The Way in Which a Particular Celebrity Has Been Used to Promote Fashion - Essay Example

Discuss the way in which a particular celebrity has been used to promote fashion Media plays an important role in marketing and advertising. Media forms the channel through which customers and the society learn new things in technology, fashion, trends, and many other upcoming things. Fashion, which is any popular style or practice in the society, has a wide base and may be seen in clothing, accessories, makeup, and footwear (Wolfe 26). Fashion marketing is one of the sectors of the economy that makes a lot of use of the mass media. It makes use of celebrities and people who are in power to market good and services. Effective use of media for advertising and marketing is very helpful for any business and leads to increased sales and profits (Wolfe 46). Fashion advertisement can be done on the television, on radio stations, on social sites, on product labels, on billboards and many other channels. Use of celebrities in advertising is very essential and captures the minds of many people in the society. It creates a perception that a product is the best in the range of related products, which increases demand of a product, its sales, and profits (Mehta 199). There are many theories related to the study of media and all try to explain its impact in advertising, and the perceptions related to its use. The first theory is the uses and gratification theory, which states that people use advertised products for gratification (Karina). The public can use a product so that they can relate to the celebrity used to promote the product. The association with a celebrity gives them a sense of belonging and gratification (Karina). The theory also states that people use a product to help them for diversion to escape from problems, for personal identity, and for surveillance of important tricks for survival. People tend to use products that are associated with successful celebrities so that they can feel safe and away from their problems. It gives them a sense of belonging and fulfilment in life. According to this theory, use of products that are associated with a particular celebrity increases ones self-esteem and self-worth (Karina). The hypodermic needle model is also another theory related to the use of media and suggests that media audience always has trust and loyalty to media such that they do not pose any challenges or have doubts about the information they are given (Karina). According to this theory, the audience takes in any information supported by a celebrity and believes it as the truth. The public has strong belief in celebrities and assume that products the celebrity uses will also work on them (Karina). They tend to use products basing on celebrity advice and not professional advice. This scenario has enabled many companies to advertise false information to the public and still manage to convince people to buy their products. This has led to a lot of propaganda in the media industry, which derails consumers in making their choices (Armstrong 126). Two-step flow theory is also another theory in media study and suggests that the passage of information from the source to the audience is a two-step process. According to this theory, the audience in mass media relies a lot on the opinion of trusted third parties in order to take in information (Bickle 24). The third parties in this case can be celebrities, people in power, scientists, and professionals. The audience believes that any information given and certified by such members in the society gives trustworthy and helpful information. This scenario has led to the use of many celebrities to endorse and promote many products. A product endorsed, used, or promoted by a celebrity becomes the peoples’ choice (Karina). The mass media has many functions in the contemporary consumer culture (Bickle 29). Media forms the main channel through which the society gets new information and uses such information to gain knowledge, to make decisions, and to evaluate the different products in the market. The information gained helps customers to choose the best product to fit them in the market. They help the society to know the reason for peculiar happenings in the market setting and the solutions to upcoming issues in the market. From this perspective, the mass media is, therefore, very important in informing the public and is helpful in passing information quickly to the public (Armstrong 48). Another important function of mass media is to warn the public and advice on how to tackle, use, and handle different products in the market (Armstrong 73). This helps customers to be knowledgeable about different products in the market. The mass media also helps to solve peoples’ miseries and help hopeless people to solve their problems. They help consumers to access products they do not know where to find them. They thus act like a guide and savior to peoples’ problems (Mehta 196). Use of celebrities in advertising and product endorsements is one of the techniques used in marketing to increase product awareness and sales. In fashion marketing, it is the main technique used in advertising (Mehta 193). As an example, Rooney Mara who was initially called Patricia Mara is a great actor and has been used in advertising a number of products. In 2013, she was used as the cover model to promote Calvin Klein perfume and introduce its new scent. In the promotion picture as shown below (Image 1), she shows a calm and relaxed mood to ignite desire in the public. This mood was used to show the effect of the perfume on an individual and his or her perception from the public. This look provokes the desire in people and makes them to believe that using the perfume will give them the same look like Rooney Mara’s (Posner 91). In addition to this, this caption is presented in black and white to present an idea that the background and the surrounding do not matter when using the perfume. The main idea in this case is to show the public that the perfume presents someone as clean, beautiful, and composed. Image 1: http://businessofcelebrity.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/rooney-mara-x-calvin-klein.jpg?w=500 In another advertisement, Mara is used to fashion clothes made by different designers. In the picture below (Image 2), she shows the same calm and composed look that seems to be gazing into the space. This look presents her as being innocent calm and very pretty. This evokes the desire to own the same type of clothe in people which leads to high sales (Bickle 51). This look and posture has made her very popular in fashion marketing and has made many designers look for her for advertising purposes. Image 2: http://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/rooney_mara-300x4502.jpg?w=300&h=450&crop=1 In another instance, multiple designers use Mara to promote a number of cloth products. In the image below (Image 3), Mara is promoting a jacket designed by Nicholas K and a dress designed by Kova. In this picture, she poses with a new style using a leather belt to tie the jacket tight at the waist. She is also seen to be composed, calm and in a casual mood. She has rolled up the sleeves to present a casual mood and has a suitcase handle she is pulling. This presents the idea of the designer in using these type of cloths for casual work (Posner 82). http://www.papermag.com/modules/archive/uploaded_images/3484_head_rooney.jpg In conclusion, it is clear that media plays an important role in advertising of fashion (Dyer 154). It forms the channel through which the audience gets information about new products in the market and how to use the product. In addition to this, the use of celebrity in advertising fashion is a popular technique and is very efficient in increasing sales and product awareness. Use of celebrity evokes the desire to buy and use the same product used by a celebrity (Dyer 161). It acts alike a hypodermic injection that takes control of a person’s mind and controls him or her to buy what is dictated. In general, use of celebrity in fashion advertising is a successful method and needs to be taken by designers and advertisers (Posner 120). References Armstrong, Scott. Persuasive Advertising: Evidence-based Principles. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Bickle, Marianne C. Fashion marketing: theory, principles, & practice. New York: Fairchild Books, 2011. Dyer, Richard. "Stars as images ." Heavenly bodies: Stars and the society (2004): 153-176. Easey, Mike. Fashion Marketing. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Lea-Greenwood, Gaynor. Fashion marketing communications. West Sussex: Wiley & Sons, 2013. Mehta, Abhilasha. "celebrities in advertising." The advertising business (1999): 193-208. Posner, Harriet. Marketing fashion. London: Laurence King, 2011. Rocamora, Agness. "Personal Fashion blogs; screens and mirrors in digital self-portraits." Fashion theory (2011): 407-424. Wilson, Karina. "Key concepts in media studies." 2011. Mediaknowall. http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/alevkeyconcepts/alevelkeycon.php?pageID=audience . 12 May 2014. Wolfe, Mary Gorgen. Fashion marketing & merchandising. Tinley Park: Goodheart-Willcox Company, 2014. Read More