In the bible it is said that God created man from the soil in his garden, whom he named Adam. Although Adam had everything, God realized he was lonely, being the only human. One night, God took a rib from Adam, creating Eve whom would be his companion for life, telling them to “be fruitful and multiply.” While being allowed to live freely in Gods perfect garden referred to as the “Garden of Eden,” they were told they could eat and go anywhere they pleased, except they were not allowed to eat from one particular tree, the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” As easy as it may have sounded, only having to avoid one tree turned out to be more difficult than expe
cted, and temptations set in. While going about the day, Eve was approached by a serpent, said to be the symbol of the devil, which came to her side, convincing her to eat from the tree of knowledge. Once she realized what she had done she went to Adam, persuading him to do the same. After God discovered what they had done, he banished them from the “Garden of Eden.”The story of Adam and Eve has largely influenced our world today and DKNY wants us to believe that they have the new “Adam and Eve,” by managing to work these ideals into modern advertising schemes. While being a well known story, it’s meaning and pictorial image has changed and altered to resemble that of a modern Adam and Eve. As in DKNY’s “Be Delicious” perfume, advertisements use symbolism and iconography to illustrate the temptations of mankind throughout the design.
Because religion is valued largely in society, manufactures capitalize on consumers by gearing advertisements towards important symbols and sacredness. By framing only two humans in an environmental setting within the advertisement, DKNY is representing and suggesting the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. While being the only human at first, Adam felt lonely and incomplete, until one morning when he awoke to Eve laying next to him, fulfilling the emptiness he had felt inside. In DKNY’s advertisement we see a man grinning happily resting his head against a woman, who he has strong affection for. Though pictures cannot speak, we see that his eyes are closed and we get the feeling that he is absorbing the aroma of the perfume the woman is wearing, never wanting to let her go. By connecting our visual perception of the advertisement to the desire of wanting the “Be Delicious” fragrance, DKNY is grasping the audience through appeal so they will want to obtain their product.
Because happiness and affection is associated with love and worship, we as consumers believe that the empty spot in our lives will be filled if we wear, “Be Delicious.” Since the story of Adam and Eve is widely known, DKNY is sending the message people who wear this fragrance will find a soul mate that will stand by our side. Although the man and woman in the image are not naked, contradicting what the bible says, we still distinguish through symbolism that these two are representing that incident and scene in the bible. When Adam and Eve were banished from the “Garden of Eden” they only had each other. By presenting them in the advertisement side by side as, Adam holds onto Eve, we connect the two individuals to how Eve was created. By utilizing the symbolism of the rib and how God took a rib from Adam to fabricate Eve, we associate by the two people standing side by side that woman and men are equal. Along with portraying Adam and Eve, other certain elements are presented in the ad, such as eating the “forbidden fruit,” suggesting the desires of mankind.
Through temptation we let our guard down, allowing ourselves to act outside our moral notions and follow our human nature of wanting what we cannot have. As the woman clutches the green plump apple holding it close to her mouth, we create a stronger connection to Eve and the temptation from the “tree of knowledge of good and evil.” DKNY is similar to the serpent, both cunningly and deceptively convincing us through the appeal of lust and desires to use the “Be Delicious” sent.
Along with the iconography of the apple, DKNY uses type in the image as play on words. While having an actual bite taken from the green apple in the woman’s hand, the words “Take a bite out of life” also appear on the advertisement right below the apple. By doing this DKNY once again is tempting us to fill in that empty spot in our lives with the perfume, taking control of our destiny. Because the woman in the advertisement is our main focal point, blissfully smiling and gazing toward us as the man leans up against her, we see that she is the temptress, displaying the ideal control every woman ultimately wants. Although both Adam and Eve indulged in the “forbidden fruit,” Eve was the one who sinned at first, later persuading Adam with her charm and companionship encouraging him to do so as well. By essentially revealing and depicting the woman as a temptress, we as consumers are envious of her, wanting to purchase the fragrance of the “forbidden fruit” so that we may obtain our own Adam.
Even though it was a sin when Eve took a bite out of the forbidden fruit, she took control of her destiny, opening both her eyes as well as the viewer’s eyes to the influences of, envy and desire. By applying the design of the apple to the perfume bottle we connect the symbolism of its form to the “tree of knowledge of good and evil,” thus convincing women that “Be Delicious” perfume allows them to be the “apple” in his eye. Although Adam and Eve were banished from the “Garden of Eden,” DKNY illustrates through the large bite in the apple, which the woman has taken, holding it close to her mouth symbolizes the “forbidden fruit.” Demonstrating humanities natural instinct to want what we cannot have. However by taking a bite out of the apple, Adam and Eve sinned, connecting us once again to the bible. In the bible it is said that because we are the children of Adam and Eve sin is passed hereditarily, meaning it is in our nature to desire and obtain what we are not meant to have. Due to the iconography relating to the bible and the symbolism of the apple, desire is represented throughout the design of the advertisement, establishing a want for the fragrance. By abandoning our good behavior and indulging in a sense of lost innocence, DKNY like the bible creates an awareness of good and evil, bringing us back to the theme of Adam and Eve.
While images and text send specific messages to the viewer, other elements contribute to the iconography and symbolism within the advertisement. By incorporating the color green in the juicy apple and the background between the man and woman, DKNY brings us back to nature and the “Garden of Eden.” Along with being banished from Eden, Adam and Eve were cursed with painful child birth, hard work, and death but they were not alone. By generating the apple as green its representation is tended for eternity, harmony, and posterity, as if the man and woman were living in a Utopia. While being human we search for completeness, a place of perfection, and our ideal way of life. Since DKNY is aware of this they tempt us to envy the woman wanting what she has, symbolizing through the color that we will find true love, being “Delicious” for the rest of our lives. Because of the visual imagery within the DKNY advertisements the temptation to wear their perfume captures our instinct to crave what others have and wanting what we cannot have unless we purchase their fragrance.
Through cunning strategies, DKNY combines elements of religious icons, index, and color accents, creating a complete package of temptation and desire through the use of iconography and symbolism. Because God told Adam and Eve to be “fruitful and multiply” we as consumers become memorized and tempted into wanting the apple, insuring we will have completeness in our lives and doing as religion tells us. Because the perfume bottle is in the form of an apple it better generates a connection of being fruitful. Along with the form of the bottle having a repetition of the apple on the advertisement, generates a connection to being “fruitful and multiply.” By doing this it is allowing us to recognize and distinguish DKNY’s advertisement as a resemblance to Adam and Eve and “the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Due to the use of these design strategies the “Be Delicious” advertisements capture the eye of every woman, tempting us to fill the emptiness in our life by consuming and wearing DKNY’s fragrance. Although we as consumers see advertisements as routine, these certain aspects within them gear us towards purchasing produces and “taking a bite out of life.”
