Still from fragrance commercial
If you’ve not noticed, companies are falling over themselves signing celebs to hawk perfumes. The idea is that consumers will get their five minutes of fame vicariously through wearing a celebrity fragrance. And although Paris Hilton’s fragrance (several years ago) became a global best seller, it looks like the general public isn’t quite as star struck these days.
Parlux, the company behind the fragrance bearing (pop singer) Rihanna’s name, reported an unexpected drop in sales for this quarter. A spokesperson for Parlux noted the increased competition in the fragrance industry as part of the problem. I’m thinking the state of the economy may have something to do with it, as well. Buying a new fragrance is low on the list of must-haves as families wonder what’s going on with Congress and the national budget.
Although I don’t buy perfumes with toxic ingredients and estrogen mimickers (READ: Most mainstream scents),I can appreciate the talent that goes into creating a nuanced fragrance with many different notes. I don’t understand the appeal of buying a fragrance because a singer (or an actress or a porn star, etc.) was paid millions of dollars to lend her name to it. The whole concept escapes reason to me. If I like her music, I’ll buy her latest song. I have no desire to make her rich(er) for lending out her name.
What’s your take? Do you buy fragrances with celebrity endorsements?
I like Rihanna’s perfume and it is worth every scent as well as long lasting.
Hi MSlici,
Thanks for your comment. You’re probably right. I wish someone could do a comparison of two launches. Same scent. One with a celeb endorsing it and the other ad without. I wonder if the celeb endorsed version of the same scent would drastically outsell the other one. Just a thought.
I don’t run to buy but it is a faster way for the fragrance to get out there. I think that is why they do it. Even if you forget the name of the fragrance you might want to test and see if it is any good. The people at the sales counter know exactly what you’re looking for when you say “the new {insert celebrity name} fragrance.” the fragrance gets more noticed ads, airtime, and word of mouth attention when a “star” is attached to it.