Givenchy Gentleman's visual campaign will star British actor Aaron-Taylor Johnson. Image credit: Givenchy
French fashion house Givenchy has unveiled the latest campaign for its Givenchy Gentleman cologne with a saturation of coverage through Instagram Stories.
In anticipation of the reveal, Givenchy teased a new product announcement multiple times on its primary and beauty-specific Instagram accounts, telling customers to tune in that night. Later, the brand used Instagram Stories via its Givenchy Beauty handle to chronicle a live event where guests gathered to dance, party and sample the new fragrance.
Givenchy Gentleman
To promote the Givenchy Gentleman cologne, Givenchy has unveiled the visual campaign that will go along with fragrance, featuring British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
The cologne is a reformulated version of Givenchy Gentleman, originally launched by the house in 1975. The scent's reworking is meant to pay homage to brand founder Hubert de Givenchy, and to imagine what the original version would have been like if it were launched in 2017 instead.
Throughout the day on July 12, Givenchy began posting cryptic photos to its Instagram account. The photos urged viewers to tune in the following day and keep a close eye on Givenchy Beauty’s Instagram.
These photos involved disjointed words and phrases that when put together created a message asking viewers to “dare to dance.”
Givenchy Gentleman. Image credit: Givenchy
On the eve of July 12 via Givenchy’s Instagram Stories, the brand began posting live coverage of a release party featuring professional dancers.
Throughout the night, Givenchy Gentleman was featured heavily in the short videos and pictures posted to the brand's live feed.
Givenchy then posted a few announcement photos to its main Instagram page, showing Mr. Johnson in stark black-and-white and debuting the appearance of the redesigned Givenchy Gentleman bottle.
All along this campaign, Givenchy has been promoting it through the use of a few sponsored hashtags. These hashtags included #DareToDance, #TheNewGentleMan and #GentlemanGivenchy.
These hashtags were shared by Givenchy fans in support of the event and contributed to the collaborative atmosphere of the whole campaign.
Instagram Stories
Givenchy Parfums' black-and-white aesthetic for the Givenchy Gentleman campaign is consistent with the vision put forth recently by Givenchy's newly appointed artistic director Clare Waight Keller.
Before the designer presents her first runway show at the label, Givenchy is releasing a series of black-and-white portraits that offer a glimpse at her direction for the brand. This multichannel effort, titled "Transformation Seduction," will herald Ms. Waight Keller’s arrival at the house, setting the scene for her October fashion show (see story).
Givenchy's Instagram campaign. Image credit: Givenchy
Givenchy has also been pushing its beauty brands more recently, with in-person events giving customers the option to get more familiar with Givenchy Beauty before they buy.
The Spa Metropole by Givenchy at Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo features 10 treatment rooms as well as a Givenchy beauty store, inviting consumers to explore the brand’s entire range. Branded spas allow beauty labels to build an experience around their products, providing more context for their creations (see story).
Givenchy Gentleman’s ambitious campaign shows that the brand is committed to giving its beauty brand the resources it needs to put out strong campaigns that rival those of the main Givenchy collections. The brand’s use of Instagram Stories is also a sign that live coverage and social media can be a powerful tool in marketing new products.