new q
TRANSCRIPT
Human Subjectivity and the Appeal
of Fashion
Advertisements
Imon Edmonson & Emily SlackSyracuse University
Research Question One: What do people
find most appealing about fashion
advertisements ?
Research Question Two: What do people find
least appealing about fashion advertisements ?
Background
• Fashion ads became common in magazines and periodicals in the 1920s.
• Fashion became a way to create an identity and escape social circumstances.
Background
• Fashion advertising fulfills two needs for women:
– Identity
– Play
• Many fashion ads fit the definition of “image advertising” where the product is placed secondary to that of the message or setting.
Methods !
Q-Methodology
• Measures subjectivity of a persons viewpoint
• This methodology takes a series of
statements(variables) and ranks them in what
called a Q- sort.
• It’s all about RANKING!
• PQ Method
Concourse (Sample)
• The concourse was comprised of random images taken
from the web.
• “Most unappealing” to “Most appealing”
• Requirements:
• Ads must be no older than five years
• High Fashion
• Notable Brand
• Decent resolution for viewing
• No repetition of models or brands
Participants
• All graduate students in communications
programs
– Convenience Sample
– 22 participants, 10 males and 12 females, age
22 to 40
• Participants required to sort 40 fashion
ads based on “most unappealing” to “most
appealing”
Methods !Results !
(-2, -3, 0) 21. Dolce and Gabbana
(-3, -5, -5) 24. Cadeaux
(-4, -2, -4) 31. Miu Miu
Negative Consensus Items
(2, 5, 3) 14. Louis Vuitton
(4, 2, 4) 18. Bulgari
(3, 4, 1) 33. Dior
Positive Consensus
(5) 28. Calvin Klein
(5) 38. Ralph Lauren
(4) 16. Guess
(4) 18. Bulgari
(4) 23. Missoni
7 male, 2 female
FACTOR A: Beauty
(5) 4. Marc Jacobs
(5) 14. Louis Vuitton
(4) 19. Burberry
(4) 20. Fendi
(4) 33. Dior
3 male, 4 female
Factor B: Photography
(5) 6. Diane von Furstenburg
(5) 10. Marc Jacobs
(4) 8. Marc Jacobs
(4) 18. Burberry
(4) 32. Alexander McQueen
3 male, 4 female
Factor C: Avant-Garde
Conclusions !
An Observation…
Participants valued beauty and conventionality above all else in the advertisements.
Limitations
• Participants
– Half of the participants male
– Photo students may have lead their Q-sample to be judged technically and on principles unique to their craft
• Concourse
– Should have been more structured and selected on theory
Human Subjectivity and the Appeal
of Fashion
AdvertisementsImon Edmonson & Emily Slack
Syracuse University [email protected]@syr.edu