Question:
If you saw the following photo in a retailer’s catalog or on their site without context, what would you imagine they were selling you?
Tartan plaid, maybe? Shirtless, kilt-and-boot-wearing long-haired men? Going barefoot in a dress with a portrait neckline?
I really wasn’t sure to think. After I looked at it for a few minutes, I decided that sometimes images used to sell fragrance are weird like this sometimes. Let’s set up a weird photoshoot with a couple mdels, dress them weird/fancy/whatever, instruct the models to put on a smoldering gaze and toss their hair around carelessly. Somehow, that is supposed to translate into, “This is the imagery this scent inspires!” Tartan Mystique, let’s call it.
Maybe it’s just trying to say, “This scent is so awesome that this is what you’ll feel like while wearing it. Off with you! Get your dress, your tartan, your random rocks and a watercolor backdrop!”
Weird.
As it turns out, however, this is not trying to sell you fragrance.
I came across this photo on Macy’s Website for a listing selling MAC Nail Lacquer from the A Novel Romance collection.
Not fragrance. Not a new, dashing tartan. Nail polish. From MAC.
You can’t even see the dang model’s nails! You literally cannot see her fingertips. Or her toes. Or any of his, for that matter! Hell of a way to sell such a product, right?
MAC marketing is weird, sometimes. Is it weirder that they do things like that, or weirder that I think that this is more strange than launching a Rocky Horror collection? In reality, I realize this is probably just one of the overall campaign photos, but it struck me and the absurdity made me chuckle.
I’m actually really surprised that brands with nail polish lines don’t offer up more on-model nail swatches (instead of the computer-generated approximations we’re used to seeing).
If you’re interested in polish from this collection, Midnight Strata (a dark pearly violet, not pictured) is still available at Macy’s for $12. It seems the rest of the collection is all but wiped out on their site, though. From what I’ve seen of the collection, Midnight Blue is the prettiest…but it reminds me of the 33%-ish cheaper Essie Aruba Blue.