Media Blog #7: Selena Gomez's nail polish?

 This advertisement for Nicole by O.P.I. nail polish is very intriguing to my eye. The colors are very vibrant, and it definitely caught my attention. Nicole by O.P.I. is using Selena Gomez to help advertise their nail polish, as if she is the one who actually made the nail polish.

The first thing that caught my eye on this ad was obviously the big picture of Selena Gomez, and this is an example of the common ad technique, testimonial. Selena Gomez is a very well-known actress and singer, who is also quite attractive, so this will help attract the audience. O.P.I. is using Selena Gomez to help sell their nail polish. The ad is making it seem like these are the shades that Selena Gomez actually created, and the ad is flattering Selena Gomez by saying "Lacquers as vibrant as the star who created them." However, what does Selena Gomez actually know about nail polish. She didn't actually make this nail polish, but rather they just put her face on this ad. 

Another technique used is glittering generalities. There are the words, "Sweet and Spunky... Flirty and Fun!" These are all very appealing words because they all appeal to our outward appearances. Nowadays, many people are very concerned about how they look, so these words appeal to us. Also, the image itself is just gorgeous. Selena Gomez looks absolutely flawless thanks to the help of photo shop, and i think it definitely helps sell the product. This also relates to the need for attention. Because Selena Gomez looks flawless in this picture, our attention is drawn to this ad. We want to be noticed, and with this perfect picture of Selena Gomez, we believe that we will look like that if we buy this nail polish.  

This ad also satisfies the need for aesthetic sensations. We see the beauty of the image from Selena Gomez, and we are attracted to her. The image in a way highlights her face, and her face is just glowing compared to the rest of the picture. And then you see her long, wavy brown hair, and you can't help but think "Why can't I be like her?" The colors of this ad are perfet because they are all very soft and gentle to help create a good feeling.

The target audience for this ad is probably teenage girls because girls wear nail polish, and Selena Gomez appeals to pre-teens and teens mostly. She was on Disney Channel, so the target audience is definitely not middle-aged woman, such as moms. Also, I found this ad in my Sesventeen Magazine, which is geared towards teenagers, so the magazine was the perfect place to put this ad in. Even if you weren't in the target audience, most people would still know who Selena Gomez is.

The one thing that really bothers me about the ads that use famous celebrities is that they really don't even know anything about the products they're selling. How should Selena Gomez know anything about nail polish?However, in truth, I feel that putting a star on an ad really does help sell the product. Either we want to look/be like the person in the ad, or we feel that because the person is famous and advertising it, it must be good. Another thing that I don't particularly like is that the nail poish is barely  noticeable in this ad. Sure, there's a whole bunch of the nail polish bottle towards the bottom of the ad, but mostly all you see is Selena Gomez's face.

Overall, I felt that this ad was effective because it used a variety of the techniques and needs, which makes this product appealing to us in so many ways. I am a fan of Selena Gomez, so this ad appeals to me even more. I just wish it would actually advertise the nail polish a bit better because it is very hard to make a connection between Selena Gomez and nail polish.