Paris – Riviera Chanel perfume – a fragrance for women and men 2019

Ok, I’m not reviewing the fragrance here, but I am reviewing the advertising and the Chanel presentation here, which we all agree is big part of perfume sales. My question: how in the world does Chanel get away with that, let me try to clean this up, “posterior crack” reflection on the bottle of Riviera?

How can I be the only person who sees it and/or the first reviewer to comment on it? Some photographer has worked overtime to make the Chanel Riviera ad photo look like the clear glass bottle is laying against the bottom of a young, slim petite woman who is nude sunbathing on a beach. There is no mistaking all of her bum, and her thighs and legs above the knees. Close up.

But in case you really can’t believe it’s a woman’s body, you can see her little white ballet slipper/Mary Jane shoe on the right side of the photo, just beyond the reflection on the glass bottle. The model appears to have small feet. And keep in mind these little ballet slippers are worn by girls under 18, lots of them much younger than 18, although women of legal age also wear them too. The whole effect is disturbing at the very least.

There is context for this sort of ad that people younger than 40 can be excused for not knowing. In the 1970’s the book “Subliminal Seduction” was published, and should be read by anyone interested in the power of advertising. It’s all about how hidden images in advertising lure people into buying a product, and shows the reader that many of these images are more graphic than many people would normally want to see. Even now, when so much more is sexualized than it was in the 1970’s, many people will not want to see the images this book describes.

But there’s nothing subliminal about this Riviera ad. It’s right out there. You see nothing else. It isn’t particularly erotic either; it’s creepy.