The last time I had my 23 hours flight from Almaty to Vancouver I got to spend 5-ish hours in Amsterdam’s international airport- Schiphol. Unlike Frankfurt’s airport (which I usually fly through) Schiphol seemed smaller and more welcoming. There you don’t have to go through a security check in order to access duty-free area. The airport is full of shops varying from convenience stores to high-end fancy boutiques. Naturally the airport is decorated with various banners that are advertising goods sold in those stores. The one banner that drew my attention was an advertisement of Chanel No:5 that depicts Brad Pitt and a traditional vial of legendary Chanel No:5.
At first I was amused at the fact that the add of female’s perfume featured a manly look of ex- Troy’s conqueror and a father of Fight Club, but then I grew doubtful. I wondered whether Chanel actually made a men’s version of that perfume. Being a fan of that scent (my mother used to use it when I was a kid, and it still gives me warm memories) I decided to ask an assistant to clear the situation out. Conveniently the lady at the counter happened to know Russian which facilitated a nice little chit-chat. When I asked her about the perfume she had a little chuckle. She said that I wasn’t the first one to ask, but that still I turned out to be in a segment of customers that were thorough enough to at least ask, whether or not it was fit for men. Turns out last week she sold about 10 vials to men that intended to use the perfume themselves. As she said “they just came into the store, sprayed it on their skin, sniffed, gave a few approving nods and brought them up to the counter”. The power of advertisement, right there.