Impulse
Chance Encounter (1998)


Business Category: Fragrances
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
Client: Elida Fabergé
Release: May 18th 1998
Region: Europe, Latin/South America
Target: Mainstream; young women 18-22
Creative Team: Christian Cotterill/Justin Hooper
Agency Producer: Victoria Baldacchino
Production Co: Stark Films
Director: Jeff Stark
Producer: Cressida Luxton
Cast: Nick Stabile, Quentin Crisp
Music: 'The Female of the Species' - Space

Thanks to Ogilvy & Mather for providing a video copy of this ad.

The commercial can be downloaded from here (access is solely for students on this module).

Here is a shot-by-shot breakdown of the ad...

Shot number Screen image Audio/text Summary
1
Music starts:
'The Female of the Species' by Space 		A young woman is walking briskly (right to left) along a street clutching a very full bag of shopping against her body with her left arm
2   Two well-built young men in tight white t-shirts and jeans are seen walking together along the street from left to right
3   We see the feet of the young men approaching the feet of the young woman
4

  The young men accidentally bump into her
5   Her bag of groceries goes flying
6   She looks horrified
7

   
8
Lyrics:
'A thousand thundering...' 		One of the men bends down to help her to pick up the groceries
9
'thrills await me...' The man blinks as if slightly surprised by something, he smiles and then looks towards her
10
'Facing insurmountable...' The girl's facial expression changes from being upset to registering evident interest in the man (her eyes widen and she gazes fixedly at him)
11 'odds greatly...' His eyes suggest that he seems to be attracted to her
12 'The female...' Her eyes survey him
13 'of...'  
14 'the species is...'  
15 'more deadlier...'  
16 'than the male...' They exchange 'meaningful looks' as they pick up the groceries.
17
A siren can be heard in the background. A shiny read apple lies on the ground. Reaching for it, their hands touch. His right hand closes gently cups her left hand.
18 'For she wants...'  
19 'to conquer...'
[siren can still be heard] 		She smiles at him sweetly
20
'the world completely...'
[siren continues] 		They lift the apple together.
21 'But first she'll con-' She makes her interest very evident as she licks and gently bites her lower lip.
22 '-quer me...'  
23 Lyrics: 'discreetly...' He picks something up.
24 Text on packet: 'Passion: Ultra Lite'

It's a condom packet. She snatches it from him.
25 'The female of...' She smiles and looks a bit embarrassed
26 'the...'  
27
'species...' The other young man taps him firmly twice on the left shoulder. He looks up as his friend inclines his head to beckon him to go with him.
28
'is more...' He reluctantly rises to go.
29 'deadly than...' She looks surprised, disappointed and frustrated.
30
'the male...' The young man looks down at her, shrugs and turns to go with his friend.
31



  We see his retreating back as, facing camera, she rises from picking up the last of the groceries, looking dazed and puzzled. She glances back over her shoulder at the two man walking away. She looks at the street around her.
32 'Shock shock...' She sees two men talking intimately and smiling near a wall.
33
'horror...' She looks from side to side.
34 'horror...' She sees an extravagantly dressed man with grey hair, a straw hat and make-up, with his hand touching his chin (we may recognise him as the gay intellectual, Quentin Crisp).
35
'Shock shock...' She blinks as she looks around some more.
36 'horror!...' She sees a muscular man whispering in the ear of another.
37   She looks disoriented.
38 'I'll shout...' She sees a poodle in a studded collar and leather jacket.
39 'myself...'  
40 'hoarse for your...' She smiles.
41
'supernatural force!...' Still walking away, the young man who had helped her turns round, shrugs and smiles at her. Then he turns away and walks off with his friend's right arm over his shoulder.
42
'The female of the species...' She smiles broadly and bumps her forehead in a gesture indicating that she's been foolish not to have noticed the signs.
43

Lyrics: 'is more deadlier than the male...'

Text: 'Men can't help acting on Impulse' (the two halves of the sentence emerge from the screen edges and collide in the centre of the screen)

We see the advertised product - Impulse (a body spray) in the centre of the screen with an animated caption above it.

The slogan for the Fabergé body spray 'Impulse' is that 'men can't help acting on impulse'. Its usual realisation is within the framework of heterosexual romance. May 18th 1998 was the first time that a 'gay ad' was broadcast on British television. Impulse was targetted at 'impulse buyers' - primarily young women of 18-22.

This commercial is open to various readings. The implication is that Impulse is so effective that it makes women irresistible to all men - even gay men. One viewer commented that the scenario involves 'the impicit stereotype that "all it takes is the right woman to cure homosexuality"' (Stuart Carroll, in Commercial Closet nd). The same viewer regards the lyrics of 'Shock, shock, horror, horror!' as reflecting 'how the viewer is supposed to feel about the people being shown'. Steven F Baljkas disagrees with this interpretation, however (ibid.), commenting: 'The line that Stuart identifies is internal to the song -- i.e. to the shock and horror of a misspent relationship (or attempt at one). The girl's reaction at the end is more understandable as a kinda "oh, now I get it"; she is clearly not reacting in horror.' Mark Robinson comments: 'Was the ad really showing a positive image of gay men? Or were we merely being invited to sympathise with a straight woman who had wandered into a gay ghetto' (Robinson 2000, 110). Paul Philips in Gay Times wrote that 'One doesn't have to ponder for too long to work out where the audience's sympathies are meant to lie' (Phillips 1999, 40). Is the guy bisexual? Some viewers assume so. 'Viewers are left with the impression people are recruited into being gay as the bi man is led away from the "Dorothy" like girl by his partner' (KZ, in Commercial Closet nd). The one who leads him away was 'rude about the accident, not helping, and wanting to rush off' (ibid.). Clearly, one would not expect the same reading from a gay man as from a young heterosexual woman.

