Givenchy’s new fragrance for spring 2010, eaudemoiselle, reconnects with the aristo-chic spirit that is so dear to couturier Hubert de Givenchy. In the perfume’s ad, professional model Magdalena Frackowiak appears clad in a long black cape. The fragrance’s packaging also features women’s faces, but you won’t find Magdalena’s among them. No, Givenchy had a surprising idea: organize an in-house casting call among the female employees to choose young Givenchy women to feature on the product. The brand’s CEO, Alain Lorenzo, came up with the idea, and the casting call was organized by the ad agency that works with Givenchy regularly. Why choose staff members rather than professional models? Essentially for legal and logistical reasons having to do with image rights. They would have had to change the packaging every two or three years, and organizing returns for unsold bottles would have been complicated, the house admits. The young women chosen, one blond and one brunette, come from the press office for the one, and marketing for the other. They’ve both signed a contract and will be paid like ‘normal’ models, the brand explains. The idea of the faces, which will appear in golden frames, is unusual: packaging is usually fairly neutral, or at most, adorned with drawings of flowers, but never faces, Givenchy points out. What’s more, the faces on this item are real ‘Demoiselles Givenchy,’ which is even more unusual. While the house isn’t hyping this point, in order to focus on the fragrance itself, they do acknowledge that the idea created a real esprit de corps amongst the staff. Who knows, the idea might well inspire other brands in the future.
- Nicolas Olczyk