The fragrance without muse of Guerlain

Flore Custot
18 nov. 2021
2 min de lecture

Dernière mise à jour : 8 déc. 2021

With La Petite Robe Noire, Guerlain has overturned the usual codes of the image by not being a muse to represent its perfume.

Choosing a muse has become essential in the world of perfume because she embodies a feminine ideal specific to the universe of the brand she represents. Most of the time, the big houses choose an "égérie" because she is the embodiment of the personality of a product. Choosing a muse for the big houses is strategic and necessary because it is the identity that will concretize the brand's essence and directly convey its personality. Present everywhere in advertising campaigns; it makes us almost incapable of conceptualizing perfume without its human representation. Today the muse's personality must have real credibility with the target audience to identify with her. This influential association between the muse and the perfume reflects the history, values and identity often considered timeless to perfume. The muse also makes it possible to draw a lot of attention to the fragrance, create an event, charm, inspire dreams, and sometimes breathe new life.

For its perfume La Petite Robe Noire, Guerlain chose to take the opposite view of its competitors by creating an advertisement without an celebrity but simply with a slender figure walking around Paris wearing a simple black dress. The mark then chose to focus mainly on the chic, elegant, glamorous and luxurious reputation that Guerlain represents. The house has enough confidence in the image its brand evokes with the public to do without a classic muse and play on the essential item of all fashionistas: a little black dress.

With it, La Petite Robe Noire Eau de parfum is plays on the universal codes of fashion and is aimed at women of all generations.

Because almost all women have a black dress in their wardrobe!

Always moving, the faceless figure is playful and refined. Charming illustrations of Deygas and Kuntzel then replace the usual celebrity with an illustration. Each woman can quickly identify with this different character since she has no age limit or no aesthetic codes that would decrease the size of the target.

The brand invites everyone to adorn themselves with this new scent with a touch of good taste, mystery, and simplicity. The brand asserts its unique personality thanks to this one-of-a-kind campaign that is creating a buzz. By standing out from the crowd, the house succeeded in its marketing stunt, rejuvenating its image, which was growing old, and success is there.

The strategy is working to the point that Guerlain now has on its official website a tab dedicated to La Petite Robe Noire with different fragrances, including limited editions. The range has been extended to accessories. A favourite fragrance, the advertisement for La Petite Robe Noire by Guerlain, was elected on the 26th Ipsos Awards as the most striking advertisement of the year in 2012.