Saturday, December 01, 2007
Smell Ads
Nicole Kidman advertises Chanel No 5, primarily on one of the most expensive TV ads ever made. This ad, made by Baz Luhrmann, is also, as I once pointed out at some length, one of the worst ever made. Now Kidman is suing the Telegraph over a claim in its diary that No 5 was not her favourite smell - the diarist claimed it was Jo Malone's White Jasmine and Mint. Odd that, I'd have had her down as a Guerlaine girl, but there you go. Smell ads are one of the more curious symptoms of Christmas. They are all, basically, exactly the same, whether flogging Stench by Calvin Armani or Emetic by Dolci & Boss. One always assumes that, come January, the entire population will be emitting exotic odours, but they never do. Perhaps they're saving them for a special occasion, like next Christmas. Personally, I find being given a smell offensive - my natural odour is so very fine and, anyway, I never know how much to put on. There's nothing worse than getting into a lift and realising you smell like an unwanted Christmas present that's been smashed with a hammer.
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A blog about, among other things, imaginary ideas - What ifs? and Imagine thats. What if photographs looked nothing like what we see with our eyes? Imagine that the Berlin Wall had never come down. What if we were the punchline of an interminable joke? All contributions welcome.
my natural odour is so very fine and, anyway, I never know how much to put on
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that's information I was just dying to know.
My advice is to get in touch with people like Jo Malone who ministers to males with odour problems. To contact the White Jasmine and Mint media desk email SelenaDreamy@RhinoSpearmint.co.uk or phone 0209 470 9857.
Amusing, Bry. I am always noticing what people smell like, for better and for worse. When I lived in France, lo this 20 years ago now, I finally discovered why the French were the great innovators of perfume. It hit me on a rush-hour Metro: The smell of unwashed bodies and clothes heavily overlaid with perfume. Emetic, indeed. (No offense to the French -- I'm part French -- but you guys know it's true.)
ReplyDeleteI do also remember people by scent, and some I'm drawn to (my husband -- his scent is heroin to me) and others I'm repelled by. Most fall into some neutral category, but some I do remember by the cologne or perfume they wear. My kids say they think of me whenever they smell Poeme, since that's the scent I've favored for the last decade.
Ah, the odor of destiny ... it is rising all around us.
My poser for posters: What do you smell this very moment? Tell us! Let's add a dimension to the thought experiment here by going outside the realm of the visual. A virtual smell experiment instead.
I'll start: I smell toast (sourdough bread, with lightly salted butter), and coffee with milk. I also smell a slight soupcon of dog, as my Labrador is in the room. Now you!
Agree on the awfulness of the Kidman Chanel ad.
ReplyDeleteI think they should make perfume adverts in the Cillit Bang style.
i smell like a dog. This may sound like a bit of a boast but it's true. Human beings tend to find it a bit off-putting, but dogs like me.
ReplyDeleteI smell frying bacon, coffee and the Sunday papers......bliss
ReplyDeleteI do also remember people by scent, and some I'm drawn to (my husband -- his scent is heroin to me) and others I'm repelled by. Most fall into some neutral category, but some I do remember by the cologne or perfume they wear. My kids say they think of me whenever they smell Poeme, since that's the scent I've favored for the last decade.
ReplyDelete