#Marc Jacobs Oh Lola 2011

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"...DESCRIBED AS A SPARKLING, FRUITY FLORAL THAT HAS NOTES OF RASPBERRY, PEONY AND VANILLA."

PIC(S) INFO: Part 2 of 2 -- Mega Spotlight on then teen American actress/model Dakota Fanning photographed by Juergen Teller for the 2011 Marc Jacobs fragrance Oh, Lola!

OVERVIEW: "When I first caught wind that Marc Jacobs’ latest fragrance, Oh, Lola! would have Dakota Fanning as the face, I was downright giddy. Fanning is one of a select few child actresses that we have been able to watch grow up so gracefully, proving that she can not only be in the spotlight but also mature into quite the beautiful young adult.

At an event at the Marc Jacobs boutique last night, Fanning filled us in on the new scent, which is described as a sparkling, fruity floral that has notes of raspberry, peony and vanilla. The campaign was shot by Juergen Teller (starring Fanning of course) to convey the chic and charming personality of the Oh, Lola! girl. Having previously worked with Teller for a Marc Jacobs runway ad campaign in 2007 in which Fanning modeled runway clothes (altered to fit her 12-year-old body), the duo was immediately comfortable with each other and Fanning noted that shooting with him isn’t so much as a framed shoot, but more like having an on-going conversation."

-- STYLE CASTER, "Dakota Fanning Talks Oh, Lola! & Her Personal Style," by Rachel Adler, September 15, 2011

Sources: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/news/a5149/oh-lola-dakota, Fashion Magazine, The Cut, Vogue, various, etc...

[artreflectiveblog]

Critique of Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola! Advertisement in relation to Nabokov’s Lolita.

Marc Jacobs‘ 2011 advertising campaign for his Eau de Parfum Oh, Lola! depicts seventeen-year-old actress Dakota Fanning sitting with an oversized perfume bottle resting between her thighs. She is wearing a pink frilly polka dot dress and peers through her blonde hair with a sulky, wide-eyed expression. Perhaps the lack of explicit sexual imagery in this advert would not cause the same immediate offence as the conspicuous nudity plastered across the media today. Regardless, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the advert under the grounds that the image ‘could be seen to sexualise a child’. Coty UK Perfume Distributor’s defended the advert, stating it does not include any ‘private body parts and sexual activity’. However, the source of inspiration for the image transforms the seemingly demure subject into a more implicitly sexual image. The oversized lid’s yonic imagery, combined with its placement, was deemed ‘sexually provocative’ by the ASA. Despite Marc Jacobs rebuffing the claims, the ASA ‘considered that the length of her dress, her leg and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality’, which is problematic as Fanning looks under the age of consent.

Marc Jacobs' choice of imagery for Oh, Lola! closely echoes Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 classic but controversial erotic novel Lolita. The advert contains a general, pervasive influence in the motifs explored in the book, however the campaign’s title Oh, Lola! is a direct reference to the following passage:

She was Lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line. But in my arms she was always Lolita.

Marc Jacobs’ Oh, Lola! beckons Nabokov's character Lolita, a twelve-year-old girl who is raped by paedophile Humbert, under the guise of his infatuation. The chronicle of Humbert’s life reads almost as a cautionary tale; the strong moral implications of his fixation with the underage girl have tragic ramifications for both Lolita and Humbert. Whereas Oh, Lola! exploits the seemingly glamorous nymphet aesthetic to sell perfume, without concern for the consequences for the teenage customer or the more sinister audience who may encounter it. The advert is comparable to the text in not only the name - both Lolita and Oh, Lola! portray the female lead through a glance of male desire.

