This paper will try to discuss the influence of a film star on mainstream fashion. It will try to state the link that connects the media and the fashion world. It will also try to illustrate and analyze the relationship that exists between these two concepts. Before a proper discussion of the topic, a brief introduction and definition of the term cinema and fashion is important in truly understanding the relationship between the two.
Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. The origin of the name comes from the fact that photographic film has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist — motion pictures or just pictures, the silver screen, photoplays, the cinema, picture shows, flicks and most commonly movies. trends
The term fashion applies to a prevailing mode of expression. Inherent in the term is the idea that the mode will change more quickly than the culture as a whole. The terms "fashionable" and "unfashionable" are employed to describe whether someone or something fits in with the currently popular mode of expression. Fashion can suggest or signal status in a social group. Groups with high cultural status like to keep 'in fashion' to display their position. Because keeping 'in fashion' often requires considerable amounts of money, fashion can be used to show off wealth. Adherence to fashion trends can thus form an index of social affluence and an indicator of social mobility.
Bean Pole is a casual clothing brand of Cheil Industries, a Samsung affiliate that focuses in producing high-quality products along with a high-class image. To enhance brand awareness of Bean Pole abroad, the company has decided to designate Gwyneth Paltrow as their new model. Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow then appeared in a commercial that aims to establish Cheil Industries’ casual-wear brand Bean Pole on a global scale. She is also assigned as the new spokesmodel for the company’s line of clothing. In the endorsement, Paltrow is partnered with Korea-American actor Daniel Henney. Bean Pole executive Won Jong-woon said Paltrow’s elegant and intelligent image and Henney’s mysterious oriental aura were ideal for the brand’s classy image. The company added that it had its eye on the Paltrow amd Henney from the early stages of the casting process.
Paltrow said she was pleased with the opportunity to get to know Korea better. Cheil Industries said the star was hoping to reveal a new side of herself in the commercial, which will be shot in London. Because of the endorsement made by Gwyneth Paltrow the sales of Bean pole products and clothing apparel noticeably increased. The sales are estimated at KRW 205.6 billion increased by approx. 28% in 2005 compared with previous year. Woman's suit shows the increase in actual sales compared with the same period of previous year. In case casual wear product of the company, the profit on sales increased by approx. 27% compared with the same period of previous year.
Endorsements and advertisement using films and other mass media devices are called product placement Product placement is a promotional tactic used by marketers in which characters in a fictional play, feature film, television series, music video, video-game or book use a real commercial product (Cronin 102). Basically either the product or logo is shown and the favorable qualities of the product are mentioned. The product price is not mentioned nor is any negative features or comparisons to similar products. Very generally, product placement involves placing a product in highly visible situations. The most common form is movie and television placements.
In movies, an early example of product placement is the 1949 film Love Happy, in which Harpo Marx cavorts on a rooftop among various billboards and at one point escapes from the villains on the old Mobil logo. A later but better-known instance of product placement can be seen in the 1982 film E.T. Product placement companies work to ensure that their clients’ products receive maximum screen time and exposure. Other examples of product placement is the Nokia phone that Agent Sydney Bristow uses on Alias, the Lacoste polo shirt that Alex Hitchens wears in the feature film Hitch or the Rimowa pilot case Gil Grissom carries as he arrives at crime scenes on CSI.
The most basic form of product placement is the inclusion of a product name or logo in the foreground or background of a scene. Payments are based on exposure, including the number of times the product is shown or mentioned, the duration of that exposure, and the degree of inclusion of the product in the story line.
Other times, product usage is negotiated rather than paid for. Some placements provide productions with below-the-line savings, with products such as props, clothes and cars being loaned for the production’s use, thereby saving them purchase or rental fees. Barter systems and service deals like cell phones and computers are also common practices. Producers may also seek out companies for product placements as another savings or revenue stream for the movie, with, for example, products used in exchange for help funding advertisements tied-in with a film's release, a show's new season or other event .
Famous actresses and actors are chosen to endorse and advertise clothing products because fashion companies are riding on the popularity and fame of the actress or actor who is making the endorsement of a product by an actress like Gwyneth Paltrow. First, the viewers and the society as a whole freely and continually view the product or the style of fashion advocated by the company (Hines 99). The actress or actor who endorses the product serves as a “walking billboard” for a specific line of clothing. The actress can wear a specific style of fashion while he/she is attending an awards night, television shows or press gatherings thereby implicitly advertising the line of clothing to the public without using the mass media.
