De Beers' commercial and marriage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH9bHq9Cvsc

“They say no marriage is made in heaven,

But ours is made somewhere very nearby.

So for this, our tenth anniversary,

I will give you something really special,

I will mark this anniversary with diamonds,

And show you I’ve married you all over again.”

After reading the “Something Old, Something New: Exploring the Interaction Between Ritual and Advertising”, I watched several De Beers’ commercials and had a taste of their elegance and romance.

Some key elements always exist in almost all De Beers’ commercials. A handsome man and a beautiful woman should be the protagonists. The inspiring and romantic Palladio composed by Karl Jenkins always implies that love and marriage is a mauve battle with loyalty, freedom and glory. Metaphorical shadows of man and woman, of their arms, their hands, their profiles of faces and kisses are unique ways for De Beers to express the secrecy and simplicity of love. Finally of course, diamond, always shining glamorously, is always a thread linking all plots.

Marriage is the ritual that De Beers’ in the commercial above want to show. The aside above demonstrates the influence of the product, diamond on the ritual, marriage. Firstly, diamond sublimates the marriage (They say no marriage is made in heaven, but ours is made somewhere very nearby.) Secondly, diamond makes the marriage special (I will give you something really special, I will mark this anniversary with diamonds). Thirdly, diamond initiates a new start for the marriage (And show you I’ve married you all over again), which implies the eternity of love. The above three intended influences respectively reflect three properties of diamond. First, the everlasting purity and luster of diamond is used as a metaphor for sublimation. Second, the rarity of diamond and its easily-personalized nature is used as a representative for specialness. Third, the durable quality of diamond represents the eternity of love; the comparison between and union of perpetuity and beauty of the diamond implies the comparison between and union of the everlasting love and passionate love.

The ritual here in the ad is reinforced and redefined by the product. The image of diamond reinforces the linkage between itself and the marriage through the above three processes. Diamond also modifies marriage through stressing its tie with the 10^th anniversary. It actively created sub-rituals in order to change the whole format of the original ritual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sluHJGcxek

Palladio by Karl Jenkins