I’ve had an interesting journey with Chanel’s perfumes; I started the year having little remark to make of my past experiences with the scents, and I’ll end the year with a new fascination for each of them. It was a rediscovery of sorts, and it gave me a new appreciation for perfume as an art in women’s life and style. As a result, Coco Mademoiselle became my new favorite, my timeless signature scent. And as for N°5, I wore it for a while in the spring and it just felt like home.
Chanel has recently released a video that depicts the monumental presence of N°5 through its history – in under five minutes, no less. I’m crazy about this film. It made me so excited and, odd as it might sound, I felt so empowered while watching it. It’s amazing that, while signing a man to represent a women’s perfume for the first time, N°5 has never been more a symbol of the power of femininity. A testament, no doubt, to the elusive sort of magic that has always lingered, an invisible driving force, behind Chanel.
Photography by Sam Taylor-Wood / © CHANEL
Speaking of their new campaign for N°5, while I don’t usually share fashion news coverage here at The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower, once in a while a collaboration just strikes you in a way that’s impossible to ignore – such is the case with Chanel and the new face of N°5: Brad Pitt. This is a campaign that raised a lot of eyebrows when it was first announced since, for the first time, a man is representing not only a women’s perfume, but perhaps the most memorable women’s perfume of all time. After being represented throughout its history by the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Catherine Deneuve, Lauren Hutton, Nichole Kidman, Audrey Tautou, and Coco Chanel herself, the decision to connect the perfume – which features a staggering eighty ingredients – to a man feels like a test of N°5′s timelessness.
Photography by Sam Taylor-Wood / © CHANEL
Two men are actually at the forefront of the new campaign: the acclaimed Joe Wright (who we all know for his masterworks, Atonement and Pride & Prejudice) directs Brad Pitt in the advertisements. Of the perfume he said it is, “a phenomenon that continues to invent and reinvent itself”. No stranger to the brand, Wright also directed Keira Knightley in several of Chanel’s films for the Coco Mademoiselle fragrance. Considering my dedicated interest in the art of reinvention, it’s needless to say that I’m increasingly drawn to the groundbreaking concept behind this campaign. Wright’s goal with the campaign was to draw on and spotlight the relationship women worldwide have had with the perfume, to illustrate the fragrance’s presence in the lives of women through its history. I find it fascinating that despite featuring a male spokesman the focus is still on women, and perhaps moreso, because by depicting the fragrance through a man’s perspective it presents a mirror effect, drawing women to look at themselves rather than one iconic representation of femininity. I think that’s an interesting step in the direction of altering society’s idealized vision of women; it allows, maybe even motivates, us to embrace our uniqueness and the timelessness of our own beauty.
What are your thoughts on this new campaign, is it successful in the continued evolution and reinvention of N°5?
Edit: Yesterday Chanel released a second video in the N°5 campaign, this time interweaving some dreamy, rather futuristic footage with Pitt’s recitation…
All image and video content was provided by Chanel
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Yay! Welcome to the Coco Mademoiselle family! It’s been my signature scent for years.
Ha, thanks, I’m glad to be part of it! I think I first tried it about five years ago and it was a bit too flowery for me. But my style has changed – and I’ve changed – so much since then, and now it seems to fit me perfectly. I just love it!
I adore Chanel N°5. My favorite ever. I’ve been called an inner old lady for liking it but I don’t care. To me it’s timeless, classic, and amazing.
I’ve heard a bit about the history and it’s downright fascinating.
That being said, I’m not sure about this ad.
Yes! Perfectly said – it has a sort of elegance to it. I’ve pretty much grown accustomed to the inner-old-lady moniker myself.
I got chills watching that first video!! I’m blown away… Watching Pitt talk about the fragrance was nice, I enjoyed that it wasn’t a woman because I agree with what you said. Now we get a different perspective from a man and for ourselves. There is more of a focus on the perfume itself as opposed to a beautiful lady. I like that, Chanel No 5 and its mystery deserves the focus
Also, for so many perfume has a very close tie with men and memories of romance so why not have a man talk about it? I’m so glad you posted these videos!
Hope you’re fabulous!
