BETC Luxe launched a campaign for Yves Saint Laurent’s new fragrance Y which is designed to appeal to, you guessed it, millenials.
A new spot, entitled “Y,” offers a sort of Gen Y anthem for the crowd that every marketer lusts after. The spot, which was shot by Iconoclast director Manu Cossu,opens with the line “Why, it makes everything possible.”
“Why follow old paths when I can create new ones?” it asks over footage of three millenial brand ambassadors: rapper Loyle Carner (who also provides the soundtrack), artificial intelligence researcher Alexandre Robicquet and sculptor David Alexander Flinn.
“Y” continues to wax philosophical with the argument that “Why is not a weakness, it’s a strength” and one that can “break down walls,” and “build new worlds.”
Are you playing along on your millenial buzz word bingo card?
The spot concludes with the tagline “Everything starts with a why” before an awkward pivot to the brand.
“Y” is, to put it mildly, a bit too direct in its intentions to appeal to its target demographic. And that’s something that, of course, is notoriously off-putting to millenials.
“We wanted modern, yet authentic, shots to capture the universe of our three ambassadors,” BETC Luxe creative director Guillaume Rebbot said in a statement. “Manu Cossu was the right person for the job. We loved the way he directed music videos for A$AP Rocky,Gesaffelstein or Drake. He brings a strong aesthetic and is able to shoot arresting and visual images.”
The campaign also features a print component, with the three brand ambassadors shot by photographer Matt Lambert.
Credits:
Brand: Yves Saint Laurent
Ad Agency: BETC Luxe
Creative Director: Guillaume Rebbot
Creatives: Fanny Buratto, Maud Lepetit
Art Director: Julie Richard
Director: Manu Cossu
Production Company: Iconoclast
Music Track: The Isle of Arran (Loyle Carner)