Why pick an extremely young girl as an ad face?
 

Hey all TFS members. We all have passion for Fashion, that is exact reason why we gather here. However, sometimes I am pretty confused by some casting decisions, esp in ad campaigns.

Who buy luxury goods? As I know most of customers are middle aged with a steady job position, and we also know that not every single girl (in reality) is Blair W. of GG. But Fashion labels seem to be so obsessed with picking up an extremely young face for its own seasonal campaigns. Can you imagine a 15-year-old head off to the Oscar/Hermes/YSL boutiques to buy her daily wear? Yes, some girls can afford it but they don't represent the major.

I do wanna question, does this young girl on the ad can truly represent the value of your label? Even they don't even have too much experience in life. To put all these high fashion stuffs on a teenage girl's body and ask her to pose as sexy, seductive and sophisticated as the way that stylist/photographer/designer want? I don't think that's an excellent choice.

When it comes to make-up, glasses/sunnies I don't really care how old the model is. They just have to have a face that wears that make-up/eyewear well. Facial creams, masks etc. Probably an older model again would be better. Since 15 year olds probably don't need anti-wrinkle creams, I would certainly hope not:lol:

I think when it comes to big pieces eg. clothing, handbags I definitely would want to see a mature looking woman that still fits the aesthetics of the brand. I don't mind them being a few years younger than the people who really buy them as it creates the illusion to some extent that you could look younger, but only to some extent.

But some brands are really targeted at younger people. But not entirely sure if the prices are always friendly to that market.

I guess what I'm trying to say is if it a brand that sells items that are way beyond what a person in their twenties working either part time or their very first professional job at the lowest rank, then having girls and not women in the campaign is a bit strange. But small luxury items it doesn't matter so much.

I guess it depends on the individual model and their versatility some models might be 15 but can photograph older whereas others might be 19 or 20 but stil look pre teen

First, it's the thrill of the new in general. Second, it's the next big thing. Third, it's the allure of the unknown. Fourth, young models are not as bored and generally people's faces are more plastic when they are younger. And, of course, young models haven't stopped growing so their limbs appear impossibly long in photographs, something that was accomplished through no other means than just growing - so no runny, red noses, not strange veins, no greyish skin, no profuse sweating, no puking, no dehydration, no bags under the eyes....just a fresh young thing.

I think the ad isnt necessarily targeted to middle-aged or wealthy customers because if they decide to choose sth from the brand, they will have their shoppers do it, or look up the lookbook or youtube for the show. The ad is just inadequate. Second I think the designers expect more than selling things, they want to convey their stories, express the concept, no ?

And models are about the look ^^. Aged customers dont care about the models' age and if some do, I think they have enough time to wander youtube and photos.

mmm I think it also may have to do with the ideal of feeling younger when you wear a product. I mean it may be also due to the fact that middle aged women want to feel younger, eg. they see the jewelry ad with a very young girl on it and think mmmh I might look like that if I wear. My mom certainly does it.

But of course, not every women are alike. Some might feel excluded too.

It's about selling the fantasy of the luxury and image of the brand, not properly portraying the customer.

Young girls are the beauty ideal nowadays, young, fresh and hardly much shape.. just like in the 50's the more mature curvy women were an ideal and at one point Twiggy was.
They don't portray the customer, they portray the way they want you to feel in their clothing. That perfect girl is wearing it, you can get a little bit of that look too! buy me!

I think it's been influenced from the catwalks & the media. With everyone getting obsessed with youth & thinness, these things are both meant to be personified by models as the 'peak' of what humans are aesthetically. As these are the models that high end brands are told they need to put on the runway (models have always been younger...) they want to use them in their campaigns as well, because they think this fits in more with the images related to high fashion in magazines & on the catwalk.

At the end of the day, the advertising is for people that won't just buy the product because they have done for years or because of the quality. It's for people who may otherwise buy cheaper or from another high end brand. & these are the people (rather than the middle aged rich women) who look at the advertising & they're also more likely to be affected by the images of younger models.

What with the creepy wonders of technology and photoshopping, I'm not sure that this would is an issue. All that can be taken care of in post-production. And even young people have imperfect skin, bags under the eyes, etc., which will all be done away with anyway.

Personally I have little interest in seeing a 15 year old sell clothes that are meant for someone twice as old, but the illusion of a certain age can be remedied through styling, makeup and lighting to make someone appear older. Which leads me to question why those involved would hire a teenager when she is simply going to be made up to look like someone older.

I'm not saying I completely support this idea 100%, but here is how I would put it:

A lot of high fashion labels are designed for older customers (by that I don't mean actually old, but in their middle years and older) so the clothing has to be designed to look a bit older so that they'll suit the customer and their image/purpose. Having a younger model on a poster shows youthfulness as well, so a buyer might feel that although the clothing suits their age, it can still allow them to not look old.

Secondly, the world of fashion and luxury goods is about "fantasy", as many have said in the past. Buyers can be drawn to the image of youth, which shows "freshness". I suppose it's similar to the concept of using skinnier-than-average models.

Photoshop doesn't work so well on the runway - yet - and since the 70s people seem to want to have the same models on the runway and in print.

I don't think models are made to appear much older, perhaps a bit more mature but that's it.

Even if you'd take a beautiful model of the customers-base age, do you think the customers will think 'oh I want to look just like that woman that's about my age?'.. People are way too self-conscious for that. Reality doesn't sell.
It would be like using a person with actual wrinkles for an anti-aging cream.

I think that's a great point on consistency. People often translate and remember what they see in print ads or on the runway and in keeping them the same the brand achieves delivering a consistent and memorable message about the style they're aiming to achieve. The fact that brands are conscious of that speaks a lot to the cohesiveness of their marketing and presentation (which seems like a no-brainer considering it's fashion).

Where it becomes too much is when the model (regardless of their actual age) appears too young for the product they are trying to promote. In using younger models you do face the possiblity of alienating your target market, making consumers feel awkward about the ads - which is really not a position you want them in when they're shopping. It's a fine line between having the model appear or actually be too child-like in the ads (I keep getting flashbacks of the Dakota Fanning Marc Jacobs series) to a point where it can verge on being inappropriate.

I wonder if we have not reached the point where a bit of reality will do wonders.

In terms of high fashion advertisements: Luxury is not just about those who can afford it. It's about striving for a certain lifestyle that most will never have. This is how materialism works.

The reality is, most of those that can afford luxury goods have been working for years and are at an executive level and probably middle aged. An ad with a couture clad 15 year old might convince a younger person think 'I could have that now, not 20 years from now'.

Also, younger people are more likely to experiment with fashion whereas an older model may look out of place in an avant-garde outfit.