Metaphor in Fauchon Advertisement

In 1886, Auguste Fauchon started the Fauchon Company which sells high quality packaged food goods.  Fauchon imposes itself as the top luxury gourmet store in France.  For more than a century, Fauchon served the regal, the rich, and the famous. The Paris-based provider of luxury goods sold tea to royalty, pastry to politicians, and caviar to movie stars. 

In this ad, the Fauchon Company promotes its products by presenting a pair of lush lips wrapped in a festive bow.  The brand name, Fauchon, is “tattooed” all over the lips, which are brightly colored and prominent in comparison to the dull, grey chin in the photo.  The small print in the corner shows the slogan: “Fauchon, Paris on your lips”.  What is this advertisement trying to say about the company and its products? 

Metaphoric criticism would define the products of the Fauchon company as the tenor, or subject, of the advertisement.  The use of vibrant color and the “gift wrapping” of the mouth are the vehicles, or mechanisms used to evoke meaning in the viewing of this advertisement.  The creators of this ad wanted the mouth to be the most prominent feature, which is most likely why the rest of the chin is a dull, grey hue and the lips are a bright pink. 

The color pink is representative of many different things.  Pink is associated with good health and life—which could be relevant to the Fauchon company as they try to advertise the fine quality of their food products.  The French are meticulous and very particular about their food, and the Fauchon brand wants consumers to know that their products are of high quality and that eating their food would be a public display of a good life and great taste.  The color pink is also connected to love and sexuality.  The image of full, lush, pink lips is a very sensual one.  The use of sexual appeal in advertisements is not uncommon today, especially in Europe.  People are drawn to the beautiful, kissable lips portrayed in this add, and the bow makes it seem as though the lips are a gift, waiting to be taken by viewers—which draws them in. 

The gift wrapping around the lips is somewhat perplexing.  My first impression was that the Fauchon company was trying to say that their product is like a gift, from their factory to our lips.  Although this may be what the company is trying to say, the fact that the bow is on the pair of lips rather than an image of their product makes it seems as though the lips themselves are the gift.  This may be the Fauchon company’s way of telling non-French consumers  that if they eat Fauchon products, they too will have the pallet and taste of those in France.

The slogan “Paris on your lips” is represented by the use of the brand name being printed repeatedly on the pair of lips.  This is the company’s way of saying that “Fauchon is Paris”.  To eat their brand is to partake from French culture.  In this ad, Fauchon makes it clear that their food will be a divine experience for those who taste it. 

MAC AIDS Fund

                The MAC Aids Fund is a campaign by the MAC cosmetics company which donates money to Africans with AIDS when people but their VIVA GLAM lipstick products.  Their mission statement is as follows:                        

“The MAC AIDS fund’s mission is to serve people of all ages, all races, and all sexes affected by HIV and AIDS.  To partner with the bold, the visionary, and the brave who confront the epidemic in countries and communities where people are most neglected, off the radar and at highest risk.  Responsive, agile and alert, MAF funds innovative programs that deal directly with the most marginalized, stigmatized, and under-heard victims.  MAF celebrates humanity, life, creativity and individuality.  Making a difference one VIVA GLAM Lipstick at a time.”

The company has two well-known celebrities as the spokeswomen for the campaign: Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga.  These moguls, as well as the products being sold, particularly attract a female audience.  Lady Gaga is especially well-known and influential to young women today.  She is seen as someone who is not afraid to be eccentric, different, or criticized.  She has her opinions and is not afraid to put them out there.  Many women idolize those characteristic about her, which is why they would want get on board with a cause that she is supporting. 

                The MAC AIDS Fund says that they reach out to people with AIDS in countries where others “may not go”.  They claim that there are many people with AIDS who are neglected and denied the help that others are receiving.  MAC uses many words to make their cause in particular seem worthwhile.  They describe the victims they are helping as “neglected” “off the radar” “stigmatized” “under-heard” and “at highest risk”.  Their view is clearly that there are some people with AIDS who need more help than others, based one where they live. 

                My question is, is this a legitimate argument?  Are there some AIDS victims who “deserve” help more than others?  Are these victims really in greater need of help than other AIDS victims, or is the MAC corporation simply trying to make their campaign seem more worth-while than other AIDS campaigns?  There are many funds and charities out there whose goal is to help Africans with AIDs.  Does the MAC company feel the need to label their recipients as more deserving in order to beat the competition?  Are they labeling and shaming their recipients more than is necessary in order to push their product? 

Ideology within the Trojan "Evolve" Campaign

The Trojan company produced a commercial in which there is a bar full of beautiful women and large pigs.  These pigs are clearly flirting with women, and the women are clearly not interested in them.  With every passing glance, the women in the bar look at the pigs as if they are just that—fat, disgusting pigs.  Noticing their disgust, one pig ventures to the restroom where he buys a Trojan condom from a machine.  As soon as the condom lands in his hand, he is no longer a pig but rather a young, handsome man.  He exits the restroom and returns to the bar where the girl that he was talking to before notices him and is clearly impressed with and intrigued by him.  The commercial closes with this slogan: “Evolve.  Use a condom every time.”

                The use of pigs is not a random choice in this commercial.  When a man does something that is considered rude or repulsive, he is referred to as a pig.  This ad pushes the important lesson of “safe sex”.  The Trojan company is abiding with a worldview that believes unprotected sex is dangerous and unwise—which is true.

 However, this commercial also makes it very clear that the “pigs” and the women they are pursuing are meeting for the first time.  It is clear that they are not seeking a relationship, but a companion for the night.  This reminds me of Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World” in which sex has evolved into nothing more than an animal act between a man and a woman.  There are no emotional attachments, no monogamous relationships—just a physical act in order to achieve pleasure for the night.  This worldview is one that many people possess today, and it has clearly had economic benefits for the Trojan company.  The question is, is this a good thing?

Although the act of promoting safe sex is admirable, there is another, less admirable, message that is implied in this commercial—that for a man to go out into a social situation without a condom in his possession is “piggish”.  Within the worldview of the Trojan company, this statement is one that they would agree with.  Many would say that it’s best to be prepared—just in case.

 I, however, am speaking from a Reformed worldview in which sex is more than just an animal, pleasurable act.  Sex is about an emotional commitment, an act that should be shared monogamously—between one man and one woman.  Many women who share this worldview would most likely be offended to discover that a man they were on a first date with was carrying a Trojan in his wallet—“just in case”.  In this worldview, there shouldn’t be any “just in case” because it is believed that a man and a woman should not have sex until after marriage—let alone after the first date! 
This commercial from the Trojan company encourages the worldview that “sex is just sex”.  No one can deny that their promotion of “safe sex” for those who are sexually active is commendable, but as for the message of what sex means—not so much.