WORK OF ART: René Gruau for Dior Diorissimo.
What is it about so many perfume ads that makes them cringe-worthy or unintentionally hilarious?
Perhaps it’s the standard, supposedly sexy voiceover in husky overtones. I’ve lost count of the variations on this theme. Or is it the clichéd imagery? Take your pick from any one of the following scenarios. Woman draped around a bottle for dear life. Square-jawed man staring intently/creepily at you. Intertwined couples staring into the distance, because there ain’t no chemistry. Now, I’m no prude. I love a sexy ad. But then I want some chemistry. And sexy often means what you don’t show.
Below are some of my favourite perfume ads through the decades. Are you ready for a dose of good ol’ nostalgia? Which are your favourite perfume ads? And your worst?
RENE GRUAU FOR DIOR
The Italian-born illustrator worked for many high-profile clients, including Balmain, Givenchy and Schiaperelli. But he is most well-known for his bold ads for Dior from the 1940s to 1990s.
The illustrator’s iconic ads for the French luxury fashion maison never fail to captivate me. As John Galliano, former Dior head designer, said in an interview with the Telegraph, “A Gruau sketch captures the energy, the sophistication and daring of Dior.” The originals, of course, are now coveted collector’s items.
CHANEL EGOISTE
A provocatively named scent deserves an over-the-top treatment. And that’s exactly what director Jean-Paul Goude delivered for Chanel’s masculine fragrance, Égoïste, in 1990. The award-winning ad entailed a partial reconstruction of the InterContinental Carlton Cannes Hotel in a desert near Rio de Janeiro at a reported cost of $1 million.
Who can forget the vision of all those pissed-off women opening and closing the shuttered doors to the soundtrack of Sergei Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights. Melodramatic and magnificent!
KENZO WORLD
Fragrance ads can be woefully lacking in humour. However, Spike Jonze’s commercial, more like a short film, for Kenzo World in 2016 took it to new levels of wonderful wackiness. American actress and dancer Margaret Qualley deserved an Oscar for her possessed performance in this modern classic. Created by Francis Kurkdjian, the fragrance itself wasn’t bad either.
https://youtu.be/ABz2m0olmPg?t=2
DOLCE & GABBANA LIGHT BLUE FEATURING DAVID GANDY
Okay, forget what I said earlier about too much flesh in my post. The big-production ads for Dolce & Gabbana starring British model David Gandy and directed by Mario Testino over the last two decades got the mix just right.
Gorgeous locations + abundant chemistry + cheeky sense of humour + male beauty at its finest = 💙 💙 💙
CALVIN KLEIN OBSESSION
The 90s were the decade of Kate Moss and the ad that made her a star was for Calvin Klein Obsession. It was shot in 1993 on the Virgin Islands by photographer Mario Sorrenti, when the model was 18 years old. Looking back at this campaign, there’s still something so natural and unforced about it.
The fragrance was re-invented in 2017 as Calvin Klein Obsessed with never-seen-before footage from the original shoot featuring in the advertising campaign, but didn’t have quite the same impact.