i’m over celebrities as models. they don’t do a good job as the real thing (diane kruger, famke janssen, rebecca romijn, et. al excluded) and the ads come off looking, well, cheap. after kate moss’ contract with the company ended, they tapped kiera knightley to take over the reins. the announcement was made in april of 2006, but it’s just now that the first images of the campaign have started running in september and october mags. jacques helleu, chanel’s artistic director, was so impressed with knightley after seeing pride and prejudice that he hired the actress to star in the campaign and the director, joe wright to direct the television commercial.
according to chanel, the mood of coco mademoiselle represents the “modern facet of chanel — the strength and irreverence of gabrielle chanel.” uh huh. well kiera sitting with a bowler covering her boobs and a shirt covering her va-ga-ga doesn’t scream “irreverence” to me. and after looking back at past coco ads, i realized that this new ad is a step in the wrong direction. i feel as if it’s just using a celebrity just to use one, not because she brings anything to the concept.
anouck lepere appeared in the first coco mademoiselle ads when the fragrance was released in 2001. the oriental scent was not seen as being a blockbuster, but that’s just what it turned into for chanel, making the company $21 million in its first year and now ranking fifth among domestic fragrance sales. it’s kinda cute…she’s wearing a man’s shirt with a silk skirt, but nothing special.
this is my favorite coco ad. love kate in black with the short jean seberg haircut. she’s the ingenue, innocent but feisty and reckless. oh, and gorgeous.
here kate is portraying a more innocent, virginal role. there’s something off about her hair and makeup though, and she actually looks older here than in the previous ad.
so what’s your pick? how do you feel about the new coco mademoiselle ads?
