Advertising fragrance through visual and audible information: a multimodal metaphor analysis of perfume commercials

4.1.1 From pictorial signs to smell

The pictorial sign refers to the information that people can receive visually. The visual message is one of the main pieces of information that television can transmit, so most commercials deploy visual images to present the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS ATTRACTION. For example, the commercial titled Timeless by Lacoste describes a man who falls in love at first sight with a woman in an old train station, trying to find the lady on the train as he navigates the crowd (see Figure 1).

Figure 1:

Visual images of the first commercial exemplified.

In this commercial, there is a metaphor, FRAGRANCE IS ATTRACTION, from visual mode to olfactory mode, in which a metaphorical relation is established between the visible attraction as the source domain and the target domain of fragrance. The relation between the two domains is established through multi-faceted mapping. This advertisement employs graphical images (signifiers) to represent the attractiveness (signified) of the woman to the man to trigger the audience to associate the visual information with the fragrance (signified). Figure 1(a) shows the actor, who enters the car and immediately distinguishes the actress from the crowd of passengers and keeps looking at her. In Figure 1(c), the man still stares at the woman among the people in the subway. Additionally, his exaggerated behavior, lifted by the surrounding people in the air and still with his eyes fixed on the woman, makes the visible attraction more understandable in the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS ATTRACTION.

Another facet of mapping that allows the metaphor to work in this advertisement lies in the shared attribute of durability in both domains. A satisfactory perfume ought to be equipped with a long-lasting fragrance. Likewise, attractiveness can last for a while, and the length of time depends on the strength of the attractiveness. Hence, to promote this fragrance’s persistence, this commercial intelligently utilizes the idea of the hero and heroine recognizing and falling in love with each other from the past to the present, representing the enduring continuity of their attraction. In sum, eye contact, facial expression, and body language as pictorial signs can contribute to identifying ATTRACTION as the source domain, and the mapping from the source domain to the target can be achieved through various dimensions. These semiotic concepts, including signifiers (pictorial images), signifieds (attractiveness and fragrance), and symbolism (metaphorical relation), contribute to the advertising’s effectiveness in delivering the message about the fragrance to the viewers.

4.1.2 From music and sound to smell

Apart from pictorial signs, auditory information can also play a critical role in commercials. The commercial for Gucci’s Bamboo fragrance involves the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS ATTRACTION mapping from auditory to olfactory mode. The metaphorical connection between the source and target domains is created audibly by mapping from varied facets. Generally, the commercial presents some fragments of the heroine’s daily life with male narration, which expresses his admiration for the heroine’s confidence and independence (see Figure 2).

Figure 2:

Visual images of the second commercial exemplified.

The audible attraction of the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS ATTRACTION in this advertisement is displayed explicitly by the voice-over and implicitly by the background music. Due to the lack of a storyline in this commercial, the visual cues only are not sufficient to guarantee the viewers’ recognition of the source in the commercial. However, the voice-over in a male voice epitomizes the attraction of the heroine wearing the advertised perfume (Table 1).

The mapping from ATTRACTION to FRAGRANCE relies on their common feature of intensity. In the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS ATTRACTION in this commercial, music is an intermediary between the target and the source to bridge the gap between the two types of intensity. Along with the change in the rhythm and volume of the background music, the degree of attraction and intensity of fragrance varies. As shown, when the music has a slower beat and a lower volume, it signifies moderate attraction from women to men. Hence, the “scent” the advertisement delivers to the audience is also lighter. On the contrary, the “scent” released through the commercial is increasingly heady when the music rhythm becomes faster and the volume turns louder.

With the help of music, the association between the source and the target is formed so that the olfactory metaphor can map information from audible to olfactory mode. Above all, the use of signifiers such as sound and music, as well as the symbolism and visual composition, plays a dominant role in this commercial to manifest the source – the abstract notion of attraction, making the abstract concept – of fragrance understandable. Integrating these semiotic elements helps establish an effective communication strategy in advertising, fostering the audience’s recognition of the advertisement information and meanings.

