Fragrance of choice

August 30, 2016 3:16 PM

Let Spike and Margaret take you to Kenzo World. (SLVimeo; alternatively, YT)
posted by progosk (37 comments total)

Gorgeous, but I’d prefer it be Margaret Qualley alone - no black dude, stage scene with mystery spotlight operator, or even floating eyeball. Like, I think that the reason the oh-so-similar “Weapon of Choice” works is at least partly because it’s just Walken, all by himself. Granted, exactly duplicating yourself isn’t great style either, but I think the changes weaken it.
posted by Going To Maine at 3:32 PM on August 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Choreographed by Ryan Heffington, probably best known for Sia's Chandelier.
posted by roger ackroyd at 4:12 PM on August 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

Spike obviously loves dance and dancers. Still waiting for his Black Swan or Stayin' Alive
posted by thecjm at 4:27 PM on August 30, 2016

A gender swapped angry Weapon of Choice Pt. 2.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:31 PM on August 30, 2016

Also, every horror director wants her to star in their next film.
posted by Nanukthedog at 4:32 PM on August 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

For reals? Some of the choreography made me think of Evil Dead 2.
posted by cazoo at 4:57 PM on August 30, 2016

That was awesome.
posted by gwint at 5:16 PM on August 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Oh, she's the woman from The Nice Guys. That's why she looked so familiar. She kind of looked like Michelle Ryan in that opening shot. Maybe Ms. Qualley will be the next Bionic Woman.
posted by axiom at 5:16 PM on August 30, 2016

That was neat but it doesn't really tell me what a Kenzo is or why I should want one.
posted by octothorpe at 6:30 PM on August 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Those shoes, she's doing the moves and the jumps and some backward stuff with those shoes?!
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:34 PM on August 30, 2016 [5 favorites]

And I think Kenzo is a perfume, it says in the text for the Youtube ad.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:39 PM on August 30, 2016

Hokay and so I looked up the actress, and she's a former ABT ballet dancer (and Andie MacDowell's daughter) so the dance stuff makes more sense.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:44 PM on August 30, 2016

Those shoes, she’s doing the moves and the jumps and some backward stuff with those shoes?!

Yeah, saw her running up the stairs and was amazed.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:52 PM on August 30, 2016

The shots directly into the mirrors were a little distracting because it took me out of the moment thinking about the digital manipulation to remove the camera crew from the image. Or maybe I think too much about stuff like that.
posted by octothorpe at 6:56 PM on August 30, 2016 [7 favorites]

That was neat but it doesn't really tell me what a Kenzo is or why I should want one.

Advertising has moved beyond such trivial concerns.
posted by dis_integration at 8:04 PM on August 30, 2016 [2 favorites]

I have watched this five times today and I still love it. It's bananas and weird and I love it.

Margaret Qualley really does have her mother's eyes.
posted by angeline at 8:06 PM on August 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

Fuckin' forward flipped in heels. She's amazing.
posted by Brocktoon at 8:32 PM on August 30, 2016 [1 favorite]

For the next to last shot of her (where she’s moving towards the camera away from the hotel) when she does the forward flip she’s in flats, not heels.

Still impressive though :)
posted by pharm at 3:55 AM on August 31, 2016

Anyone know where this was filmed?
posted by Vitamaster at 5:30 AM on August 31, 2016

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
posted by octothorpe at 6:20 AM on August 31, 2016

but how does it smell?
posted by jrishel at 6:40 AM on August 31, 2016

Oh, she's the woman from The Nice Guys.

She's in the Leftovers, please watch the Leftovers.
posted by zutalors! at 7:31 AM on August 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

Kenzo is a brand and this is advertising their perfume.
posted by zutalors! at 7:31 AM on August 31, 2016

I was really hoping for it to get weirder after she started shooting lasers out of her hands.
posted by grumpybear69 at 10:38 AM on August 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

EDIT: Wait never mind I was wrong about the location
posted by The Whelk at 12:18 PM on August 31, 2016

Kenzo is a brand and this is advertising their perfume.

Yeah it is I guess. But really, when you make a music video that has fuck-all to do with your product and only includes two seconds of product placement AFTER the video, could we not consider this just a music video that happens to have been bankrolled by some perfume company? Honestly, this feels less like an ad than shows where characters use prominently displayed products: soft drinks, cars, laptops, etc.
posted by nushustu at 12:35 PM on August 31, 2016

could we not consider this just a music video that happens to have been bankrolled by some perfume company?

Pretty much, I was just responding to the "what's a Kenzo" typical question.
posted by zutalors! at 12:45 PM on August 31, 2016

I had already Googled "what's a Kenzo", I was commenting on the fact that this is so opaque as an ad.
posted by octothorpe at 12:50 PM on August 31, 2016

what are the weaknesses of the kenzo
posted by Going To Maine at 1:21 PM on August 31, 2016 [2 favorites]

Anyone know where this was filmed?

Lincoln Center.
posted by amro at 3:34 PM on August 31, 2016 [1 favorite]

Kind of chuckling at the get-off-my-lawn what's-a-Kenzo comments from posters who perhaps have never seen a perfume ad ever before, ever. You could similarly ask what's a CK One, what's a Dolce & Gabbana, what's a Dior, or, my very favourite(s), what's a Jun Rope (cw: Helmut Newton).

Perfumes are both emotional products - advertisers have to give them some kind of emotional valence or meaning (CK One = edgy androgynous sexuality, Dolce & Gabbana - plain old fashioned sexuality, Dior = goldy gold gold luxury, Jun Rope = madness) - and, largely, fashion products. They're often the most accessible product a fashion house produces. Perfume campaigns, then, are important places where fashion houses can establish their *brand.* You're much more likely to see the spot for this Kenzo perfume (which, btw, is mega fun and a beautifully produced piece of film) than their fashion films or runway shows. The point of this spot is less to raise awareness of this specific product, than it is to raise awareness of *Kenzo.*

This is not a new strategy. I'm just glad that Kenzo have made such an energetic and lovely little piece of eye candy.
posted by nerdfish at 3:49 AM on September 1, 2016 [7 favorites]

That name again is Mr Plow
posted by Gorgik at 6:19 AM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

I thought this was great, even after expectations were raised by the comments, and I don't always "get" dance. I was excited to hear there was a new Spike Jonze commercial but this is definitely a Margaret Qualley commercial and I'm very okay with that.

Anyone know where this was filmed?

I also thought it was the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion (could it be any more of a pavillion?) but someone else said Lincoln Center so now I'm not sure.
posted by Room 641-A at 7:55 AM on September 1, 2016

Slate says Dorothy Chandler.
posted by octothorpe at 8:08 AM on September 1, 2016 [1 favorite]

Okay... In my defense, I read an article that said Lincoln Center. But I also complain constantly about the inaccuracies inherent in the 24 hour news cycle, so I probably shouldn't have trusted what I read.
posted by amro at 4:02 AM on September 3, 2016

what are the weaknesses of the kenzo

Surely if you can get the laser-shooting phase and the trying-to-grab-its-own-face phase to coincide it'll do the job for you.

the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion

That's all very well, but whose nose does she lick? Apparently the lobby contains busts of both Otto Klemperer and Alfred Wallenstein (crafted by remarkable polymath and Tom Lehrer song heroine Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel).
posted by jackbishop at 7:43 PM on September 3, 2016

That's all very well, but whose nose does she lick?

(Those busts are actually by Alma's daughter Anna, but still.)

Considering this is her Klemperer (scroll to bottom of the About section), and this was Wallenstein, I'd guess it's the latter.
posted by progosk at 9:38 AM on September 4, 2016