Chanel No. 5’s newest T.V. ad featuring Brad Pitt left me feeling confused and disappointed. I’m definitely not alone on my stance towards the commercial, with millions of others having expressed the same concern through comments on Youtube videos and other social media platforms. Perfume ads don’t necessarily have the best track record, usually being very erotic by nature or not really making much sense at all, however, this advertisement was on a whole other playing field. Overall, I thought the ad didn’t represent the brand or the product in the least bit. Chanel is about timeless beauty, style, class, and femininity, all of which Brad Pitt does not represent. In theory Brad Pitt being chosen as the first male face of Chanel seemed like a perfect match since he is an A-list star, been named “Sexist Man Alive,” and is adored by women all over the world, but his cave man appearance and his bewildered rambling made no sense at all.

I think Chanel’s biggest mistake was choosing a man to represent the brand in the first place. Being a woman’s fragrance, Chanel should have stuck to past formulas of marketing to women, using aspirational female imagery would provide something they could connect to. However, using a male model turns an aspirational image to something of desire, which disconnects the viewer from the message of timeless beauty and sophistication.

Overall I thought the commercial was a total failure and something to be made fun of. Numerous parodies have been posted following its T.V. premier, most notably the parody by SNL. First watch the original commercial, then watch SNL’s version and have a good laugh…Enjoy!