"I think the ad is very optimistic -- definitely about girls of this generation."
For a lot of women who grew up in the 1980s, Anaïs Anaïs, a fragrance from French design house Cacharel (via L'Oréal), was an integral part of their youth.
Named for the Persian goddess of love, Anahita, the scent launched in 1978 and by the following decade, thanks in large part to a seductive print campaign by famed photographer Sarah Moon that (at times) featured a very young Kate Moss, had a dedicated, diehard following.
QUIZ: What's Your Perfume Personality?
"It was, the fragrance of the young people, all very romantic; the [advertising] image [by] Sarah Moon gave to it a sense of art -- it was an innovation, a piece of art with a very accessible price," Natalie Durán, L'Oréal's international general manager of designer fragrance brands, told
WWD.
Now, all these years later, Cacharel and L'Oréal are looking to reignite the public's love affair with Anaïs Anaïs, by introducing a new twist on the old -- Premier Délice (first delight).
This reinterpretation by Firmenich perfumiers Dora Baghriche and Olivier Cresp maintains the white flower base of the beloved original and added green pear, white peony, freesia, essence of bergamot, orange and cocoa.
And, this time 'round, the ad campaign has been shot by 19 year-old photographic phenom, Olivia Bee whom, Dur Durán says, was given free rein with the creative vision. "We wanted it to be like an initiation into a tribe," Bee, whose mom and grandma were both fans of the original fragrance, says. "I got this rough storyboard from them and I really just ran with it and made it my own. I think the ad is very optimistic -- definitely about girls of this generation."
Since "girls of this generation" are more than a little taken with social media, there is a digital side to the marketing campaign that includes the cacharel-girlstribu.com website and hashtag.
READ: Total Beauty Editors' Signature Scents