The wacky and wild innovation in the ad is due to Kenzo’s creative directors, Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, who enlisted ‘Being John Malkovich’ director, Spike Jonze, and the choreographer behind Sia’s ‘Chandelier’ video, Ryan Heffington.
Andie MacDowell’s daughter, Margaret Qualley, stars in the short film that has so far gained 3.8 million views on Youtube. The song “Mutant Brain” was created especially for the campaign by DJs Sam Spiegel & Ape Drums with vocals by Assassin, and the whole scene resembles Jonze’s video for Fatboy’s Slim’s “Weapon of Choice” starring Christopher Walken.
However, as W Magazine puts it, “Qualley manages to out freak Walken though. Along the way she flies through a giant Kenzo eye made out of flowers, has a ballet moment in an empty theater, and also finds time to kill a man.”
Qualley herself agrees, “When we think about perfume campaigns, we think about a pretty girl with a bottle. This clip is exactly the opposite. It’s very multifaceted and different; it takes the spectator by surprise.”
Lim and Leo added in a statement that “the Kenzo girl inhabits the present, like right now. She’s not nostalgic at all. She likes movement and speed and the way things shift and slide and collide in real time. She’s never blasé, always enthusiastic. She stands out from the crowd.”
What marketers can learn from this example is how to create a viral campaign people will be buzzing about, and no one will soon forget.