Beauty Seduction

I recently read an interesting article on the emotional appeal of advertisements in the Beauty industry. It explains that certain colours and combinations trigger an emotional experience when interacting with an advertisement. You can read the full article here.

Well, I've known this for some time, like how the colour red triggers hunger (think McDonald's and Arby's) but honestly hadn't thought of the way that this applied to the beauty industry. Colours such as green (think Garnier) imply natural ingredients and that the company is 'good for the earth'. I personally have never heard of Garnier ever doing something for the earth's preservation, have you? In the article, though, a participant stated that Garnier is "committed to using natural resources". Hmm...

Another participant, when speaking of Dove products, said that "Social mission means they strive to do something good". Uh, what? That social mission is the Campaign for Real Beauty, a marketing scheme that while it may do some good things is not inherently designed to "do something good," it is designed to maximize profits.

This study just reminds me (and hopefully you) of the need to be aware of the way that things are being marketed to us. We need to be conscious of not only what we're buying but why we're buying. So that brings me to my questions; what appeals to you about your favourite beauty brand, is it emotional or quality based? Do you maybe think it's about the quality, while it is truly an emotional opinion? It is both? Discuss in the comments below or contact me on twitter.