Visual and Digital Media Culture explores a variety of critical approaches to communication, with a specific focus on visual culture and digital media. In our daily lives, we are constantly inundated with digital and visual content. This class teaches students to critically analyze this media by exploring critical theories applying this knowledge to practical projects.
For this project, students had to produce a mock-up of an outdoor advertisement launching a unisex fragrance by Revlon named “Fire and Ice.” Targeted at teenagers in Europe for Valentine’s Day, this project allowed students to put their critical understanding of visual digital communication into practice. Students studied Revlon as a brand in great detail, investigating the evolution of the company’s brand image, its marketing style, target audience and more. After having studied the existing company and brand, they then incorporated the “Fire and Ice” theme and used their creativity to come up with different marketing ideas.
FIRE AND ICE REVLON PERFUME ADVERTISEMENT
FIRE AND ICE REVLON PERFUME ADVERTISEMENT
This group’s campaign was partly inspired by a quote from Revlon Global Brand President, Silvia Galfo, who said that Revlon’s aim is to “give women the confidence to be themselves […] live boldly, and hold nothing back.” Students, Raphaela Camargo, Daniela Chvatal, Capucine Verbrugge, Lou David and Elisa Martinez, focused on the energy of this sentiment and decided to incorporate the slogan “Be Fire. Be Ice. Be You.” into their campaign.
Aimed at European teenagers, the group decided to give Revlon a socially conscious makeover by opting for a modern, unconventional angle, focusing on the concept of gender roles in the media. As this was an advertisement for a unisex product, they decided to use both male and female models from IE University, and styled them in unorthodox ways which defy gender norms. As shown in the image, the male model (Oscar Walker) incorporates feminine energy into his style, with long hair, painted nails and makeup. Similarly, the female model (Mercedes Rodriguez) displays traditionally masculine elements, with short red hair and a blazer.