As the new ad for Fahrenheit is unveiled, DiorMag takes a look back at the campaigns for the scent that's celebrating its quarter-century this year.
First came Ridley Scott, then David Lynch, Daniel Askil and Michael Janssen. Renowned directors all, from the school of strong, powerful and fantastical cinematography. Each in turn, they wrote the Fahrenheit story, creating the fragrance's advertising campaigns since it launched in 1988. It's a story in which the man exists solely through his interaction with the elements. Nature acts as his alter-ego, his horizon stretching to infinity. One after another, each director has unraveled the fragrance's story, like a metaphorical French red thread. Red like the paintings "Fahrenheit 1982" and " Brighter Than The Sun" by the pop artist James Rosenquist, both inspirations for the scent; red like the flame-licked bottle; red like an incandescent sky, the backdrop of all the campaigns; finally, red like the passion that drives the Fahrenheit man to find his freedom. Is this world real?
Between sunshine and nighttime, between dreams and reality, the Fahrenheit world is a mythic and enigmatic destination, filled with the promise of eternity. For twenty-five years, by creating a timeless place, the Fahrenheit images have revolutionized the perfume sector, just as the composition itself created such a surprise at the scent's launch, revealing its mysterious notes of wood and leather along with its violet bouquet. A highly unusual way to compose a masculine scent, it allied virility and sensuality. Today, the new campaign takes images from the very first campaign of 1988, mixing them with Michael Janssen's, shot in 2009. Two different decades, two visions of the Fahrenheit man, all for one fragrance, one that's as modern now as when it first appeared.