See pic on right.

http://boisdejasmin.typepad.com/_/2006/07/...elling_fra.html

"Romance" -- is that what they call it now?!

LOL ... they need to call it Down Town. ;0000

I'ma buy me somma that.

Aww come on... THIS?

Well... YES, romance: look at them. It's sweet! I get a feel of intimacy and closeness, nurturing and personal bond, from the picture, what do you see that I'm missing?

It almost seems to me that she is carrying their child and he's expressing his love. Sweet pic.

Yes, I got that impression as well.

Hey, any guy wearing a suit & tie, kneeling in front of me, is GOOD THING!

I think it's sweet, too...him on bended knee...kissing her tummy...and that look on her face...
I like it.

Well, I think about him progressing downward a couple of inches ...

Guess I just have a dirty mind.

Dirty's good... ;) AND it can be romantic, too. Hehe.

REALLY?!

That's how skinny models look pregnant.
Or else you would see her hip bones.
I think it's sweet too.

Could very well be what they meant to portray. She doesn't look the slightest bit pregnant to me, but, yeah, ok, I can see that.

I like my version better!

Well maybe he was down on his knees proposing to her and she said yes and now he is kissing her in thrilled adoration?

Well, she's probably about full term because she's a model, you know, lol.
This guy would be a keeper---good looking and gets on bended knee for his woman.
Btw, I sorta like Romance the scent. Anyone else?

It doesn't upset me but then I thought - what if we turn it around and she was kissing him? Mmmmmm LOL

I know - she just announced that she is pregnant and he falls to his knees in rapt adoration and then decides to propose to her while he is still down there ...

She looks so happy! (not)

Did you read where some wag said he must be from the "Putin School of Belly Kissing"?

hee hee

P.S., I do agree he's a keeper. Cute guy in a nice suit, on his knees to me? Yeah, baby. For once, I've got nothing to complain about.

I haven't tried the scent yet. *off to put it on the To Sniff list*

Aaaah, but that's just the thing: because of ideas like this, a man's lower abdomen can be a very emotion packed erogenous zone. Not any lower than that, just stick to that particular and limited area. For at least a little while. You'll see. ;D

She is thinking, "That's enough groveling! Get up you idiot - you are ruining a two thousand dollar Ralph Lauren suit!"

FTR, Romance is the only Ralph Lauren frag that I like and wear. I used to wear it more often, though...
It's a woodsy/musky floral, fresh and warm. Nice.

To tempt you a bit more, Renee...here's the notes (well...sort of the notes) in Romance:

Celebrating the very essence of romantic refinement, Ralph Lauren Romance captures an exquisite blend of velvety woods, extravagant florals and seductive musk. Spray on lavishly for a distinctly feminine sensuality.

Carnal Venom....you got that just right!

I think he should experiment on me first, you know, demonstrate, so I can get the technique down.

ETA: I think she's thinking "Oh, MAN! Why do I get the one with the belly button fetish??"

Perhaps he's getting ready to "Zerbert" (Spelling?) her ?!

No, what she's thinking is, "I'm glad I learned from my perfumista friends at PoL to wear my fragrance lower down on my body." Or, as Coco recommended, anywhere I want to be kissed.

Woo-hoo, there's a smart girl!

CV, you should put your eyes back up as your signature photo. THey are so beautiful. I miss them!

I was afraid to say , but yes , zerbert is exactly what came to my mind too ...


well, actually my mind went all filthy and I was too terrified to post anything at all , so I am sticking to the zerbert story

I think it's sweet too.

But I can understand where Red gets her dirty thoughts about it. ;)

And she has that look that says "uh-oh, I didn't tell him about the abortion yet."

Yes, the immediate pre-conception phase of pregnancy.

I don't lurve ROMANCE but it always stays a special connection with me.

It was the fragrance i was wearing the first time (and couple of days later) when i saw my dh.

And the sweet ad. (it cast only sweet effect on me) reminds me of the day he suddenly bent, and quickly kissed me on my tummy in the public, almost same with the ad., and later he told me, he felt my tummy was calling him to do so, and it is the reason. because i was pregnant on that very day! He did feel something was happening.

So when i saw this ad. it is very touching to me.

I like this ad! It can be read chastely or naughtily and is sweet in either case, respectful to both parties.