4.1.3 Advertising effects achieved by the metaphor

From what has been analyzed, perfume advertisements involving the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS ATTRACTION are prone to advertising the design concept and theme behind the product. For instance, as analyzed previously, the commercial in Figure 1 tries to promote the product’s theme of true love. Figure 2 advocates the design philosophy of women’s confidence and independence.

As for perfume enterprises, they should rely on the perfume’s smell to attract customers and on unique brand culture to touch customers with different needs. The most apparent function of perfume is to draw the attention of the surrounding people with its distinctive scent. By attracting people’s attention, the wearers typically aim to show love or to show off their salient personalities. In this way, the perfume of different themes and concepts also are generated to meet different consumption demands. Therefore, when perfume advertisers try to promote the cultural concept of a particular perfume, they are more likely to use the mutual attraction between males and females to promote the design concept behind the perfume. This explains why the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS ATTRACTION can indirectly promote a product’s design concept and theme to potential customers.

4.2.1 From pictorial signs to smell

The metaphor FRAGRANCE IS EMOTION is generally represented in visual images regarding the character’s facial expressions, eye contact, and body language. The commercial for Marc Jacobs’s Daisy perfume expresses the emotion of joy by describing the scene of three girls playing on the grassland.

The metaphor FRAGRANCE IS EMOTION is transmitted from the mode of pictorial sign to the mode of smell in this commercial. Its metaphorical relation depends on the common feature of being infectious of both the source EMOTION and the target. According to the images in Figure 3, the actresses’ emotions of enjoyment can be observed by their facial expressions and body language. At the beginning of the commercial, the act of the girl smelling the flower of a daisy cues the identification of the source FRAGRANCE (see Figure 3(b)). As for the source EMOTION, Figure 3(a) shows the three girls holding hands and playing games with smiles. This is a process in which pleasant emotions are transmitted from one person to the other two. Other than that, the enjoyable facial expressions of the girls in 3(c) and 3(d) reinforce the representation of the source EMOTION.

Figure 3:

Visual images of the third commercial exemplified.

With the identification of the source domain and the visible act of smelling flowers, the viewers can effortlessly comprehend the connection between the two domains. In this way, they will paraphrase further that fragrance can make people joyful. The actresses’ facial expressions and body language in pictorial signs represent and enhance the identification of ATTRACTION as the source domain, and the mapping from the source domain to the target is achieved by the similarity that both fragrance and attraction are contagious. In sum, the semiotic concepts, including signifiers (facial expressions, body language), signifieds (emotion, fragrance), and the symbolism of the multimodal metaphor, work together to facilitate the audience’s understanding of the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS EMOTION, successfully formulating the communication strategy.

4.2.2 From music and sound to smell

In some commercials, the role of audible information, such as music, outweighs the effects of visual images. The example below is selected from the commercial for a feminine perfume by Giorgio Armani. The advertisement delineates a story of a lady traveling to several countries to seek the ingredients of the promoted perfume, and the process of searching for ingredients indicates that the lady is finding her true self (see Figure 4).

Figure 4:

Visual images of the fourth commercial exemplified.

This commercial involves a metaphor, FRAGRANCE IS ATTRACTION, mapping information primarily from the modes of sound and music to the mode of smell. The metaphor in this advertisement tends to evoke the audience’s sensation of smell with the metaphorical connection between the audible source EMOTION and the target FRAGRANCE. Also, the relation between the two domains is established through multi-faceted mapping (Table 2).

