Critical Analysis of "jimmy Choo Shoes" Ad

In today's society, we are bombarded with images telling us how to dress, think, act, and behave. As Ed Norton in the movie Fight Club says while looking at a Calvin Klein underwear ad, "is that how real men are supposed to look?" I decided to search for an ad that can be seen as controversial or even disturbing at that, and I was lucky enough to come across a Jimmy Choo ad in W magazine.

The message is clear--buy these shoes. Whether or not that message is being conveyed in the most appropriate or effective ways is less to be desired for. The shoes are not even in the center of the picture, and in my opinion, the shoes are not the main focal point in the ad. Instead, the focus is on a woman leaning backwards on some sort of board with a very skimpy bikini bottom and loose top. She is holding a purse and has on several large bracelets, and is spraying a hose of some sort. But even all of these images are not the most disturbing. The woman's facial expression is startling. She is looking upwards and more importantly, she looks as if she's watching something terrible happen and is either scared or in danger.

Perhaps the message is trying to say, "look sexy like this woman and buy our shoes." What does sexy really mean? Who's to say that a woman maybe one hundred pounds heavier in a simple evening dress cannot wear those shoes and still be as sexy? What makes this vulnerable woman so appealing and desirable in this advertisement?

What really is this ad trying to sell? Shoes are a dime a dozen. I went to the mall the other day and went into 8 different shoe stores alone. Obviously there is something special about Jimmy Choo shoes. Is this company really tying to sell you the shoes, or trying to sell you the name? I recall watching an interview with Paris Hilton, and she said that she loved Jimmy Choo shoes and that she has "x" (some large number) pairs of them. Since we are such a media-based culture, if we hear Paris Hilton wears Jimmy Choo shoes, then they must be great! With such a high price, how can the middle class person even afford a pair? With all of these things taken into consideration, it's clear that there is an elite group of people this ad is designed for.

As stated before, the woman in this picture is the main focal point. Some, maybe many, people in our country may find this woman very attractive by today's standards. If you have an attractive person selling a product, the odds are that the consumer will find the product also appealing, and perhaps buy it. Sex sells nowadays, and that's what this ad is doing. A tanned blonde-hair, blue-eyed woman is lying down almost half-naked with "sexy" shoes on, and we're hooked.

I'm sure there are many different ways to look at this ad and try