November 28, 2004

the new chanel no. 5 ad

zzzzazzdggg05.jpg

Apparently the new Chanel No. 5 ad is the most expensive commercial ever made. From The Daily Telegraph:

Chanel argues that it is "a creative first. The film to revolutionise advertising."

At £18 million, it is certainly a first in terms of budget. Miss Kidman's £2 million fee alone is equal to the entire cost of the Oscar-nominated 1995 film Trainspotting.

Well, I would argue it's probably the worst commercial I've seen in years. Even Kidman, who I usually like a lot, couldn't save this turkey.

It was corny, it was cliché, it was fake, it was bland, it was phoney, it was emotionally dead, it was utterly drenched in has-been pomposity. It was everything Chanel SHOULD NOT be.

The worst thing is: it wasn't beautiful. Everything looked computer generated- the skyline, the sets, even some of the actors. Computers are useful things, sure, but creating beauty is not their forte.

Seriously, if a Chanel ad can't even be beautiful, what's the point?

It was so bad I felt embarrassed for all the people associated with it.

Throwing £18 million at a problem and solving nothing is hardly revolutionary. Throwing £18 thousand at a problem and fixing something would be far more interesting.

Just one more sexy, shiny nail in the coffin of Madison Avenue.

[The download is here. Ouch.] Thanks to Boo for the link.

Posted by hugh macleod at November 28, 2004 8:34 AM | TrackBack
Comments

I found a download at
http://www.nicolekidmanunited.com/Chanel/ChanelNo5Film/ChanelNo5AdOnChannel9.avi

You're right. It's horrible. I wonder if Baz Luhrmann (director) and Nichole Kidman both decided that the fees they were being offered were high enough to offset any damage to their careers.

Posted by: boo at November 28, 2004 8:51 AM

What a pile of old shite. The whole thing's a cliche, composed of more cliches.

If this is the best that advertising can offer these days, they might as well shut up shop now.

Russell
The Mobile Weblog
www.mobile-weblog.com

Posted by: Russell Buckley at November 28, 2004 5:15 PM

Which player/codec are you guys using to watch this? I'm on osx with qt+3ivx and vlc installed, but i only get audio, no video...

Posted by: christoph at November 28, 2004 7:30 PM

Sorry, can't help you, Christoph. I saw the thing on the TV.

Posted by: hugh macleod at November 28, 2004 8:21 PM

This film can advertise anything, we could have seen "Coffee something" or "Jewelery something" in the end, and that would have been the same... pretty much everything but perfume...

This ad was totally useless. Too bad for those who worked on it.

Christoph : have you tried with mplayer osx? I often get different results when I use it : http://mplayerosx.sourceforge.net/

Posted by: Joachim at November 28, 2004 11:04 PM

i agree, the ad is crap and every frame is filled with the overwhelming sense of someone trying way too hard. i feel sad for the people involved...such a huge miscalculation. perhaps it will in fact "revolutionize advertising", by killing off these old crusty ideas.

Posted by: cynthia at November 29, 2004 5:56 PM

does any one know what the music used is called or where it comes from?i met my wife and it was being played in a record shop.would make a great xmas present for her and some nookie for me.!

Posted by: nick lomvardos at November 30, 2004 5:32 PM

reminds me of those fucking bombay sapphire ads that are allegedly "art". or, i suppose, the whole absolut campaign, which while as resoundingly successful as any bullshit ad campaign can possibly be, is still nevertheless a bullshit ad campaign. i'm almost tempted by such things to exhume andy warhol's corpse so i can hit him on the head with a shovel.

i liked that old aftershave commercial where the guy slaps himself in the face. it's just kind of a nice image. and that's that cheap shit you can buy in the drug store. do not underestimate the power of smelling like your dad, or your granddad.

there will always be a segment of the market that does not want to be insulted, however small. maybe i'm an idiot, but i want that market.

you may say that i'm a dre-e-eamer-r-r.....

Posted by: campester at November 30, 2004 10:40 PM

Well well, I stumbled onto this site while looking for a Chanel retailer, and goodness me, how very sad this is. I'm not usually one to participate in these 'chat' absurdities, but oh well ...

To 'Nick Lomvardos' - The piece of music is Debussy's Clair De Lune

To the endless pile of critics - please, stop criticising the piece of work because you don't understand it, or have some deep hatred towards the more fortunate world of luxury. Either admire it, or ignore it, do not make absurd comparisons between the world of luxury and the world that is exemplified by fragrance you buy from the drug store.

