Comparing Juicy Couture and Guess?.

Juicy couture and Guess? are two major brands who’s advertisements are shown to us in our everyday lives; whether it be in magazines, on the television or worn by our favourite celebrities as brands they are pushed to the forefront of our lives.

Established in 1996 the Juicy Couture phenomenon was started by co-designers Pamela and Gela. Their original plan was to make sexy basics for their friends but their designs were so popular that they have now become one of the top designer brands on our high street today.

Established in 1981 the Guess? brand begun as a Californian jeans company. With the brand creating a new market for designer denim after the surge in the 70’s was over. With their success as a denim brand being so great the brand expanded into a full label and is now at the forefront of our high street.

Both brands work around the idea of creating a sexy look for their brand, with Guess? it is more about the cut of their clothing and their iconic advertising campaigns, whereas with Juicy Couture it is also about the clothing but instead of the cut of the clothing I believe that it is the way that the garments are worn. Another comparison between these two brands is that they are both American brands and I think that elements of this come through in their advertising through the style of the models and the slogans that they sometimes use.

Both brands also differ in many ways. Juicy Couture is sold in department stores such as Selfridges as well as in its own outlets, whereas with Guess? it is sold in it’s own outlets but not in Selfridges. Another way difference is that Juicy Couture uses very girly colours and poses in its advertising, such as hot pink which they are famous for; Guess? uses very promiscuous poses and usually just a monochrome colour scheme making both brands differ greatly in advertising styles.

Both brands have a wide range of products from clothing to perfume to handbags to shoes. But some elements are very different, for example the perfume bottles from Juicy Couture are more youthful and decorated whereas the perfume bottles from Guess? are designed with simple lines and are more elegant in appearance.

No matter how many comparisons or differences that these two brands have both of them offer a lifestyle to their customer that they are buying into, I believe that this is the most effective element of advertising yet it is the one element that remains constant. All brands offer a lifestyle through their visual language. For the brand Juicy Couture this is a girly, rebellious lifestyle and for the brand Guess? this is a very sexual, image conscious, leadership lifestyle. I feel that brands create a lifestyle that is unattainable in our everyday lives and that buying that ne branded item makes the individual feel that they are achieving the lifestyle they long for.