Brad Pitt is one of the most popular actors of all time with several critical and commercially successful films in his filmography. However, one of the lowest points in his career wasn’t related to his acting roles. Instead, Pitt faced intense scrutiny for featuring in one of the worst advertisements of all time.
Pitt appeared in an advertisement for a perfume almost a decade ago. However, the ad was so awful that it became the subject of a roast by Conan O’Brien on his late-night talk show. Nonetheless, the advertisement created a Guinness World Record, and here is everything you need to know about Pitt’s maligned perfume ad.
Conan O’Brien Rosted Brad Pitt’s Awful Chanel Perfume Ad
Actor Brad Pitt is known for his hit films such as Moneyball and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The actor’s career has also been defined by his collaborations with acclaimed directors such as Quentin Tarantino and David Fincher.
Back in 2012, Pitt came out with one of the worst-received collaborations of all time, uniting with the perfume brand Chanel for an advertisement. The advertisement saw Pitt delivering a monologue, which most found to be incoherent.
Brad Pitt’s Nonsensical Ramblings.
Talk show host Conan O’Brien used the above words to describe the fragrance that Pitt was promoting in the ad.
O’Brien who hosted Conan on TBS, created a parody of the ad, which ends with the comedian roasting the advertisement for the incoherent statements the actor delivered for the popular brand.
In a later episode, O’Brien further roasted the ad by revealing he watched it again and the monologue seemed even more absurd with each passing viewing. Similarly, an episode of Saturday Night Live also featured a spoof of the ad.
Brad Pitt’s Chanel Ad Created a Guinness World Record
Pitt’s collaboration with Chanel saw him promote the brand’s oldest fragrance Chanel No. 5, which was launched back in 1921. In this period, Pitt became the very first male personality to become a brand ambassador for the perfume company.
Despite the overall negative reactions to the ad campaign, it still managed to get itself into the Guinness World Record. For the advertisement, Pitt was reportedly paid a sum of $7 million. The figure is the highest amount paid to an actor for an advertising campaign.
It goes beyond the abstract of emotion or beauty to evoke what is timeless: a woman’s spirit.
Pitt made the above statement (via Reuters), revealing the reason he found the ad campaign so appealing and wanted to promote the brand.
Chanel, which is primarily positioned as a women-oriented brand, previously had female brand ambassadors such as Audrey Tatou, Nicole Kidman, and Catherine Deneuve. Hence, Pitt’s advertisement was a stark departure from anything done to promote Chanel in the past.
Despite the ad receiving generally negative reactions and being spoofed several times, it became a major talking point in the media, and the Guinness World Record further proved that it was at least statistically successful. Pitt will next be seen in the upcoming action-comedy film Wolfs, directed by Jon Watts.