It is clear Jacobs was not attempting to shy away from his reference to Lolita’s dark poetics, ‘I know she could be this contemporary Lolita, seductive, yet sweet.’ This feeds into the aptly named ‘Lolita Complex’ which is prevalent in the media today. The sexual attraction towards prepubescent girls depicting them with erotic undertones - the nymphet - innocent yet seductive play thing, who men wish to corrupt. Despite paedophilia being considered one of the most condemnable and heinous acts, the moral obliquity slips through the cracks when there is a profit to be made. The media turns a blind eye to marketing campaigns like Oh, Lola!, which are rife with imagery of ambiguously young looking girls, a precursor to pornography. The genre of ‘Teen’ pornography depicts submissive, hairless, underdeveloped girls, often subject to sexual violence as more desirable than the clearly adult women. These forced ideals are detrimental to the development of a healthy sexual attraction among viewers of porn, and to the self-esteem of women who cannot fit into this archetype. Marc Jacobs Oh, Lola!  therefore begs the question; what has changed about the sexualised portrayal of underage girls since Nabokov's publication of Lolita 70 years ago?

[ayongposts-blog]

A Marc Jacobs Ad: “Oh Lola!”

The sexualization of women and youth

June 6, 2018

In 2011, Marc Jacobs, an American fashion designer and head designer of his own fashion label Marc Jacobs, released an advertisement “Oh Lola!.” The release of this advertisement brought lots of controversy on the web, including myself.  This Marc Jacobs advertisement shows a 17 year old girl (Dakota Fanning) holding the “Oh Lola!” perfume bottle in between her legs. This advertisement was actually banned in the United Kingdom because the government felt as if the ad was sexualizing young kids. The UK’s Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) received complaints about the ad. This went so far that the ASA had to bad this ad, arguing that the position of where the bottle was placed was “sexually provocative,” the model “looked under the age of 16,” and that the “ad could be seen to sexualize a child.” And I absolutely 100% agree with this. 

How does the ad sexualize women and youth? 

At the time, Dakota Fanning was a 17 year old girl, which means that she was underage at the time of when this ad was produced. And some say that she looks even younger than 17. I thought so as well, when I first saw this ad, I thought it was a 14 or 15 year old girl that was holding a large perfume bottle, in a strange way and location. The worst part is, we all know that they did that on purpose and what their intent is. Which is that sex sells. The fashion industry is obsessed with youth and women. I quote from Cenk Uygur from The Young Turks, he says “In the fashion industry, this is somehow considered cool, they love to sexualize kids...like their INSANELY obsessed with kids. They’re like oh my god oh my god, they gotta get younger, they gotta be taller, and weigh like 7 pounds, and be like 12 years old, then we’re gonna fuel them with sexual imagery all around.” And I totally agree with him. To me I don’t know how in anyway that, that is appealing. I know people who fall for this “trap” and think that they will look like Dakota Fanning if they buy this product. And that too me just proves that in this ad, they are not only sexualizing women, but also sexualizing youth because sex sells and that young kids especially women, should look what the ad portrays. The subliminal message here is the fact that even though she is 17, she dressed younger than her age outlining the fact that sex with children is okay. Even the way that she is sitting. She is sitting like a little girl. Including the facial features with the big eyes and little mouth and the position of her head symbolizes the features of a baby. These subtle highlights of the ad are small but they add to the infantilization of women and youth.

The meaning behind the “Oh Lola!” 

The title of the ad “Oh Lola” originates and is an allusion of the book “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov. This novel is recognized due to its controversial subject. To summarize the novel, it is about a middle aged literature professor (Humbert Humbert) who is obsessed with 12 year old girl, Dolores Haze. He later becomes sexually involved with her after he becomes her stepfather. He nicknames his stepdaughter Dolores as “Lolita.” “Lolita” symbolizes young girls being sexually precocious. It’s not the fact that the ad is sexual, there are many many ads today that are sexual, it is the fact that it infantilizes sexuality. But in this case, more so women. 

The symbolism of flowers and virginity

On the “Oh Lola!” Ad, you can see Dakota Fanning has a bottle of perfume in between her legs. The bottle is generally a quite large and has a rose on top of it. There are only a couple of flowers which symbolize the sexuality of women. And a rose is one of them. A rose symbolizes sexual innocence, virginity, and characteristics that also describe the westernized stereotype of the ideal women. And once again, the ad is promoting and filled with the sexualization of women.  The shape of the bottle is phallic, and is placed in between her legs with the rose on top. Relating this back to the topic of how the ad sexualizes women and youth, this is just another example. 

