In a new TV spot for the latest Elizabeth Arden scent, Untold, a New York woman enigmatically walks home and greets the sunrise.
But while you might expect the agency behind the global branding and advertising for the new fragrance to be a New York powerhouse, it’s actually a Canadian shop – three-year-old, Montreal-based Tuxedo.
“We’re just really very excited, because it doesn’t happen very often for a Canadian agency to do something on a worldwide scale like this, to be able to compete against New York agencies and a New York brand. That’s kind of fun,” said Dominic Tremblay, president of Tuxedo.
The campaign, which began a few weeks ago, includes TV spots, print ads, a microsite, social media, billboards and point of sale marketing around the world. Tuxedo also created the brand identity.
In the fragrance category, which sees hundreds of launches a year, the story is particularly important, especially if a celebrity didn’t co-create the product, said Tremblay. “It’s a complete emotional purchase,” he said, adding that the “ability to create something that you can connect with” is crucial.
The part of the TV ad where the sun rises was shot in real time. “We were there at like 5:45, and we had like three minutes… it was a really high-pressure shoot. It was very interesting to get that perfect image,” said Tremblay.
The campaign is launching in more than 50 countries, although not all will show the TV spot. Tuxedo created the French ads for Quebec as well. Each country will have its own company doing media buying and PR for the launches.
“We decided to work with Tuxedo because we liked their understanding of prestige and beauty, as well as their disruptive approach when it comes to communications,” said Vincenzo Carrara, senior director of global marketing for Elizabeth Arden fragrances, in a release.
Tuxedo has won several awards, and its creations include the Zombie Boy video for Dermablend. That video went viral and got more than seven million views.
Phase two of the Untold campaign, which will launch shortly, focuses on Christmas. One creative aspect: a partnership with authors, who will write short stories about what could have happened to the woman the night before. It also includes a Christmas print ad shot in Central Park.
