Hey Perfume Posse, Portia from Australian Perfume Junkies back in the Posse and this week I wanted to revisit one of the all time most beautiful ads ever made, to my taste anyway. Audrey Tautou is our heroine, going to Istanbul on the train. An overnight in a single sleeper. It’s all very Orient Express and is a wonderful mini movie. Recently we talked about the exhuming of dead stars and parading them for the cost effectiveness and lack of scandal value. Audrey Tautou has remained scandal free and does a sterling job.
Can you think of a current star who would be a good fit for CHANEL no 5? I’m surprised they haven’t asked Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet or Dianne Keaton to be CHANEL women. I think they would be amazing role models.
Photo Stolen Flickr
Please Enjoy.
Portia x
Brilliant! Thank you so much for posting this. Evocative, beautiful, sexy. Why in heaven’s name would Chanel go from this to Brad Pitt? Who has his charms but he was a terrible pick for that ad. This was a pure pleasure. It would be hard to top AT – I’d have suggested Dita Von Teese but she has her own fragrance line. But she is a private person, with a vintage vibe and also modern, who maintains an air of mystery.
thanks so much for sharing . I Loved this Ad. Yes that’s very true.
Majestic! Thanks, I’d not seen this before.
I think there are many many women that would be a good fit,
how about Sophia Loren for one?
Cate Blanchett, Marisa Tomei, Camilla Belle, maybe something even quirkier would be nice too.
Elia, Sophia Loren is a GREAT choice. What about Candice Bergan, Linda Evans or Vanessa Williams? What about Betty White?
Portia x
I don’t really see Candice Bergen as a fit really. A bit of an invitation to be catty here 😛
Vanessa Williams 10 years ago and Linda Evans 20 years ago 😛
Betty White is the right amount of quirky, I could warm to that :)))
btw Does it matter that I don’t much care for No 5? lol
Audrey Tautou is perfect. I would love to see Helen Mirren, just because she has a bit of a naughty persona.
As for the ad’s mini-story/..why doesn’t that ever happen to me?
Ha Ha Ha! Have you been wearing CHANEL No 5? Do you overnight on trains? That must be a VERY expensive room. All the overnighters I’ve done on trains, even in First Class sleepers have been a good deal less luxurious than that.
And yes TaffyJ, I think Helen Mirren could sell the shit out of CHANEL No 5 too
Portia xx
Great ad – I loved the image of the Chanel bottle in the light/dark of the train and the two C’s at the end. I’m casting a vote too for Maggie Smith and Judi Dench – I’m adding Helen Mirren to the list – classy ladies all. I would love to see Chanel break out of the young model mold – perhaps if ‘Coco’ was still alive she would agree??
I wonder too SallyM,
Would there be a CHANEL considering what a racist and bigot Coco was. I think the backlash would have killed the house. But then too, it may have been all hidden under a rug and reformulated were she still alive.
Portia xx
Yes that’s very true. I don’t think her association with the Nazis etc should be glossed over today as it was in the past. It’s a double edged sword: fact – she was the heartbeat of Chanel and an icon of fashion design/couture; fact – she was an anti-Semite, opportunist and insufferable bigot. It seems hard to me to separate the two – indeed I don’t think we should – but I often hear people extol her virtues as an icon *as a woman* leaving out the very real darker side. I think its wrong to not see/accept the whole picture but as you say, it might very well have continued to be “marketed” right out of the picture.
I’ll second the choices of Judi Dench or Maggie Smith and throw in Jessica Lange. I hate how advertisers and Hollywood make it seem like once a woman reaches a certain age she’s all done.
I think Poodle that if one of the grande dames started advertising fragrance then the grande dames around the world would respond. I wonder if they have ever given it a go?
Portia xx
yep, that is a goodie. thanks for posting it. someone for no. 5… that shouldn’t be hard, but it is. i know this is a wild suggestion, but the woman is just so dang beautiful – sofia vergara. or sharon stone. yes, i’m thinking of the movie they made together, but both women are sexy and beautiful in their own way, and have enough personality to handle no. 5 duties.
