Discussing Chanel

Gisele Bündchen features as the newest faec for Chanel's classic fragrance advert for No5. Directed by Baz Luhrmann the piece plays out a storyline advert embodying the new ideology of the Chanel woman. A mother, wife, lover and career woman all in one package. A concept marked out by many woman as an example of the ideal lifestyle. Luhrmann (direct of The Great Gatsby) created the lengthy story based adverts for the purpose of deciding a lifestyle that reflected the wealth and class of Chanel with beautiful women, elegant scenery and the persistent use of the No5 logo throughout the footage. The scene opens on what looks like a cityscape of New York with the Chanel Logo and No5 icon, this immediately informs the viewer of the exact intent of the footage and the product that is being marketed. By putting these icons in bold lighting it means that our attention is immediately drawn to them against the dark surroundings. The scene then skips to a blue toned ocean scene with Gisele surfing in a chic black Chanel swimsuit and board. Within this scene the exposure of the Chanel logo is continuous even to the C shape created by the waves she surfs on. Within the production of the footage alone there is still the use of Chanel jewellery, cosmetics and clothing to really drive home the message of the brand and their influence on lifestyle. While the female figure is surfing, the camera angles switch between a man watching her from a distance in a elegant seafront house; while the camera always comes back to focus on the woman indicating there is chemistry between them. Close up shots of emotional eyes reinforce this message and begin to construct the emotional storyline that will follow on throughout the film. Low angle and dramatic high shots are used throughout the beginning scenes with blue/grey muted colours overlaying the whole scene, by doing so the tone is dramatic and reinforces the sadness that she feels. This use of blue also carries connotations of freshness and clean, adding a hint to the aesthetic of crisp class that is associated with Chanel. 
The message behind the advert is to convey how the perfume and brand is associated with a certain lifestyle that attracts romance, sexuality and value. Creating an effect to leave the audience desiring to be like that of the Chanel woman, which in turn is a combination of many female types including the supermodel, mother and lover. This message is reinforced further by the music choice which is a reworking of the song "The One That I Want" from the classic film Grease. The tune has been slowed to sound more romantic but also to reinforce the desire for this lifestyle and product. The song also relates back to the storyline again whereby Giselle's character desires that of the male role. The choice of music creates a subconscious feeling of desire for the perfume and the illusion that it will supply the wearer with the means of obtaining such as glamorous lifestyle as is associated with the Chanel No5 brand. By putting on No5 the Chanel woman is transported from her former lovesick lifestyle into a world of passion and beauty, a romantic but very unrealistic ideology. 
Chanel No.5 is an expensive perfume as to match its brand identity and is therefore perceived as a top quality, high end product. Due to this the brand possesses a unique selling point through its association with opulent beauty and desire. By casting Gisele Bundchen as the Chanel woman the advert enhances this connotation through supermodel associations. Chanel do not require flashy gimmicks and provocative words in order to market themselves, through their establishment as a fashion house and association with expensive quality they are able to use film as an effective means of advertisement.