Armani Mania Reaches New Heights With Signature Fragrance Debut
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
Giorgio Armani's Mania will serve as the designer's signature women's scent. The new fragrance, which industry sources expect will generate $35 mil., represents "everything that goes into the Armani woman...who is very elegant, very understated, very timeless, very classic, yet also has a deep sense of passion," Cosmair said.
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Giorgio Armani's Mania will serve as the designer's signature women's scent. The new fragrance, which industry sources expect will generate $35 mil., represents "everything that goes into the Armani woman...who is very elegant, very understated, very timeless, very classic, yet also has a deep sense of passion," Cosmair said. Unlike Armani's other women's fragrances, Acqua di Gio, a natural, fresh "weekend-inspired" scent, and modern, fun, "young in spirit" Emporio Armani for Her, Mania is a sophisticated, urban, day and night fragrance that also is "intended to be [Armani's] symbol of seduction." The idea of passion and seduction is played out in every aspect of the fragrance, including the notes, advertising and packaging, Cosmair noted. "Mania is in fact for every woman," the company explained, because "every woman has a passion underneath them, whether it is a passion for a loved one or for family or for work." To illustrate the concept that passion comes with emotion, Armani incorporated "lines of emotion" on the outer packaging's black-on-black color scheme. Mania's cartons are handmade with 100% pulp cotton. Similar lines are used in Mania's print and TV advertising campaign, which will break in September and run through December along with 27 mil. scented strips. Ad spend will push $10 mil., sources said. Rather than using a single face to represent the Mania brand, Armani chose black-and-white close-up shots of three different models "with an intense emotional look on their faces." The print ads were developed by Fabien Baron and shot by Patrick Demarchelier. Single-page spots and dual-page spreads will run in major beauty books targeting women ages 25-49. Mania TV ads star the same three women individually with a voice-over discussing the "passion" involved in the first meeting between each woman and an unknown man. Like the print ads, Armani uses the thin black lines in the background to represent emotion. The women's fragrance, launching now in Europe, will debut stateside in 1,500 department store and specialty store doors in August. The reach includes almost the entire Armani distribution of 2,000 doors, Cosmair noted. A South American and Asian launch will coincide with the U.S. debut. In addition to the scented strips, Cosmair will distribute millions of samples of a miniature version of the larger, round Mania bottle in department and specialty store doors. The juice, which falls into the "amber incense" category, was created by Firmenich perfumer Jacques Cavallier, who also concocted the Jean Paul Gaultier and L'eau d'Issey scents. Mania opens with head notes of bergamot, orange flower and pittosporum flower, which is similar to orange oil. The heart, "a pure form of incense," includes exotic spices like cloves, nutmeg, saffron and amber. The scent dries down to a base of white musk and bourbon vanilla. The cylindrical bottle is made of smooth polished glass with a similar look and feel to the mouth-blown glass flasks made in Italy, Cosmair noted. Mania is capped with a black top. The bottle remains unlabeled by the brand name, symbolic of Armani's simplistic style. Priced slightly higher than other Armani fragrances, Mania is available in a 1.7 oz. edp spray for $48.50. A 3.4 oz. edp spray retails for $62.50 and a .5 oz. parfum sells for $150. A body lotion also is available for $38.50 and hair and body shampoo is $30. Although it is yet to be determined if Mania will be extended with additional fragrance forms or a men's version, Armani typically has launched duo scents or followed a fragrance introduction with a sibling. For example, Emporio Armani for Her and Emporio Armani for Him were launched together in February 1999 (1 (Also see "Emporio Armani Inaugural Fragrance Duo Plays To Younger Consumers" - HBW Insight, 25 Jan, 1999.)). Acqua di Gio for Men followed the introduction of its sister scent Acqua di Gio by two years in 1997 (2 (Also see "Cosmair launching Acqua di Gio for Men in late August/early September." - HBW Insight, 14 Apr, 1997.)). Cosmair expects the Mania launch will result in little cannibalization on the existing lineup, explaining customers tend to enjoy different scents for different moods. |