The third commercial that I viewed was for KENZO World, a fragrance line. This was by far one of my favorite advertisements that I viewed this week, and apparently I'm not the only one that thinks so; it ended up winning a Gold Lion in the Film category at the Saturday night awards ceremony. It is a masterpiece of confusion and creativity wrapped into a simple artistic format that is absolutely captivating. I originally viewed the made-for-TV 60 second version, but there was also a longer version that made me fall in love with the commercial even more.
The commercial begins with the main character sitting in what seems to be an awards banquet. Her mind seems to be somewhere else, evident by the distant expression on her face and the increasingly echoed sound of the speech being given. She eventually gets up and walks slowly into the hallway, her green ballgown swaying back and forth as she looks at the ground and takes deep breaths. A single tear rolls down her face.
Suddenly, she begins to wink her eyes back and forth and stick her tongue out; she then proceeds to ferociously wave her arms and bend backwards and forwards, reminding me of an exorcism. Fast techno music plays in the background as she begins to run like an animal around the building, in and out of ballrooms and dancing with her reflection in the mirror. All of this is done with a crazed expression across her face as opposed to the graceful one I would have expected. More confusing activities ensue, included the woman shooting lasers out of her hands and flying through an eye made of flowers. The commercial ends with the woman staring at the screen with the same crazed expression, and then flashes to a simple picture of the perfume bottle and logo.
Reading over my description of the commercial, it sounds absolutely insane, and rightfully so. The commercial is unlike any perfume advertisement I've ever seen. It seemingly makes no sense; after all, it follows a woman that is pretty much going insane and the commercial gets increasingly more absurd as time goes on. Personally, I found this extremely captivating; however, it could easily be annoying or too absurd for others. I really like that the creators of this commercial took such a bold risk in creating a main character that dances ungracefully and breaks all of the rules of traditional lady-like norms. The beauty of this piece comes from its insanity. I found myself drawn to the increasing absurdity of the woman's actions and I am still wondering what the commercial's intended purpose was. Is it poking fun at the whimsical irrelevance of the plot of most modern perfume commercials? Or is it telling a story of a young woman tired of pretending to be someone she isn't?
The production elements of this commercial were all surprisingly simple. There was just one main character and only a handful of supporting actors. The music used in the background fit the insanity and absurdity of the content of the commercial; I found that the techno overtones and fast beats complemented the storyline and actions of the main character perfectly. The choreography was most likely the most complicated aspect of this piece, as there were several different elements to it: animal-like movements, acrobatics, ballet, hip hop, and robot-like movements, among countless others.
This was one of the best advertisements I saw because it is unprecedented. It is weird in a wonderful kind of way, which is extremely refreshing in a world full of serious and scandalous perfume advertisements.
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