This action is also beneficial to the fashion industry since it will increase the sales and profits of the company due to the on spot advertisement being made by an endorser. Endorsement made by an actress can also facilitate easier product recall where products are specifically attached to a particular movie personality. This is effective form of advertisement since consumers can have no difficulty in making choices and decisions about clothes to buy. Consumers will only be seeing an image of a celebrity but instantly remembering the brand and style of fashion that this individual advocates.
Another advantage of using actresses and famous stars for product endorsement is that it pushes innovation and novelties into the minds of the public. If a new design or a product is not exposed to the eyes of the public, this design or product will never be financially successful. It would remain as a novelty and unique idea but has no use for the buying consumers. To familiarize and to bring into light a new and innovative product massive public limelight must be shed on the product to make it known to the public. Effective publicity must be used to be able to drive to the public the importance, usefulness and the effectivity of a line of clothing.
A new line of clothing or a fashion style must have a specific appeal and impact that will be instantly recognizable to the public. A new product must also be highlighted and talked about by the public to make it well-known to the consumers. A new product would also be common if it is associated with something ort someone that is easily remembered by the society. Due to this factors, a celebrity and actress/actor is the most likely choice for endorsing a product that is new to the in the market. Advertisers are banking on the popularity, fame and status of a celebrity in making the product they advertise a staple product that will be bought by the market.
Companies and fashion designers are also using actresses specifically movie actresses because of the popularity and faster dissemination of the product thru theaters, movie premieres and cinema press conference. During these important occasions, the new fashion is practically seen by the public. Endorsers are also hoping on the effectivity of the halo effect which states that a person’s of another is influenced by their appearance. In marketing and advertisement, a halo effect is one where the perceived features of a particular item extend to a broader brand.
In this perspective, the perceived features and characteristics of an endorser is expanded to include the products and the fashion that he/she promotes. Promoters and companies are also using celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow to endorse a particular line of clothing since celebrities have a large fan base that can be translated to a huge and potential market if the image and popularity of an actress is properly maximized. A large consumer base can be properly exploited if an actress has a huge fan base composed of individuals who are part of the target market. Actresses therefore serve as endorsers and as market magnets for the products and styles of clothing.
Because cinemas affect directly the content and tone of our consciousness, they exert a powerful influence on individuals and consumers. Cinemas induce psychological energies and impulses which are magnified and reinforced by the hundreds, or even millions, of people who share them. If the content of cinemas and films are mainly positive and uplifting, the largest segment of the market goes toward satisfying the demand of the lower human appetites which includes styles of fashion which will be imitated. Advertising thru cinemas and celebrities tends to manipulative and where people are bombarded with appeals to there appetites and desires.
The mental effect of a well-adapted advertisement using the cinema is diverse. It appeals to the memory. Whatever a consumer read at a newspaper or watches on a trailer or film in a theater is firmly embedded in the memory to be remembered at another time. It will therefore be more valuable if an advertisement is vivid and has an impact on the viewers.
Although there are inherent advantages of using actresses and celebrities as endorsers and image models, there are also pitfalls and drawbacks that must be properly seen and remedied. Among the negative effect of endorsements of new fashion styles is that there is no proper proof evidence that will correlate the fashion endorsed by an actress with the body type of the consumer that will wear the finished product. Since it is an advertisement where the primary goal is the highlighting of products for the buying public, the ragged edges and the disadvantages that can be derived from that specific line of clothing is glossed over or is not mentioned.
Another negative effect of this relationship between the fashion industry and the cinemas and celebrity endorser is that it creates a bandwagon effect that has negative effects on the consumer. A bandwagon effect happens when people often do or believe things and ideas because other people do the same . In this example people buy things and other products just because they are being endorsed by celebrities. For example, an actress is endorsing a particular line of clothing, viewers will want to buy and wear the same line of clothing since this is endorsed by an actress. This mentality would in turn make people totally believe what they are seeing on the TV or cinemas even if it is only gimmickry and promotional stunts aimed at capturing a target market.
Another effect of this practice it that it promotes blind consumerism in the society since they are just using and taking advantage of the status of an individual to sell their products without totally presenting the product with its bad and good points. This practice promotes and cultivates unintelligent consumerism where people are blindly buying products and wearing clothes that are just endorsed by famous individuals without looking and thinking if these products and clothes are useful and necessary.
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