Firstly, the source EMOTION is cued by the background music lyrics. Regarding the visual information, this advertisement merely consists of various scenes according to different countries, lacking coherence between different scenes. However, the lyrics of the music drive the story’s development by serving as the inner monologue of the actress. The lyrics indicate the transformation of the heroine’s emotion before and after she smells flowers (see Figure 4(c)), the ingredients of the advertised fragrance. At the beginning of the commercial, the lyrics “we lost our way” hint at why the actress is about to find her true self, reflecting her low spirit and pathing the way for the following plots. Then, the lyrics of “blinding light right where your heart is” imply the heroine’s determination to find herself. Finally, the lyrics of “heart is open” and “come to find me” are the self-manifesto of the heroine; that is, she is well-prepared for her new life. Therefore, the advertisement would not make sense without referencing the lyrics.

The connection between the source and the target is audibly created by people’s standard cognitive conventions towards scent, music, and emotion. The scent of perfume can be divided into high concentration and low concentration. Similarly, human emotions can be in high spirits and low spirits. Between the source and target, the background music functions as a glue joining the two domains. Different types of music grant different sensations to the listeners. The melody of the whole song is gentle at first. It becomes rapid until the climax, full of power and passion. It reflects the transformation of the heroine’s mind in searching for her ego and highlighting her joy that originates from the sense of achievement after finding the familiar flavor or finding herself. The signifier of music not only plays a critical role in the expression of the inner emotion of the heroine with its lyrics, which reinforces the audience’s identification of the source EMOTION, but also contributes to the metaphorical relation between the source and the target by their common feature of gradability. In summary, the interplay of semiotic concepts such as signifiers (lyrics, background music) and signifieds (emotion, fragrance) enhances the communication of the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS ATTRACTION in this commercial, enhancing the viewers’ recognition of the metaphorical connection between emotion and fragrance.

4.2.3 Advertising effects achieved by the metaphor

According to the evaluation, commercials with the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS EMOTION tend to display the emotional effects caused by the advertised perfume. Meanwhile, since different types of scents evoke emotions, some commercials, such as in Figures 3 and 4, have to simultaneously represent the fragrance type with the appearance of the ingredients of the perfume. For some perfume brands, the central theme of their products is that perfume can bring them positive emotions, such as joy and happiness, based on the common knowledge that different scents can cause different emotional experiences in people. Perfumes that give the wearer a positive emotional experience are, in most cases, floral or fruity, as the ingredients of flowers and fruit are fresh and pleasurable. As a result, perfume advertisers sometimes inevitably promote the perfume ingredients in the advertisement so that the viewer naturally experiences the emotions by associating the flavor type. Therefore, when the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS EMOTION is hidden in the advertisement, it aims to promote the product’s design concept by mentioning the perfume’s flavor type.

4.3.1 From pictorial signs to smell

The conceptual metaphor FRAGRANCE IS OBJECT is represented in the mode of pictorial signs in numerous commercials. Gucci’s Bloom is a floral perfume with ingredients of tuberose, jasmine, and Rangoon Creeper, so its commercial presents an abundance of flowers, trying to transport the viewers to a garden filled with the scent of thriving flowers and plants, just as in the name of this perfume – Bloom (see Figure 5).

Figure 5:

Visual images of the fifth commercial exemplified.

This advertisement is a typical example of utilizing an olfactory metaphor, of which the source domain is FRAGRANCE and the target domain is OBJECT, to build the metaphorical relation and, therefore, prompt the audience’s perception of a smell. The mapping of this metaphor has one similarity. The metaphor FRAGRANCE IS OBJECT in the commercial utilizes the pictorial signs of abundant flowers to cue identifying the source OBJECT. “Object” in this study is treated as an abstract concept that can be calculated in quantity. Since the advertised product is a floral perfume, the advertisement involves a range of flowers of various kinds as the source.