WOW! Sophia Vergara looks like a Penthouse model. So gorgeous.
Portia xx
Loved this Ad.
My all time n°5 favorite commercial was the one with “little” red riding hood, all grown up and beloved by her wolf.
I will whisper it here, but besides the last two ridiculous commercials for the perfume, I also disliked the ones with “iconic” Deneuve and De la Fressange.
Their charm is really wasted on me.
I cannot think of an actress that fits with my idea of Number 5 (I love Sharon Stone and Jane Fonda so much so that I would send them to Guerlain instead!) – Julie Delpy maybe? love her.
I also think Lupita Nyong’o has the grace to embody one of the most graceful perfumes…
Sharon Stone and Jane Fonda are excellent choices. I wonder why neither of them did do the crossover?
Portia x
I love the Audrey Tautou no. 5 commercial! Now, I’m not too wild about the Kiera Knightly Mademioselle commercial even though it was done in a similar manner to the Audrey Tautou no 5 commercial. I think it’s because CM annoys me and I think that Knightly isn’t that great of an actress.
Eldarwen22,
I’m totally glad you love the Audrey Tautou, really think Keira is a less than stellar actress? Oh. Sad face. I love her. She is in my top 10 working actresses list.
Portia x
Necromarketing!!! AnnieA, that is priceless, you kill me! I loved Audrey as the face of Chanel, and as Chanel herself in the film. They should have hung on to her! I keep expecting Chanel celeb darling Anne Hathaway to be a face of Chanel, I think she looks the part. Of course I would love to see funny, classy Sandra Bullock as well but she strikes me as a low maintenance kind of gal, just hitting the local drugstore for her cosmetic needs.
Yes, I wonder why Ann Hathaway hasn’t been used. Wasn’t there some scandal or did she make an ass of herself in a very public speech? I think there was something. Nothing like a reputation as a loose cannon to lower your chances of getting big advertising deals.
I’m also surprised that Jake Gyllenhaal hasn’t done advertising. I would buy ANYTHING that he faced for. Even Incontinence Pads or Step Ladders.
Portia xx
I love Jake G. He makes me drool and think very cougar like thoughts. I would buy a used car with no air conditioning from him in the summer.
Oh My Yes.
This is my favorite ad. I would love it if they had one with Dame Judi Dench or Helen Mirren.
OMGosh, Katherine! You read my mind. Though I would also like to see a woman of color be the face, not for PC but because the world is so diverse. I nominate the beautiful Alfre Woodard and that gorgeous Michelle Yeoh.
Musette,
I think we will be seeing Lupita Nyong’o in LOADS of commercials soon. She is definitely going places fast.
Portia xx
Musette and Portia, I agree. I love Alfre Woodard, Michelle Yeoh and Lupita Nyong. Each would be a tremendous asset to Chanel’s marketing and help expand this fragrance that I really love.
Katherine, they would be incredible choices. Can I please add Maggie Smith and Goldie Hawn to your role call of divine ladies of a certain age
Portia xx
Maggie Smith AND Judi Dench for Chanel? I’m sorry. That’s just TOO MUCH AWESOME for this po’ thang! xoxoxoA
Let’s hear it for real, living people! How I hate necromarketing…
Hi there AnnieA,
I am a fan of both to be honest but I LOVE this particular ad, the CHANEL bottle shadow as it passes across the room is so magic.
Is there any dead star you would approve of in advertising?
Portia x
And I especially love the closing scene where the inlay of the floor reveals the famous double Cs — priceless!
Ann,
They really got it right with this one. I wonder how much it cost?
Yes, their double Cs are such a perfect finishing touch.
I was lucky enough to be able to sit on the famous CHANEL staircase at 31 Rue Cambon, where Coco Chanel would sit watching the models as they went down them to the guests, in Paris last month. It was one of my absolute dreams come true. In fact it was so far beyond my the reach of my dreams that I had to pinch myself a couple of times.
Portia xx
Such a wonderful ad — thanks so much for sharing this, Portia! This is how it’s done — beautiful and classy!