Since I am a hopeless romantic i am going to go along with Rosebud and VelvetSky...Romance is pretty...smells like roses and lily to me...

Aw, she's not pregnant...
She's just doing that ultra-thin model sway-back thingy so he can be sure to get all of her tummy to kiss.

I don't think she looks all sunny happy. She looks INTENSE. Like...she's gonna get lucky...er...happy...soon.
Frightfully romantic!

Don't have an opinion one way or the other about the ad but I like Romance, too. Stopped wearing it because I accidently dropped and broke an entire bottle of it on the gym locker room floor a few years ago and about gassed everybody out, myself included. Still conjure up that image when I think of the scent. 'Tis a shame because it really is pretty.

I'm sure that, with minor changes in detail, that was a scene in at least one movie...

*chuckle* Well put!

I remember finding the parfum everywhere a while back, but now I only see the EDP, has the parfum been nixed of the shelves?

The look on her face (especially the eyes) is a "no go" for me.

I think there are far better ways to express romance in a print ad.

Furthermore, if we have to QUESTION the intent of the ad at all in this case, it's not good.

It gives way to too much "mind drifting."

Actually...I didn't have to question the intent. I was playing around on this thread.
I like it. Much better than something with a naked woman and a bottle.
At least there's a little substance to this ad.

Blah ad, but most ads are quite boring. However they must sell a lot of juice, since these frags listed in Bois de Jasmin's blog aren't of great intrinsic merit, yet are 'bestsellers':

Top Selling Fragrances for May 2006



Women's Wear Daily article for June 30th mentioned May 2006 top 5 sellers. It is interesting to see what leads in the feminine and masculine fragrances.

Women:
Beautiful (Estée Lauder)
Euphoria (Calvin Klein)
Pleasures (Estée Lauder)
Chanel No 5
Romance (Ralph Lauren)

Men:
Acqua di Gio (Giorgio Armani)
Unforgivable (Seah John)
Armani Code (Giorgio Armani)
Polo Black (Ralph Lauren)
Polo Blue (Ralph Lauren)

What are you referring to when you say "substance?"

Better yet, give me an example of an ad that you think DOES NOT have substance, so that I have something to compare it to.

Jeffery...I mean it sort of 'tells' a little story. To me, anyway.
Hey, I rarely look at ads, but I noticed this one when I visited a site listed here.
The last ad I was totally ga-ga over...was one I saw when I was a teenager.
It was an ad for Cinnabar, with Karen Graham...in her bedroom suite which was appointed with luscious fabrics and accessories in the cinnabar coloring...and she was dressed in a red dressing gown...writing a letter, if I recall correctly.
It made that entranced teenager race out to buy Cinnabar...two days later. It had just come out, too, if I remember that right, as well.
Just seeing a woman/man and a bottle...doesn't do much for me.
I'd rather just see the bottle. *LOL*

You think? I was actually thinking the exact opposite:
That if you have to question the intent, you give the audience (the potential customer) room to insert their own fantasy.
So maybe FTR would buy it for the dirty impression she gets from the ad, maybe someone else would buy for the sweet intimacy they get from the ad, and both customers wind up at the counter dropping their cash to buy the product.
Which is what the seller hopes for, you don't think?

I agree Carnal Venom! Leaving room to insert one's own fantasy is a far superior marketing strategy than limiting it to on plane of view that will end up warranting attention from an isolated group while irritating the rest.

Heck, it was fun to think of all the things possible!

There is not one RL ad that I don't like(sadly with the exception of his Lauren I can't wear his fragrances) but when I first saw this ad while browsing at the book store I thought it was their BEST to date. Erotic and beautiful at the same time. It captures that feeling of being in love and exploring and learning all there is to know about that other person. Yes, it makes me want to run out and buy a bottle of Romance but I already have and it turned soapy on me but I have to say that who ever is running the ad campaigns knows what they are doing.

It looks like whenever I have surgery I go back to musky florals for at least a couple months so maybe I should revisit this one...

great ad....

Just chiming in here to say I kinda like the ad, no matter which way you read it. Tummy kisses are sweet. As for the more adult interpretation--well, hey, at least it's not all mock-bondage and dirty sheets. I've seen quite enough of that, thank you.

Perfume's okay.