In order to exhibit the foreground of the object of flowers, the advertisement first highlights the excessive number and kinds of flowers. Figure 5(a) indicates that the ladies’ home is designed and decorated as a garden with mixed flowers and plants. Meanwhile, the actresses’ dresses are covered with flowers, implying the source OBJECT. Additionally, Figure 5(b) and (c) depict the image of actresses swimming in a pool filled with flowers, echoing the fragrance ingredient, the OBJECT. These overwhelming pictures with excessive varieties and numbers of flowers reinforce the identification of the source OBJECT. As such, it would steer the viewers to connect these pictorial signs with the perfume. Therefore, the quantity of the objects – flowers in the advertisement enhances and quickens the identification of the source OBJECT, and the metaphorical connection between the source domain and the target domain in the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS OBJECT is based on the fact that the large quantity of the ingredients in perfume indicates the high concentration of fragrance. Through the interplay of semiotics elements of graphic images, the commercial efficiently conveys the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS OBJECT.

4.3.2 From touch to smell

Creatively, some commercials aim to evoke the audience’s tactile sensation to stimulate their sense of smell. Dior’s feminine perfume commercials hold the subject of “touch the perfume” to promote its product. The advertisement employs constant shots of abundant flowers on the whole screen to impose a strong visual impact on the viewers (see Figure 6).

Figure 6:

Visual images of the sixth commercial exemplified.

Unlike the previously mentioned commercials, the metaphor in this advertisement innovatively achieves its metaphorical operating mechanism from tactile mode to olfactory mode, with the fragrance flavor as its target and the ingredients of the perfume as its source. The metaphorical mapping of the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS OBJECT is developed in one facet, but its process is slightly sophisticated. Before the analysis, it should be explained that the mode of touch in which the source OBJECT projects its features to the target FRAGRANCE is developed by the interplay of the modes of pictorial and spoken signs. The advertisement fully uses visual impact and auditory cues to complete the audience’s tactile stimulation by getting them to reckon that they are in an environment filled with perfume.

The metaphorical relation between the two domains is that the quantity of the ingredients of perfume affects the concentration of its fragrance. The abstract source OBJECT, the product’s ingredient, can be calculated in large or small quantities, and the target FRAGRANCE, which is the product’s scent, has a high or low concentration. There are numerous shots covered with flowers in the advertisement from different angles. For example, the lens in Figure 6(a) adopts the method of shooting upside down to present many falling petals, creating the feeling of being in a sea of flowers for the audience. Besides, the shots in Figure 6(b) and (c) taken in the overhead mode present abundant white petals full of the screen. This visual impact will directly stimulate the audience’s olfactory receptors as they are in the mass of flowers. In addition, the lens in 6(d) has excessive red petals, while a gap is left in the middle, creating a sense of space for the spectators and generating the feeling of passing through a sea of flowers for them. These images with large objects of flowers may convince the audience that they are engaged in the sea of flowers, which triggers the audience to form tactile sensation through visual information.

When the audience feels surrounded and touched by flowers, they are more likely to perceive the considerable number of the objects of flowers. When the spectators feel that they are touched by perfume in an environment filled with perfume, they are likely to imagine that they are spraying perfume. As a result, by interacting with the visual and audible information (signifiers), the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS OBJECT is represented to complete the metaphorical organism of sensory crossing from tactile sensation to olfactory sensation. After the olfactory stimulation, the viewers may further identify the fragrance type (signified) of the advertised product according to the overwhelming images of flowers in the advertisement. Above all, the frequent semiotic element of pictorial images of the abundant flowers that cover the whole advertising screen helps to cue the recognition of the source domain in the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS OBJECT.

4.3.3 Advertising effects achieved by the metaphor

From what has been investigated, some fragrance commercials desire to impress potential consumers by displaying the product’s fragrance type with a direct representation of its ingredients. The essential difference distinguishing each perfume is its type of scent. Most perfume consumers buy products by judging the type of flavor they prefer. Therefore, for some perfume companies, promoting the type of fragrance is the primary purpose of their advertising. One of the most direct ways to advertise a scent type is to represent the product’s ingredients. By presenting raw materials, consumers can perceive the type of perfume by their knowledge of the ingredients. Thus, when the metaphor FRAGRANCE IS OBJECT is deployed in advertising, the purpose of the perfume advertiser is to promote the perfume type.