I don't have documents from the agency responsible for the campaign (Ogilvy and Mather). However, here's the (1983) media strategy document from the advertising agency Lintas which held a previous account for the brand (Douglas 1984: 200). Earlier Impulse television commercials had shown handsome young men chasing attractive young women with bunches of flowers. The slogan had been the same - 'Men can't help acting on Impulse'. A 1997 ad had featured the Britpop girl-band The Spice Girls.

Target Market Primary: 13- to 24-year-old women.
Secondary: 25- to 44-year-old C2D women.
Budget
£892,000
Seasonality
Minor sales increase during summer months.
Media Strategy
1. Television
    Mandatory to use television:
  • a) 'Live' medium with vision, sound, movement - creatively, best able to portray Impulse scenario;
  • b) TV has built brand to current success;
  • c) Virtually all major brands use TV;
  • d) Important for brand leader to emphasize own importance, to both trade and consumer, by continuing use of TV;
  • e) Likelihood of increased competitive activity on TV;
  • f) Gradual broadening of age range of users requires medium giving broad coverage of 25- to 44-year-olds as well as 13- to 24-year-olds.

However, ITV viewing by 13- to 24-year-olds is relatively low - for every 100 'all women' TVRs [television ratings] there are only about 70 '15- to 24-year-old women' TVRs. There is therefore a need to use other media to upweight the prime target market.

2. Cinema

  • a) Cinema's main strength is among 15- to 24-year-olds - against women of this age, its coverage compares favourably with television's in many months of the year;
  • b) Like television, cinema is a 'live' medium and can thus convey the Impulse scenario effectively - unlike television, it offers 100 per cent colour reception;
  • c) Cinema has considerably greater impact than TV - research has shown that awareness figures in day-after recall tests can be nearly 70 per cent higher for a commercial shown in cinemas than for the same commercial shown on television.
Though there is a strong need to continue with 'live' media - TV and cinema - both are expensive against young women. There is also, therefore, a need for the use of a relatively 'cheap' medium, even though limited in its message, to provide additional frequency economically.

3. Teenage Press

  • a) Teenage magazines reach 15- to 24-year-old women at only 15 per cent of the cost of cinema, thus providing very cheap exposure with reasonably high coverage levels;
  • b) They fulfil an educative and personal role in young girls' lives during the 'growing-up' years;
  • c) They provide 100 per cent colour.

Summary
1. Use of television during cheaper months and prior to start of spring/summer sales period provides coverage of total market.
2. Use of cinema during more expensive TV period provides upweight coverage of prime target market.
3. Use of teenage press during expensive TV period provides cheap frequency and cover against prime target market.

Briefs for Parfums Fabergé can be found here.

The 'Chance Encounter' commercial was commissioned after extensive research among young women by manufacturers, Elida Fabergé, found that the product’s previous ‘stalker’ ads were seen as clichéd and outdated. The UK brand manager, Leslie Lucas, commented that 'Relationships are still very important, but the flirtation and thrill of anticipation have replaced the clichés which have long been associated with romance.' She added that 'young women have a realistic view on life and understand that not all chance encounters will lead to a life-long romance. We chose the theme of this ad as it shows the importance of accepting individuality while perfectly capturing the pure thrill of anticipation' (QAF Fansite, 1998, citing Gay Times). In another interview, Lucas declared that the commercial appealed to all kinds of young people: 'English homosexual lifestyle is absolutely accepted in the '90s. Young people don't define people by their sexual preferences. We've seen in lots of mainstream programs and media a homosexual lifestyle portrayed, so it's not an issue for young people -- it's something that they accept readily' (Ferguson 1998). The account director at Ogilvy and Mather, Nicky Mayers, noted that 'It was a taboo in advertising, but it wasn't a taboo for our target audience of teenage girls. For them, being gay is part of everyday life, and the ad addressed something they all talk about, which is why all the best-looking guys are gay' (cited in Wright 2000, 7). The agency commented on their Impulse account: 'In order to appeal to its target market Impulse advertising needs to be down-to-earth, quirky and highly contemporary. Advertising to date has increased claimed usage amongst 11-16 year olds from 16% to 24%' (Ogilvy 2000).

As well as in the UK, the commercial was scheduled to be shown in selected countries across Europe, Latin America, the Pacific and southern Africa (Ferguson 1998). The ad was no. 10 amongst those selected as 'The 100 Greatest TV Ads' by readers of The Sunday Times and Channel 4 viewers in the UK in the year 2000 (Robinson 2000, Kines et al. 2000). It also won a 'Euro Effie' Award in 1998.

For a guide to terms used to describe shot sizes and angles and other aspects of camerawork and editing, see The 'Grammar' of Television and Film.

References


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