Thanks, girly! Exactly, I love everything you said. It’s so true that perfume and romance are often connected for women – perfume is such an intimate thing for so many. In that respect I like the way they put the advertisement together all the more; they could’ve easily done a more theatrical film, without dialogue, like they have with women in the past (such as Audrey Tautou’s, which I adored). But I like that they didn’t send that “Wear our perfume and Brad Pitt will fall in love with you” vibe. Instead, he kind of disappears and the words take priority, which reflects the perfume well. (:
Channel N°5 is my mother’s signature scent. She’s used it since she was in her twenties. Personally, I don’t like the scent. It’s too overwhelming and boy, does it linger! That said, I like seeing the first video which showcases the evolution of Channel. Please don’t hate me but I’m not sold on Brad Pitt as the new face of a woman’s fragrance though. The fact that I don’t like him could have something to do with it but I’m not sold on the idea of a man being the “new face” of this company. I think that if they wanted to change things up, a strong, empowered woman would have fit the bill perfectly. I’m just sayin’.
Thanks so much for sharing your opinion, Bella! That’s exactly why I wanted to write about it, to see how other women felt about the collaboration and the resulting film. I know exactly what you mean, N°5 is definitely an overwhelming scent – I think the first time I smelled it I thought it was way too dramatic, but the more I wore it (I uncovered a little sample I’d had stashed away) the more I found myself endeared to it somehow. What I love about perfume is that the scent seems to tell a unique story to every woman who smells it, which is why there isn’t necessarily a singular, universal perfume. For me, N°5 reminds me of a bygone elegance, satin dresses and fur wraps and evening galas, trips to the theatre. It says something different to everyone – sometimes we have a wonderful reaction, sometimes a not-so-good one – and without that our perfume wouldn’t be such a strong signature for our individual style, you know?
As for the ad, I definitely know what you mean. I think that was my initial reaction to the news – why do we need a man at the front of a woman’s perfume? They’ve had a lot of great women representing it in the past. I like what they ended up doing because it felt, to me, that they’re playing on the fact that a perfume should make a woman feel special, that N°5 makes the women who wear it feel special, and they’re mirroring that by having the most…iconic man, for lack of a better word, tell them they’re special as well? Does that make any sense? It’s like taking a woman’s relationship with perfume and translating it into romantic fantasy or something. Though whether Brad Pitt is the right man to fit that particular mold is certainly questionable. He doesn’t have the same reputation for being a sex symbol that he used to, but then maybe that tones done the effect. He has a certain bohemian element that doesn’t quite coincide with N°5 to me – I’d almost say someone like George Clooney might have been more accurate, though perhaps that would have been too predictable for the way they were hoping to reinvent the perfume. Obviously I could go on analyzing it forever, huh? It’s such an interesting new idea to me.
I really enjoyed watching the journey of Chanel No. 5 … quite an interesting video, but I echo Bella’s thoughts. I am not sure about the male ambassador either. May be a strong woman who is not necessarily from the world of fashion, would have been an interesting choice.
? © tanvii.com ?
Thanks, Tanvi! I loved the points you and Bella made, I had a similar reaction when I first heard about the collaboration and I think it’s one a lot of women will have towards it. I’d anticipated that the ads would be something with perhaps an almost anti-feminist undertone that dictated we should buy the perfume if we want to attract Brad Pitt, and that would’ve been very un-Chanel. I like how it turned out, because it feels to me that it’s still as empowering as their past advertisements – of course, everyone who sees it will feel differently, which is just proof of what a daring decision it was on Chanel’s part. I’m definitely curious to see if they continue signing men to represent it or where the campaign will go!
when i first heard the announcement, i hated the idea. i thought it made it seem like a man was telling us what was sexy, what was beautiful, what kind of perfume we should wear. that might have been a little over dramatic
i like how simple and straight-forward the ad ended up being, and i especially like what you said – that by not having a woman’s face on the campaign, it allows for every woman to imagine themselves, without thinking there is *one* type of femininity/beauty.
That’s the exact journey I had with it, too – over-dramatics and all.
I felt like it was a step backward, but what they did with it definitely took a direction I hadn’t expected, probably because it’s got the makings of a very new idea in it. I like that he seems to sort of fade into the background and the words become the focus, even right down to the minimalist color palette in the campaign I feel like it makes that sort of statement. It’s so interesting to me that they were able to take what could’ve been depicted as an outdated concept – motivating women to buy based on a man’s opinion – and turned it on its head to be surprisingly forward-thinking and even liberating. Everyone will definitely have a different opinion on it (perhaps another positive for the campaign, since it will get people talking) but I’m really impressed/intrigued with it! (:
exactly. he fades into the background and it’s all about the words. i still love keira knightly’s coco mademoiselle commercials best of all chanel’s former ads, and i will welcome a woman on future campaigns, but i find this a satisfactory change for the time being!
I have to be honest and say that I didn’t care much at all for the first video. When I saw you updated this post with the other version of the commerical, I watched it and thought it was much better but I don’t think it’s amazing. I don’t not like Brad Pitt or anything, I’ve just seen better representations of products.