Marc Jacobs' Ads: The Lolita Effect and Seductive Teen Models

About a month ago, I saw an advertisement on 40th and 8th in Manhattan for Marc Jacobs’ Daisy Wild perfume. Consequently, I recalled a short post that I wrote back in January of 2013 about Marc Jacobs' Oh Lola! perfume advertisement that featured 17-year-old Dakota Fanning holding a large phallic shaped bottle of Oh Lola! invitingly between her legs.

Jacobs related that he chose Fanning because he, " [...] knew she could be this contemporary Lolita - seductive yet sweet." Thus, we know from Jacobs himself that Fanning was chosen to seduce.

In addition, Jacobs agreed with professor and "man of letters" Robertson Davies' assessment of Lolita as: “[...] not [about] the corruption of an innocent child by a cunning adult, but [about] the exploitation of a weak adult by a corrupt child."

However, Mark Sweney posted on The Guardian “Marc Jacobs' Dakota Fanning ad banned for being 'sexually provocative'” (8 Nov 2011) Sweney wrote:

A provocative ad campaign for Marc Jacobs perfume featuring 17-year-old Dakota Fanning, the US actor who has starred in films including War of the Worlds and Charlotte's Web, has been banned [in the UK] following accusations that it sexualized children.

The magazine campaign [...] featured Fanning wearing a short skirt and holding a bottle of Marc Jacobs perfume in what the advertising regulator deemed a "sexually provocative" position between her legs.

And Sweney shared that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received complaints that the advertisement was offensive and irresponsible, because it portrayed 17-year-old Fanning in a "sexualized manner" due to the "sexually provocative" way that the bottle of Oh Lola! “drew attention to her sexuality.” And, in the eyes of the ASA, Fanning “looked to be under the age of 16.” The ASA elaborated:

"We considered that the length of her dress, her leg and position of the perfume bottle drew attention to her sexuality." 

"Because of that, along with her appearance, we considered the ad could be seen to sexualise a child. We therefore concluded that the ad was irresponsible and was likely to cause serious offence."

15-year-old Ever Anderson for Daisy Wild | Marc Jacobs

Undeterred by the ASA, about a decade later, Jacobs had 15-year-old Ever Anderson pose with a large bottle of Daisy Wild in her lap, which “drew attention to her sexuality.” (Note: Anderson posted on her Instagram account that the photos were taken on October 22, 2022, in Atlanta, GA.)

And Anderson posed, one could say, comparatively innocently, with a number of other teen models; however, I would imagine that the ASA would have some issues with the video for Daisy Wild. In the video, the barely covered teen models stripped down to their white bras and panties, intimately touched while posing for the camera, and then skinny dipped into a Georgia lake. After frolicking in the lake, the scantily clad models attended a bonfire where they danced intimately. One model even danced at the bonfire in a sheer mini-skirt; thus, revealing her white panties. 

Prior to the release of Daisy Wild, Introducing Daisy Trio (2014), a film directed by Sofia Coppola, was posted on YouTube (Nov 25, 2014). In the film, once again, the teen models were skimpily clad in all white and, once again, the models frolicked intimately with implied sapphic diversions. 

In addition to perfumes, Jacobs has a fashion line. Brooke Frischer posted on Fashionista that "Heaven [by Marc Jacobs] and Bluemarine Made the High School Movie Wardrobe of Your Dreams a Reality" (JUL 7, 2023). Frischer wrote that Heaven by Marc Jacobs and Bluemarine are "beloved by Gen-Z" and that the campaign was shot "[...] by Petra Collins to boot.".

Per Frischer, Blumarine by Marc Jacobs features 11 of the brand's best-selling pieces, which boast the brand's "signature touches". The best-selling signature pieces consist of ultra-mini skirts (and they mean ultra), lacy pink camisoles, baby tees (and they mean baby), and cropped sweatshirts - among other revealing pieces. 

Frischer related that Collins photographed the, seemingly, teen models at "the same high school the photographer used for Olivia Rodrigo's "Good 4 U" music video". Why? It was done, strategically, to further: "[...] the appeal of the new collaboration for angsty teens and angsty-teens-at-heart everywhere." 

I would imagine that only an angsty teen would wear a pink lace baby graphic tee with an ultra-mini camo skirt to her high school English class, because I opine that Blumarine by Marc Jacobs is giving 1970s Times Square (teen) prostitutes.

Interestingly, of the graphic pieces, Frischer shared that Nicola Brognano, Blumarine's Creative Director, related: “Each piece of the capsule is a gem and truly reflects today's spirit, balancing ease and coolness in the most feminine and lighthearted way." Feminine? Yes. Lighthearted? No

And Ava Nirui, the creative director of Heaven by Marc Jacobs, said in a statement. "[...] I think this collection makes total sense for both of us."

David Hamilton's "Tendres cousines" (1980)

In the end, Marc Jacobs’ perfume campaigns raises some rhetorical questions: 

1. What does (near) teen nudity and sapphic diversions have to do with (selling) perfume? 
2. Were Jacobs and Coppola inspired by David Hamilton? 
3. And would the ASA approve of Blumarine by Marc Jacobs?