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Thesis Polo Ralph Lauren Advertising Retrospective

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Thesis Polo Ralph Lauren Advertising Retrospective THESIS POLO RALPH LAUREN ADVERTISING RETROSPECTIVE: USING INTERIOR DESIGN TO HELP DEFINE THE CORPORATE BRAND Heather Davis Interior Design In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Art Corcoran College of Art and Design Washington DC Spring 2009 Corcoran College of Art and Design 10, December 2008 WE HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER OUR SUPERVISION BY HEATHER DAVIS ENTITLED POLO RALPH LAUREN ADVERTISING RETROSPECTIVE: USING INTERIOR DESIGN TO HELP DEFINE THE CORPORATE BRAND BE ACCEPTED AS FULFILLING, IN PART, REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ART IN INTERIOR DESIGN. Graduate Thesis Committee: (Signature of Student) (Print Name of Student) (Signature of Advisor) (Print Name of Advisor) (Signature of Advisor) (Print Name of Advisor) (Signature of Department Chair) (Print Name of Department Chair) Thesis Statement This thesis deconstructs POLO Ralph Lauren advertisements under the lenses of American lifestyle & values and feminist theory highlighting how interior design helps define the POLO Ralph Lauren brand, synonymous with the American Dream. Abstract Davis, Heather, POLO Ralph Lauren Interior Design Advertising Retrospective: Using Interior Design to Help Define the Corporate Brand. Masters of Art (Interior Design), May 2009 Image creates the ultimate brand. Advertising exposure enables designers like Ralph Lauren to merge fashion design and interior design to create the POLO Ralph Lauren brand through complex print advertisements. Ralph Lauren is set apart from his peers because he has created a strategic alliance between his brand and the American Dream. Although the concept of the American Dream is subjective, POLO Ralph Lauren’s sophisticated advertisements communicate a sense of Americana imagery by melding fashion and interiors with elements of American history, culture and values. This work posits that Ralph Lauren has no equal when it comes to portraying America in interior design advertisements as explored in this Advertising Retrospective featuring POLO Ralph Lauren advertisements from www.polo.com from Fall 2002 to Spring 2009 and Ralph Lauren. This work suggests that interior design is integral to furthering the Polo Ralph Lauren message and brand, now synonymous with the American Dream. The first segment explores American lifestyle & values advertisements showing how POLO Ralph Lauren ads use interior design to impart the American Dream. The first topic, Branding Americana, illustrates how POLO Ralph Lauren design inspiration is deeply rooted in American history. From faded denim to Navajo prints, POLO Ralph Lauren clothing and interiors incorporate uniquely American historic attributes into the company’s collections in the form of materials & finishes, color palettes, Navajo symbols and the American West. The iii second concept, American Lifestyle, showcases POLO Ralph Lauren advertisements that rely on interior design to brand the Polo lifestyle. These ads communicate to consumers that the American lifestyle can be purchased as a complete packaged commodity in the form of entertainment & leisure through Americana design motifs. The third area of exploration, American Values, highlights uniquely American decorative accessories in POLO Ralph Lauren interiors, which make bold statements about the American spirit. This segment surveys American values in the form of art and politics plus the symbolism behind them. Lastly, The American Home focuses on the POLO Ralph Lauren website which provides consumer advice for creating an American home using POLO Ralph Lauren interior design advice. Home Collection ads give consumers a multidimensional sensory experience showing them how to bring the American Dream into their own homes. The second section deconstructs Polo Ralph Lauren advertisements under the framework of feminist theory, highlighting ads that strategically position women and interior design together to advance the brand. The first segment explores female models as decorative beings established as the most decorated object within each space. In these ads, it is difficult to discern between models and their surroundings; specifically when their clothing melds into the adjacent interior. While this seems like an innovative presentation design idea, this technique has historic roots in the templates of fashion journals. Another concept, Leisure and The Good Life, presents POLO Ralph Lauren advertisements arranging women in leisurely positions, reclining in front of highly stylized interior and exterior backdrops. This section analyzes notable women in art history that have been painted in varying degrees of this repose. The third area of exploration emphasizes POLO Ralph Lauren ads invoking “The Gaze” and