in expressing emotions through her eyes and her ability to use the body language is very desired by the fashion industry. Because of these unique characteristics Keira Knightley is the perfect model to represent the mysterious beauty of the Coco Mademoiselle.

Moreover, another factor of the commercial that is easily overlooked is the soundtrack. The commercial film’s soundtrack “It’s a Man’s, Man’s World” by James Brown is performed by the Joss Stone, the voice of Grammy award winner. At the first glance, I was surprised they chose “It’s a Man’s World” because seems to be an irony, especially when is sang by a woman. After a second viewing I realize the clear idea of the contradiction. The soundtrack its supports the message that emphasize the opposite idea of the lyrics, which is “It is not a men’s world”, with the Coco Mademoiselle perfume, women have the power.

Furthermore, the underlying message is that women hold the control of men; of course part of the credit goes to the perfume she put on. The storyline try to prove the main idea in any sequence of the storyline by presenting a chronological daylong event of the actress. The idea is meant to convey a hidden message: if you use the product, you also will be able to seduce any man and to have the power.

In addition, the film’s open-ended ending is also something to think through. I consider the reason why we don’t have a clear ending is to highlight the mysterious feeling to the viewers and also involves that the ending is up to them.

On the other side, the commercial film has also a negative side. Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle advert has been banned from children after the Advertising Standards Authority considered it too “sexually suggestive” for young viewers. They also noted a “clear sexual tension” between the pair. Also, the complaint considered advertising it was unsuitable to be broadcast during the film Ice Age 2 watched towards children. I consider the ad is really unsuitable for young children because it is indeed a sexually suggestive material, but I think it can be suitable for older children.

In conclusion, even if Chanel Coco Mademoiselle film it isn’t suitable for young children, In my opinion the brand Chanel produced the finest quality commercial that seems to prove their high reputation in the fashion industry. As a result, the commercial film effectively appeals to women’s natural desire to feel beauty and seductive and proves that the effective visual images alone can attract the interest and fascinate the viewers without words spoken.