An example of how Fire & Ice has been applied in advertising history as you prepare for the 2023 American Advertising Awards Gala
The message was simple: “Are you made for Fire & Ice?” Revlon’s 1952 Fire & Ice Collection was promoted through a two-page spread magazine ad. On the left it featured engineer-turned-It-Girl model Dorian Leigh, and on the right a questionnaire aimed to find out if you were ready for the lipstick. The copy and questions were written in a way that empowered women to wear makeup, not for men, but for themselves – something that was entirely foreign at the time.
Prior to the 1960s, most makeup ads sold the idea that it was used for the benefit of the man rather than the woman buying it. Like Max Factor’s pink Color Fast Lipstick “Nothing draws a man to a woman like…Crushed Rose;” Hazel Bishop’s Long-Lasting Lipstick “Stays on you…not on him;” or Seventeen Cosmetics ads who promised “That ‘natural’ look men look for.”
What was the response of Revlon’s revolutionary ad? Women loved it! According to Nancy MacDonell Smith, author of The True Story of the Little Black Dress and Nine Other Fashion Favorites, “The questions were calculated to make every woman who read them want to answer yes, because doing so would make her feel sexy, adventurous, and just a wee bit dangerous. The ads were hailed as brilliant, and the color became Revlon's top shade.”
"There was no man in sight, and no romance was alluded to. Instead, the ad suggested that applying lipstick was something a woman did for her own pleasure and gratification.” – MacDonell Smith
The ad was written by Kay Daly, who made the ad’s intended audience women from the start. Kay Daly was, at the time, the highest-paid woman executive in the United States.
David L. Miller, author of Introduction to Collective Behavior and Collective Action, shared his reason why the ad worked so well: “The ad had been designed for the female gaze in the belief that women would have the ability to step back, be amused, and know that they would not win a man with Revlon lipstick. If they bought the lipstick it would be in the spirit of fun and not 'posturing for the male gaze.'"
The ad gave women back their agency over their looks, acknowledging that it could be just for her. It garnered instant success and changed the makeup industry’s advertising, giving it that personal link back to women wearing it.
The Revlon Fire & Ice Collection has been revisited a few more times since this ad in 1952, most notably Cindy Crawford’s 1997 perfume spread and Jessica Biel’s 2010 recreation of the original lipstick ad.
We have the same question to ask each of you as we prepare for our 2023 Gala: Are you made for Fire & Ice? Learn more about AAF Polk County’s Fire & Ice Gala, taking place on February 24, 2023. Whether you’re a fiery red or cool blue, we’re excited for a classic night of elegance and fun as we present this year’s local American Advertising Award winners. Visit polkadfed.org/awards for more information on the gala and competition.