Clinique: Whiten Your Teeth with Lipstick

I came across this magazine ad for Clinique lipstick recently and just had to post it.

The text reads:

Clinique can’t whiten your teeth.

But we can brighten your smile.  Instantly.

Fact: on application, Clinique’s specially designed lipstick colours create a contrast that brightens your smile.  Using a dental colour guide we confirmed it: each smile was at least one shade brighter.

So here you have it: the wow of whiter teeth in pearls and buttery shades in nudes, goldens, pinks, berries.  12 shades in all.

Still not convinced?  See the before and after at clinique.com.  Or see it for yourself.  Stop by any Clinique Counter for a complementary try-on of any and all shades in Clinique’s Brighter Smile Collection.

Clinique

Allergy tested.  100% fragrance free.

I find this claim very strange.  I have no problem believing that a lipstick and make a smile seem brighter, but I can’t see how it could make any real changes that would show up on a color guide.  Because it’s not actually changing the color of your teeth, it’s just an optical illusion.  And that can work great – I’m not saying it’s not a totally worthwhile way to make teeth appear whiter – but it’s not true shade changing.

The image of the red lipstick with the white toothbrush seems to reinforce the claim that this lipstick can make your teeth look whiter.  It’s a well put together image for the rather deceptive claim.

I just kind of have a problem with that deceptive claim.  Despite starting with the sentence “Clinique can’t whiten your teeth”, the entire block of text seems to be trying to convince the reader that they can do exactly that!  It’s annoying.  So I don’t like this ad very much, despite the fact that I actually think it’s a good angle for a lipstick line to take in their marketing and I’m a little surprised I haven’t seen anyone else using it.

Clinique: Erase Your Skin

This is an ad for Clinique Even Better Skin Tone Corrector (it’s really called that) and was found in a fashion magazine.

The text reads:

Imagine erasing past damage to create a more even skin tone.

In fact, Clinique guiding dermatologist Dr. Orentreich says, “When skin is more even-toned, you look younger.”  So here’s your second chance.  To virtually undo the visible evidence of sun damage, dark patches, age spots, even the inevitable darkening that follows acne scarring.

Basically, give skin a clean slate.  Create brightness and clarity for all ethnicities.  Turn back the odometer.  Our new skin tone corrector does all that – gently.

Use it twice a day on face, chest, hands.  See results in about 4 to 6 weeks.  One caution: daily sunscreen’s a must.  It’s a fresh start – not a free ride.

Clinique

Allergy Tested.  100% Fragrance Free.

If you don’t regularly use erasers, think back to when you did.  Particularly think about the kinds of erasers pictured in the ad.  How effective are/were they?

Right.  If your erasers are/were generally about as effective as mine, you’ll see why I’m not sure those are the best images to evoke in this ad.

It’s also a bad idea because with the arrangement of the image, I first thought they were actual erasers that were part of the product.

The other thing this ad made me think was that the makers of this product really don’t like dark skin.  Now, you may be going “well, duh, it’s a product designed to lighten the dark parts of your skin.”  But what if all of your skin is dark?  What if your skin is normally dark?  What if you aren’t white (unlike the snowy white ad seems to assume skin should be)?  The ad specifically says the product is designed for all ethnicities, but it doesn’t actually feel like it to me.  It feels to me like it’s either just saying that, when it’s really designed for white people, or it’s designed for other skin tones in that it will attempt to lighten their skin.  Which kind of misses the point.  Either way, I don’t think this conveys the “for all ethnicities” message well at all.

I think this is a pretty terrible ad all-around.  The image is awful, the imagery doesn’t really work and it doesn’t seem to actually give an impression of valuing skin tones that aren’t naturally light, despite claiming it’s for them too.  Oh, and the “factual” statement isn’t a fact at all, it’s a value judgement – an opinion.  Just because it’s an opinion from a doctor doesn’t make it any more factual.  If it was coming from a psychologist or sociologist who ran studies on how people react to other people with varying skin tones, then it *might* be something approximating a fact, but coming from a dermatologist working for a make-up company it’s decidedly not.  Sorry.

Oh, and nothing is “100% fragrance free”.  Trust me.

Clinique: As Uncomfortable as High Heels?

This is an ad for Clinique lipstick that was found in a fashion magazine.

The text reads:

High on colour, long on comfort.

New High Impace Lip Color SPF15 wears beautifully for 8 hours.  And lips enjoy every minute.  In 20 highly moisturizing shades that continually smooth, soften, comfort.  Protect from UVA/UVB, too.  Have it all.

I only just noticed that this ad uses the British spelling of “colour” even though it was in an American magazine.  Anyhow, this ad caught my attention because the juxtaposition of that high heeled shoe (and that is one very high heel, probably three full inches) with the phrase “long on comfort” made me laugh out loud.  Shoes like that aren’t comfortable, they’re very bad for your feet.  While there are people who have worn very high heels so long that it’s uncomfortable or even painful for them to wear anything else, they are not only in the minority, but they have come to that point because wearing the shoes has done serious physical damage to them.  High heels may be sexy and not even necessarily uncomfortable, but shoes like that aren’t likely to be what comes to mind for most people when you say “long on comfort”.  Personally, I think of slippers (or, even better, bare feet).  I think that the shoe works for “high on colour”, but it actively makes me disbelieve the claims about comfort.  It makes me wonder if the people behind the product really understand what comfort is.  That’s not a good marketing move.  Sexy is a good angle with lipstick, but telling me that it’s as comfortable as those shoes is probably not the best way to get me to buy it.