integrating feminist theory. These ads are iv complex because they underscore eye contact, the notion of subject and object and female portraiture. Lastly, the segment on Sensuality & Desire presents POLO Ralph Lauren ads that make dress and space sensual. They are inspired by Hollywood heroines, costumes & sets while touching on women as sources of glamour and character transformation in highly designed interiors. The deconstruction and analysis of these complex ads reveal that POLO Ralph Lauren markets a contemporary language of American interior design while shaping America’s consumer and design identities. The interiors are special because they emphasize the framework for selling the American Dream back to Americans. By carefully positioning interior design as the backdrop and partnership with POLO Ralph Lauren clothing, this pairing allows the company to further the Polo Ralph Lauren branded lifestyle. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PRELIMINARY PAGES Flyleaf Frontispiece Title Page i Signature Page ii Abstract iii Table of Contents vi CHAPTERS 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. CORPORATE INFORMATION AND THESIS METHODOLOGY 8 Corporate History Polo Ralph Lauren Advertising Research Organization 3. ADVERTISEMENTS ON LIFESTYLE VALUES 17 Branding Americana Consumer Choice User Experience Values Conclusion 4. ADVERTISEMENTS AND FEMINISTY THEORY 34 The Good Life and Socioeconomics Sensuality and Desire Women as Decorative Objects Voyeurism Gender Roles and the Gaze Conclusion 5. CONCLUSIONS 52 Limitations Future Directions Conclusion Visual References 56 Bibliography 57 End Notes 59 Appendix A: Advertisements Appendix B: Survey Questions and Results vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION What is the American dream? Interpretations are rooted in personal life experiences, the narrative of American history, stories passed along by parents & grandparents and other facets. The notion of the American dream is highly subjective and to better understand its evolution, this thesis conducts a study assessing whether the concept of the American dream evokes any common themes. Questions in the American Dream Survey were distributed electronically using surveymonkey.com to a random sample of academics between the ages of 25-45 year old men and women. Overwhelmingly, despite a range of age, cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds, study participants voiced a similar narrative, that the American dream is a journey from one place to another via hard work to better one’s position. (See Appendix B, Question 1). Despite their diversity, participants believed that the American dream was a journey about improving one’s position, status, image, and material possession achieved via hard work and strife for the sake of bettering their own lives. This idea echoes the historical “manifest destiny” narrative of the American west. Manifest destiny, first used by John O’Sullivan in 1845, urged the United States to annex the Republic of Texas. This was not only because Texas desired this, but because O’Sullivan saw it as America’s manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of America’s multiplying millions. The general idea was that a better way of life and material wealth resided over the horizon beneath the 1 western sunset for those willing to risk hardship and strife to get there. American history is complex however and such a wholesome image of America, reinforced by historical narratives, personal experiences, stories passed down to us by our parents and grandparents and even reinforced by the American Dream Survey require deconstruction to understand how it has evolved into what it is today. The American dream is a powerful and positive image that most Americans want to identify with and hope to obtain. This research looks critically at the advertisements of Polo Ralph Lauren to decode the American dream they portray by looking at the values conveyed beneath the surface. This thesis deconstructs selected Polo Ralph Lauren fashion and interior design advertisements asserting that the American dream has two completely different sets of images and values, both positive and negative associated with it. To prove this idea, chapter three of this research explores ideas about American history, Americana symbols, consumer behavior and contemporary values not usually associated with Polo Ralph Lauren ads. This chapter dissects Lauren’s commodification of these objects and ideas by exploring how he integrates them into the American dream Chapter four explores Polo Ralph Lauren’s advertisements under the lens of feminist theory by addressing issues of socioeconomics, the historic role of women as decorative objects, The Gaze, and empowerment through gender- ideas that are also present in the company’s ads. Lauren integrates these concepts into his ads which affect us as consumers
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