COACH is Like a Fairytale

 

These three ads are all promoting one name: COACH. This is a brand of luxury. Coach sells high fashion bags/wallets, shoes, scarves, the occasional coat, jewelry, shoes, key chains, perfume and a variety of other accessory items. Their ads are typical to the ones above. They have a white clean background with models and products in vivid, bright colors. Their logo has a vintage look and is placed in various places in advertising, but is always clearly visible on their products. 

These three ads in particular bring the audience to a different world. They are metaphorical in the sense that the Coach wants you to believe that it is their products that will give you this fairytale world. Clearly stated Coach is like a fairytale. Coach is like a dream come true. From looking at these advertisements from a metaphorical criticism method I want to ask: Do Coach's fairytale metaphors seek to target the inner child-like desires of their targeted market of women business professionals?

 Looking at the ad on the top right, it resembles the witch from the Wizard of Oz. The witch is a negative character in the story, Coach is presenting us with the idea that the witch was not negative, but serious and bold. The seriousness comes from the black shoes and the bold pattern of the socks. Besides the color and pattern in the image, they are using a story metaphor and making a fairytale livable by buying those shoes and socks. The buisness professional who is typically seen as harsh might wear those shoes, but underneath her black slacks are these funky socks that show what she really desires to be like. Or it could be marketed to the complete opposite; A woman who is timid and meek but secretly desires to take control and be the boss one day. By purchasing what is in this ad both of those stories can serve as an outlet for those desires.

The ad in the bottom middle also supports their consistent theme of fairytale. This fantasy takes place in a historical setting of being the wealthy class and living in a life of bliss where fashion and flowers are all that matters. The smile on her face and poise of walking towards the camera bouncily gives the audience the sense that although it is only an ad, with the purchase of those products, the fairytale she is living in can come true. I can not help but think of the target market for this ad being the women who comes off as a feminist who firmly believes that she is called to work full time while her kids are in day care. This ad could target that women's inward desires and by purchasing that coat and scarf she can pretend that she lives in a world where nothing matters but her fashion and those flowers and she can laugh and smile all day long with out a worry in the world.

The ad on the top left gives a combination of the right and middle ads. It is a serious, yet playful fairytale. This model lives in a world with fancy designer dresses and where objects that are small in real life are huge. The perfume bottle is so big that they are suggesting your scent is largely what defines you and if you purchase their perfume you will then be define similarly as a serious yet playful person. This ad more than putting you in a secret place of desire, gives a firm statement of reality compared to the other ads. It brings contrast in saying  you don't have to fantasize about being blissful or serious, you can be who ever you want to be, but allow your scent to define you. 

The consistency amongst Coach's ads is useful when critiquing because I am able to use multiple ads to research my question: Do Coach's fairytale metaphors seek to target the inner child-like desires of their targeted market of women business professionals? Based on the findings in my analysis, I believe their advertisements are actually seeking to satisfy those inner child-like desires in a class of women who are under a unique pressure in this world and in need of a fairytale world as an outlet.