New Chanel No.5 Ad with Audrey Tautou by Jean-Pierre Jeunet {Fragrance News} {Perfume Adverts}

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The first stills from the new commercial by director Jean-Pierre Jeunet for Chanel No. 5 have been released featuring actress Audrey Tautou and model Travis Davenport. The story manages to allude to the universe and era of Gabrielle Chanel in a number of indirect ways by situating the narrative on the Orient-Express with its Art Deco aesthetics, and showcasing an Audrey Tautou dressed in an atemporal manner yet reflective of Chanel's casual style and liking for sailmen's trousers for example, an outfit she wears on several known pictures of hers. In less allusive ways and very symbolically present, one finds the number 5 interpersed in the images of the movie which ends on the famous two intertwined Cs logo.

Less obviously night-time glamorous and glitzy than the ad shot by Baz Luhrman with Nicole Kidman five years ago, the TV commercial nevertheless makes a point to convey the idea that Chanel is all about ultimate luxury even when the tone has become more intimate. Jean-Pierre Jeunet who already did Amélie with Tautou was quoted as saying that

"Even in the world of advertising, it can be said that the house of Chanel works in an unparalleled level of comfort, which allows you to go to the absolute limits,"...

The shoot lasted 3 weeks and involved 250 people while it is more usual for Jeunet to devote 1 week maximum to a commercial.

According to WWD,

"Tautou, who first charmed moviegoers in Jeunet's 2001 hit "Amélie," first crosses Davenport aboard the train. Later, both unable to sleep, he lingers outside her cabin. In Istanbul, Tautou misses a riverboat, only to photograph it later from another ship, revealing Davenport on its deck. The ad, which recalls the vibrant colors of "Amélie," plays out to Billie Holiday's lilting track "I'm a Fool to Want You" and closes with a shot of the couple embracing, standing atop Chanel's logo formed in a mosaic."

The strategy for Chanel relying on sumptious cyclical campaigns for their star fragrance is to both consolidate the image of No. 5, make it even more mythical if you will, while attempting to attract new, younger customers to the fragrance. The choice of Audrey Tautou will be further prolonged by the biopic about Coco Chanel in which she plays the designer. Her image is particularly yourthful and fresh with a slightly naïve and innocent quality that makes her very accessible to a large audience.

The ad campain will garner momentum with a teaser at the end of April 2009 on chaneln5.com and will open officially on the internet on May 5th 2009, 88 years to the day after it was introduced, respecting the superstitious spirit of Gabrielle Chanel who considered 5 to be her lucky number (and it was never disproved by history.)

See also:

Rumor, Rumor: Audrey Tautou as Next Chanel No.5 Icon