English 1002-103
Professor Rammer
8 February 2013
How to Achieve Dominance: Taylor Swift, Wonderstruck As I flip through magazines, my main attention floats toward the headlined stories in the issues, and the advertisements are usually passed by. Typically, I only look at ads that are interesting to me or for a product I use or am interested in, such as perfume. Looking at Taylor Swift’s Wonderstruck ad in The Fabulous Report and Wonderstruck Enchanted ad in The Hollywood Reporter side-by-side, I immediately notice stark differences. However, when looking at them individually I would not notice certain aspects of the ads such as, the color scheme, differences in the gowns Swift is wearing, and the different appeals presented. Although many desires are similar, such as the calls toward the needs to achieve, dominate and to seek attention, both present their own idealistic views as well. Analyzing these ads, one can conclude most women desire to look beautiful, draw attention to themselves, and dominate over other women in a discrete manner. Upon looking at the Wonderstruck ad (Figure 1), the ad appears to be simplistic and appeals to natural beauty. The Wonderstruck ad, in The Fabulous Report has a two-page layout in a nature scene, with Swift dressed in an elegant, white ball gown that matches beautifully alongside the perfume bottle. Her white gown demonstrates the purity of the perfume, implying it does not contain harmful products. The naturalistic background implies the perfume has a natural scent and is not too overbearing. Looking at Figure 1, chandeliers present in the middle of the woods suggest the appeal for the need for attention, but in a subtle way because nature is typically serene and calm. It is a place one runs to for escape. As Fowles (1982) asserts, “the desire to exhibit ourselves in such a way as to make others look at us is a primitive, insuppressible instinct” (para. 56). Many women aspire to exhibit themselves in a subtle way, which explains why the ad appeals to discrete attention seeking. Taylor Swift dominates and achieves, which is why the ad appeals to these needs. Deep down, most women desire to dominate and achieve their goals in a manner similar to Swift, which is why her beauty is exemplified in this ad. The creators of the ad imply that wearing Swift’s Wonderstruck perfume will make the person wearing it achieve and dominate as well. Looking at Figure 1, it is obvious the product is enlarged to draw the viewer’s attention. Enlarging the product is a great advertising tool because it allows the viewer to accurately view the product, so when they are shopping in the store, they will easily recognize it. In the eyes of Hirschberg (1999), and looking at the Rhetorical Triangle through this advertisement, one can see it appeals to the pathos of many women since most women desire to be beautiful like Taylor Swift and have fantasies of escaping from the rest of the world. All in all, Figure 1 appeals to achievement, dominance, attention, the desire to escape, and pathos, which can be determined by analyzing the light colors, ball gown, and the naturalistic scene. Contrasting the Wonderstruck ad (Figure 1) with the Wonderstruck Enchanted ad (Figure 2), Figure 2 appears to be more seductive and risqué. In Figure 2, a bold red color is used and Swift’s dress is very elegant. The red dress appeals to the need to dominant and attract attention because, according to Color-Wheel-Pro (2012), red is “a very emotionally intense color” (no para. #). Domination and attention go hand-in-hand because when one dominates over others, they are also grabbing others’ attention. Other factors adding to the seductive appearance of this ad include Swift’s seductive position on the red couch. In the image, Swift is running her hand through her hair, while staring slightly away from the camera. It appears as though she sees a cute man and wants to grab his attention.