According to the movie, getting married to rich men, having sex with wealthy men and striving to create the nuclear family with a rich man should be at the top of every strong and egocentric woman's agenda.
COMMERCE IN THE CITY:
When the HBO series Sex In The City dropped onto TV-screens 10 years ago, I found Carrie to a sympathetic character who observed and deconstructed with an ironic and critical eye, the blazing singles-meatmarket that is New York. I had no qualms mentioning to people that I watched and enjoyed the show.As the series gained popularity, the focus shifted from snappy and sophisticated glances and observations about the relationships between men and women from a woman's point of view, to become more about the superficial things that made up the mise-en-scene of the series: the shoes, the food, the apartments. In a matter of seasons, the series became a the entire back-catalogue of the Vogue Magazine Empire, and then I am including Conde Nast Traveller and Vogue Living.
What strikes me as most disturbing, is the packaging of the show, which is manipulative and subtle. Women seem too willing to swallow the whole concept as Neo-Feminism and be in denial about the incredible egocentric and patriarchial tone of the show. Even though Samantha, Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte are in charge of their own lives and are, in many senses of the word, strong women, their entire existence is made up in the pursuit of happiness in the form of a man, and the ultimate goal: marrying the perfect man and having the perfect wedding.
The Sex In The Series Movie symbolises what the series has become: an incredible opportunity for companies to showcase their products and to reach consumers on a whole new level; I realised today that this movie is the ultimate marketing tool. Recipe for success is as follows.
How to make the ultimate advertisement:
1. Women are, as many know, the ultimate consumers. When rightly motivated, they can be convinced to develop a level of consumption that is unrivalled in other capitalistic economies.
2. In order to reach a huge female demographic, it is important to not just have one character, but four. These characters must, as fashion and other fashionrelated products, change according to season. In this way, it is possible to differentiate the enormous variety of products that will be showcased and also to use the different characters to target each consumer more effectively. For example, those viewers who sympathise with Carrie, are most likely to buy Manolo Blahnik shoes, buy Belvedere Vodka and Vivienne Westwood clothes.
3. One of the hardest thing about branding, is developing brand loyalty. But, how to by-pass years of efforts in trying to build relationships with possible customers? Why, by having consumers adopt fully and wholly the loyalty and taste of brands of another person they look up to and almost worship; the ultimate way to sell a product is to create a cult following, a hardcore base of fans, because these fans will never question, never doubt any product reccommendation the corresponding character will make merely through the stylised consumption of the products.
4. Build this advertising vessel over ten years, spin it off into a movie, and you end up with an advertising channel that will propogate itself into all eternity in and even generate its own income in the form of DVD-sales and box-office sales.
Think I'm too cynical?
Check this out:
Vanity Fair got two reporters to watch the movie twice and find all the product-placements. Productplacement is for all that don't know or have never noticed, "a type of advertising, in which promotional advertisements placed by marketers using real commercial products and services in media, where the presence of a particular brand is the result of an economic exchange (Wikipedia)." In short: whenever you see a product or service in a movie or TV show, chances are someone paid to have it there. It is a great way for a network or movie-studio to keep costs down and secure Return On Investment.
Designers:
Manolo Blahnik (consistently and constantly)
Vivienne Westwood (more than any other designer, most notably as Carrie’s wedding dress)
Louis Vuitton (lots and lots and lots)
Chanel (at least five times)
Dior
Ferragamo
Roger Vivier
Diane von Furstenberg (a scene was filmed in her New York City store)
Hermès
Christian Loubutin (one very clear shot of bright red soles)
Prada
Escada
Versace
Gucci (several handbags—including a big white “Gucci heart NY” one—and brown glossy shopping bags)
Vera Wang
Oscar de la Renta
Carolina Herrera
Christian Lacroix
Lanvin
Nike
Adidas
Burberry
Tiffany and Co. (Carrie’s wedding gifts)
Swarovski (constantly sparkled on Carrie’s encrusted cell phone; also shined on a clip in Miranda’s hair, Stanford’s wedding tuxedo, and on Charlotte’s daughter’s cupcake purse)
Hello Kitty (décor of choice in Charlotte’s daughter’s room)
Stores & Services:
Henri Bendel
Scoop
Bluefly.com
Duane Reade
Manhattan Mini Storage (boxes and boxes in nearly every scene shot in Carrie’s apartment)
Bag Borrow or Steal (referenced, explained, and punned on repeatedly)
Netflix
U-Haul
Gadgets:
Apple (Carrie’s computer)
iPhone (Samantha’s cell phone—not exactly Carrie’s style)
Blackberry (Miranda’s phone)
Bang & Olufsen (Samantha’s shapely phone in her Mailibu pad)
Dell (Miranda and Big’s computers)
Cuisinart (wedding gift for Carrie)
Sprint (Carrie’s service provider—flashed frequently)
Publications:
Vogue (the real editorial office and staffers, a photo shoot, and the magazine itself)
New York PostPage Six (what better place for an engagement announcement?)
Entertainment Weekly
New York magazine
Marie Claire
The Wall Street Journal (Big’s before-bed read)
Sips and Snacks:
Starbucks (again and again)
Pellegrino (on a table or two)
Skky Vodka (to drown Carrie’s many sorrows)
VitaminWater (first an ad hanging on a wall, then on every seat under the tents for Fashion Week)
Smart Water (the water of choice—all over the place)
Pret a Manger (bagged lunch in the park for two)
Cup of Noodles (New Year’s Eve feast)
From the Pharmacy:
L’Oreal
Garnier
Fructis
Nivea
Jergens
Clean & Clear
Places and Ways to Get There:
New York Public Library (the wedding locale)
Lumi (the site of Charlotte and Big’s confrontation)
Buddakan
The Four Seasons
Mercedes-Benz (Big’s chauffer-driven car)
Lincoln Town Car (Carrie’s wedding limousine)
Christie’s (the girls attended an Ellen Barkin-inspired jewelry auction here)
American Airlines (on an ad in Samantha’s office)
source: http://www.vanityfair.com/ontheweb/blogs/daily/2008/05/sex-and-the-cit.html
SJP's wardrobe divided up. After the movie, countless magazines like Cosmo and Elle will dissect the characters' clothes and suggest other clothes that are similar. In this way, other clothing brands can piggyback off the image of a high-fashion label. Clever.