The reason why I don’t like this ad

As you can see by the tone of my voice, I don’t like this ad very much. For those who don’t me, I have a sister. And today, we live in a society where society only accepts certain people and puts stereotypes on others. Although the world is getting better, there is still a lot of areas where we can improve. And one of them being the sexualization of women and youth. I believe that to a certain extent, there should be a line. I also agree that there are many more ads out there that cross that line, and many would say that this ad is quite tame compared to many other advertisements. This being my first non science blog, I am not sure how to end this blog other than saying thanks for reading and if you enjoyed this post, I’d be very grateful if you’d help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or sharing it. Thank you!

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"PHOTOGRAPHED AGAINST A CANDY PINK BACKGROUND IN A SCALLOP-EDGED POLKA DOT DRESS..."

PIC INFO: Part 1 of 2 -- Spotlight on then teen American actress/model Dakota Fanning photographed by Juergen Teller for the 2011 Marc Jacobs fragrance Oh, Lola!, with notes of raspberry, pear, peony, magnolia, fresh cyclamen, and base notes of vanilla and sandalwood.

Resolution at 1536x2040 & 1440x1806.

OVERVIEW: "Never one to shy away from controversy Marc Jacobs has been stirring things up with this cheeky campaign for new fragrance Oh Lola. Featuring 17-year-old "Twilight" star Dakota Fanning, the shot by Jacobs long-term collaborator Juergen Teller, is a modern day homage to Nabokov's "Lolita."

Photographed against a candy pink background in a scallop-edged polka dot dress, Fanning holds the suggestively placed bottle of scent while staring intently at the camera. And even Jacobs admits the choice of model plays with perceptions of the teen star: I knew she could be seductive yet sweet like the fragrance itself.

With the same vanilla and tonka bean note of its big sister Lola, the little sister edition is lighter with fresh raspberry, frais des bois and pretty peony. And with little sisters like Pippa Middleton, Georgia May Jagger and Dakota's own younger sibling Elle making headlines of their own, Oh Lola! is a surefire winner."

-- HARPER'S BAZAAR, "Oh Lola, Dakota!, The teen-star strikes a pose for Marc Jacobs," by Harper's Bazaar, published June 14, 2011

Sources: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/fashion/fashion-news/news/a5149/oh-lola-dakota, Fashion Magazine, & Vogue.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

THE CAULDRON UNDEAD, LIZARD-MEN, LADIES OF PINKCORE, DEATH/DOOM, APOCALYPSE PUNK, & MORE!

PIC(S) INFO: Part 2 of 2 -- Spotlight on the second set of choice online finds for use in February's Tumblr cover photos. This month, featuring finds such as:

Concept Art of the "Cauldron born," from the 1985 dark fantasy film from Walt Disney Pictures, "The Black Cauldron." Artwork by Ted Berman.

Second Wave UK punk bands [L to R]: CHARGED G.B.H., DISCHARGE, & THE EXPLOITED.

DC Black Label dust jacket artwork for the Earth-22 graphic novel, "Kingdom Come" (1996). Artwork by Alex Ross.

Wraparound sleeve art for "Into Darkness," the 1990 debut album by American death/DOOM metal band, WINTER.

Then teen American actress/model, Dakota Fanning, photographed by Juergen Teller for the 2011 Marc Jacobs fragrance "Oh, Lola!"

Marvel/Amazing Spider-Man villain, the Lizard, from 1992's "Spider-Man: The McFarlane Era" trading card series. 

Partial cover art to American sludge/DOOM metal band, UPSIDEDOWN CROSS, featuring infamous British occultist, Aleister Crowley, who is posing as the Bodhisattva Hotei.

A killer panel of Devil Dinosaur at his most raging and ferocious, from "Planet Hulk" Vol. 1 #1. July, 2015. Marvel Comics.

Sources: YouTube, Todestrieb Records, Beckett Marketplace, Louder Sound, Giant Freakin' Robot, Daily Fashion School, Blogger, various, etc...