We got the first hint during the filming of “Our Kind of Traitor.”
In one of the scenes filmed on the banks of River Thames in London, Damian Lewis was dressed head to toe in Aquascutum.
Damian’s character, Hector Meredith wore the trademark raincoat, had thick rimmed glasses, and the Harrys of London for Aquascutum Julian Kudu Suede Dark Brown Desert Boots.
Classy!
And, soon followed the 2014-15 Aquascutum Autumn/Winter Campaign Ad!
It is a gorgeous ad.
Two beautiful people
In the rain
Under an umbrella
At Regents Canal…
As romantic as it gets…
You know… it can rain all day, all week, all month if Damian Lewis is holding your umbrella.
So far so good…
BUT…
I can’t help being a woman of BUTS…
Sigh.
As much as I love the ad, the feminist in me is just not feeling okay 🙂 She is sort of protesting. And I cannot help give her the stage so she could express herself openly and loudly!
Don’t get me wrong, it is a gorgeous ad, and the coats are absolute classics that if I had the money I would go and buy one for myself and one for my husband, too.
I just have strong feelings about what our popular culture is about.
WHY should it always be about a man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s in the ads?
That’s the 1 million dollar question.
Look around, most of the ads we have with a couple in it are like that.
I, of course, have nothing against beautiful Eliza Cummings, who is a super top model, and I completely understand why Aquascutum has chosen her for the marketing ad. They are basically doing the best they can for marketing their brand. Fair enough.
BUT…
I am looking at the ad.
I am just not buying it.
What would these two people talk about?
You may well say “Oh, they’re so in love that they don’t need to talk, honey.”
Maybe.
But as I said a million times before, I am a believer in conversation as the most intimate form of human relations. And, I don’t see any conversation happening here.
Pop culture is always presenting us men in their 40s as a symbol of status and power. And, chances are, we see them with a happy and gorgeous young woman on their arms, under their umbrella, or in their car…
As if older women do not exist…
Besides, we never see ads where the women in their 40s are with guys in their 20s next to them… unless they are their son!
Call me jealous 🙂
It doesn’t matter.
It is my sincere feeling that women in their 30s and 40s are beautiful, and they can certainly have a wonderful day at Regents Canal in the rain under an umbrella with a man of their choice.
I am in no way against May-September relationships, either. I am just not feeling good about the constant marketing that wires us in some certain ways through the ads.
So… I am just saying it’s a gorgeous ad that I would have enjoyed even more had the woman in it been…. say, for example… Cate Blanchett… Ok, if they let me, I would cast her in everything… and with Damian Lewis 🙂
And I think they would look EVEN BETTER together today in an ad… or hey, in a movie, too — oh that would be a major dream coming true for me!
Or… Naomi Watts, Charlize Theron, Marillon Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Julia Roberts, Rachel Weisz, Claire Forlani, and I can probably list 30 other names here… so that you are convinced I am not trying to have myself cast in the ad!!!
Ok, my dear feminist Damianista , you said your piece, and made your point and please leave now… so we can enjoy this little cool clip: “Behind the Scenes Aquascutum A/W 14 Campaign.”
http://www.aquascutum.co.uk/ is now a porn site. You might want to change that link.
OMG thank you for the heads-up!!!