Rihanna is notorious for unapologetically speaking her mind. So when she was preparing to launch her fragrance, Fenty Eau de Parfum, she recognized that her brand was in a category infamous for telling women how to look, how to dress, and how to smell.
But she wanted her fragrance to stand for something more empowering. And when she was asked how she thought people were supposed to smell like, she coined the phrase “smell however the f*ck you want.”
To launch her fragrance, we thought that there was nothing more empowering than letting her words speak for themselves.
We quoted her, and with the help of NYC floral artist, Mr. Flower Fantastic, we constructed billboards made out of more than 100,000 of the same flowers that are used to create the base floral notes of her fragrance. Creating a first-of-its-kind sampling opportunity that everyone in the area could smell. And as one big “f*ck you” to a category that tells us how we should be, we positioned the billboards directly in the heart of the New York, London, and Paris fashion districts.
The Results
Agency DDB NY
Global Chief Creative Officer: Ari Weiss
Chief Creative Officer: Mat Bisher
Executive Creative Officer: Paulo Junger
Group Creative Director: Christine Kohler
Associate Creative Director: Nikki Albrecht, Conor Champley, Morgan Mack, Jacqueline DeBerry
Designer: João Rios
Executive Producer: Teri Altman