Advert analysis (composition)

Although this advert was a very conflicting one, mainly due to the negative idea that it promoted, it used techniques that were quite effective in order to promote the product that it wanted on display. First of all, the woman – who is the model for the advert – is in the foreground of the advert, which makes her the first thing that our eyes can see when we look at the advert. She is wearing the red dress that Valentino wanted to promote through this advert, and the use of the red is very contrasting to the colours used in the rest of the advert, which is why our eyes are immediately drawn to the product. The fact that the model is lying down also gives us the impression that she is larger than she actually is, because she has been placed right at the front of the image.

Although the woman is at the foreground of the advert, we are able to see that she does not have as much control over the situation compared to the man who is holding her down. We cannot see his body or his face – however, although his legs are the only part of his body that is visible to us, we can see that he is definitely the ‘powerful’ and imposing figure within the image. The way that his leg has been positioned on top of her neck shows us that he is asserting his dominance over her and over the situation – he has all control. Due to the actions of the models, and the different ways that they are positioned within the frame, it seems as though there could be a possible shift in power control – it is almost as if the person who is in the foreground (the girl who is being stepped on) does not have primal control, but the person that we can barely see (the man in the middle ground who is stepping on her) does.

The man who’s face we can see in the background is also an important part of the advert. Although we can only see his face, and nothing else, we can see that he is watching what is happening in front of him, and that he has no reaction to it whatsoever. He is not trying to stop this kind of violence or male dominance, and it is almost as if he is accepting what is happening in front of him and deciding to step back and watch. This also adds to the overall effect of the advert – we are seeing a man who seems to be in support of the idea of violence against women. Even though he is in the background of the image, his presence is important within the advert and the frame. Overall, even though some effective techniques were used within this advert, I do not think that it was an effective advert only because the focus seems to be on the violence that is occurring within the scene, and not on the actual product that is supposed to be advertised.