Posted by: a critic at December 5, 2004 12:43 PM

"A Critic", I posted my reply here:

http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/001153.html

"Well, Anonymous, that explains why Chanel got into the soap business, so people like you can reach down and grab it. That's what they want, of course. They want you to buy into their value system, which they firehose down from on high.

'The more fortunate world of luxury'? C'mon, Anon, it's a bottle of perfume, not a frickin' 50-foot yacht."

Posted by: hugh macleod at December 5, 2004 2:32 PM

I LOVE the commercial...it took my breath away! The whole thought of it is so romantic!! The atmosphere, the love, the acting it was simply incredible! Nicole Kidman is beautiful! It was like no other commercial i have ever seen!! Good Job Chanel!!!!!

Posted by: Mary at December 9, 2004 1:43 AM

To all you people that are down playing this commercial...chanel is getting the last laugh!! becuase not only are you arguing and spending your time talking about it your exposing what you "think is dumb"(the perfume)...so when you think you are doing benifit and putting this masterpiece down you are actually helping them...so who is getting the last laugh...!!

Posted by: sherry at December 9, 2004 1:46 AM

"blah blah Chanel blah blah blah Chanel blah."

that kind of buzz only helps Chanel among people who don't form opinions of their own. in my opinion, the market is changing. people are doing their own thinking more.

Posted by: Alpha at December 9, 2004 6:17 AM

Well, Sherry and Mary, since you both are writing from the same IP number, your opinions carry less weight than those leaving comments for HONEST reasons.

I suspect you're some PR flack in the pay of Chanel.

Whatever. It doesn't matter to me one way or the other. I happen to not think much of the commercial, but maybe there are plenty folks who do.

Posted by: hugh macleod at December 9, 2004 11:33 AM

I saw the ad for the first time at the movies a couple of weeks ago. It's full of cliches, it's melodramatic, it's computer generated, etc, etc. And I frikkin loved it. LOVED IT! My friend and I turned to each other when it ended and could hardly say anything.

Oh get over it. It's just a fragrance commercial, not a neo nazi manifesto. I'm sure it will do what it was supposed to do - shift product. And I'm sure the shifting of the product will help recoup the outlay. It was never gonna be, or was even supposed to be Citizen Kane. In the meantime I'll keep watching the download cause the dresses are real pretty, Nicole is gorgeous, the shots are sumptuous and Rodrigo Santoro is one tall drink of water. And I love the music.

And as for the cost? I work in advertising and I can tell you now that Chanel will never have released info on anyones fees or the cost of the ad. The figure will have been invented by some hack at the New York Post.

Posted by: Christopher at December 10, 2004 5:53 PM

oh well... you all talk and talk and talk... so you all have seen it! That´s the point, either you like or not, you're talking about it... you watched it... probably it will sell a lot! so they get what they want, no matter what you think or say. in my opinion (probably you don't care about it) i liked... a lot! it´s beautiful to watch and that's that.

Posted by: lara at December 12, 2004 10:30 PM

Wha? Were's me comment from Dec 11th? Was it something I said, Hugh?

Posted by: fouroboros at December 13, 2004 5:39 AM

"No one can steal our dream...no one!"

She's ready for her close-up now, Mr. DeMille.

Posted by: wildsoda at December 13, 2004 9:49 AM

I loved it! Chanel is genious! They have a target audience and it doen's include the dreamless. Bravo.

Posted by: Michelle at December 19, 2004 5:57 PM

I love the film Moulin Rouge i have it on dvd and video this how Nicole Kidman became my favorite actress, The Channel advert i saw the other night i found it Briliant she looks beautiful in it! Its soooo Romantic i have too download!

Well done Nicole and Channel!

Posted by: Amber-Jo at December 23, 2004 3:30 PM

I also love Moulin Rouge and must admit I like the ad. My question is who is the guy?

Posted by: Trish at December 23, 2004 9:22 PM

Well, Well, It is funny that all u people who are saying this advert/film is crap. It is a very one of the most beautiful advert i have ever seen. I think the people who dont like it dont have any sense of art. Try to think of something like this u r self and then u should know how difficult it is to make something like this.

Posted by: ansh at December 26, 2004 3:06 PM

yah, but i hear chanel had a banner year. i understand that quite a few people like it -- especially their loyal customer base. and so, what have you people made lately? grilled cheese? stop being such whiney bitches -- it hurts my ears.

Posted by: harry at December 30, 2004 12:08 PM

he's a brazilian actor i hear.

Posted by: harry at December 30, 2004 12:10 PM

Exactly where did you hear they had "a banner year", Harry?

From the PR firm who pays your salary, perhaps? ;-)

Posted by: hugh macleod at December 30, 2004 12:15 PM