French actress Audrey Tautou (shown) is rumored to be the new face of Chanel no. 5. Tautou is also slated to play designer Coco Chanel in an upcoming biopic. (via wwd) Opinions? An improvement over actress Nicole Kidman, who signed with Chanel back in 2003? If you never saw Kidman's commercial, watch it at YouTube; if you already saw it, check out the spoof.
James Franco (he played Harry Osborn in Spiderman) will be the face of the upcoming Gucci by Gucci fragrance for men, slated to launch this fall. (via vogue.co.uk)
French rugby player Sébastien Chabal is the new face of Caron Pour Un Homme; read more (and see the ad image) at osmoz.
See also: Celebrity perfume news round-up 2008, part the first, part the second, part the third, part the fourth.
sigh so many vapid celebrities, so many boring perfumes. there is so much going on in that area that there are five parts to the news already, and it's only april…
only thing remotely interesting coming from a celeb this year was jennifer lopez deseo but that one wasn't even all that earthshatteringly weird or anything either.
Audrey Tautou is so cute; how could she possibly play Coco Chanel, who had such a hard face?!
That spoof ad with Ronni Ancona and Louis Theroux is wonderful. I'd never seen it before. Thanks for posting the link, R.
I think I will keep quiet about celebrity perfumes.
Agree Deseo was the best so far, and agree that it isn't saying much.
It is true, and she has that pixie quality that seems entirely unlike Coco Chanel. We'll see what she can do; was sort of amazed at how well Marion Cotillard transformed herself into Edith Piaf for La Vie en Rose, although I did not like the movie.
On the other hand, I think she is perfect for Chanel no. 5.
Because of Amelie, Tautou is probably the French actress Americans are most familiar with (excluding the conspiracy theorist Cotillard, who, let's face it, will now not be starring in big ad campaigns on this side of the pond). I can't see her as Chanel either, but the fragrance face makes sense if they are trying to emphasize the “Frenchness” of No. 5 – which they seem to try to do.
Well hey, were *you* there when they walked on the moon? LOL…
Tatou is suitably cute for No 5 and at least looks happy, Kidman looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights (I find her a bit creepy). I think though it should be an older woman for No5, still French and charming but someone in her forties.
Funny y'all mention Deseo, for months I didn't even bother sniffing the sample. But it's nice and tomato-y, not bad for summer.
Cottillard would make a better Coco, right? But for the ad campaign Tautou is a good choice. She's lovely and cute, but she looks older than she looks, if that makes any sense.
I love Marion, but Audrey is wonderful, too.
And, she is not just that adorable and bubbly character from “Amelie.” I have seen several other of her films, most recently “Priceless” (where she plays a hardened and pragmatic Holly Golightly-type), and I expect she will portray Coco Chanel handsomely.
Hugs!
Wait: “upcoming Gucci by Gucci fragrance for men.” Does that mean that Gucci pour Homme is discontinued?
I know lots of people love NK, but I find her sort of creepy too. Assuming Chanel does not want charming in her 40s — guessing they want to reach a much younger audience.
I don't know Cotillard's work other than the Edith Piaf picture, so couldn't say, but agree that Tautou is perfect for Chanel no. 5.
I did not see Priceless, is it worth renting?
I don't see why they'd *need* to discontinue Gucci Pour Homme…but on the other hand, would not be surprised if they did now that they've also got Gucci Pour Homme II. Come to think of it, I should buy a bottle of GPH now…
I thought Deseo was really nicely done. Not to my taste because they made it so fresh, but nicely done.
Hey, just looked up Sébastien Chabal. Um, he's very fit. Very fit. A fine speciman of a man, who appears to have a good sense of humour and he's an excellent rugby player, I'm sure. But looking at the demographic for Pour Un Homme… well, I might say that Caron is playing against type here. He looks like the Homo Erectus stage of an evolution drawing. I rather like that, and I'm interested to see how the ads turn out.
Robin, I recommend “Priceless” — it's fluff, but entertaining fluff of the “travel porn” and “shopping porn” variety (I hope what I mean by that comes across). Sort of silly romantic comedy, but in a fun, French way, if you go for that sort of thing.
And yes, I agree that Audrey is a good face for just about any brand.
Ah, I should have taken a look at the osmoz link. There is the ad! I like it. It's quirky. And for it's worth, in response to the comment on osmoz, I would say that Chabal *does* look groomed there, for him. It's pleasant to see a guy not waxed within inches of his life.
E, you're not kidding about “playing against type” — but who knows, maybe that's what Caron is looking for. And had never heard of him before yesterday, but having done a few image searches, you're quite right — he cleaned up!
Hey, I can stand a little shopping/travel porn. Into the Netflix queue it goes…which means I'll see it in about 2 years
Don't have a TV, so I haven't seen the ad. I love the ending of the spoolf–“what a load of Flannel.” I think I'll adopt that as a sign of displeasure, with a sort of jaded moue, and a raised eyebrow. Yep, that's good.
Well, Chabal is certainly *not* a 'vapid celebrity' ;-D However, he is one of the many reasons I'm very happy my boyfriend is a rugby fan. Along with Danny Cipriani and half the Argentinian squad ;-D
Sorry, I appear to be not thinking about perfume at all….
Isn't that great — load of flannel! Loved it.
Does this mean I ought to go google images of Danny Cipriani?? Or should I keep thinking about perfume, LOL…
I think Juliette Binoche would be a better choice. Audrey is lovely and charming, but she lacks the sophistication necessary to represent Chanel No 5.
Sadly, guessing Chanel would think JB way too old for what they're after…
Very true. Still, trying to market No 5 to the average twenty-something is a wasted effort. Audrey would be a better face for Chance or Coco Mlle. Would be nice if they gave *something* to us gals over 40!
You're probably right that it's a wasted effort, although I always wonder about Chanel no. 5 — it is always listed as a top seller, but I never smell it “on the street”. Wonder how many zillions of bottles are sold as gifts and are never worn? So maybe all they need to do is keep the image up?
And yes, it would be nice!
I agree – No 5 is probably the default purchase many people make when buying perfume for someone in the States. It's probably more commonly worn in Europe. And yes, it would probably continue to sell well even if they never advertised it again!