Nicole Kidman’s most expensive ad in history still remains unbeatable at the top after two decades. Kidman was paid a massive amount of money to star in Le Film (The Film), an ad film aimed at promoting Chanel’s No. 5 perfume. The Nine Perfect Strangers actress and director Baz Luhrmann were picked for the campaign after their collaboration in the 2001 Oscar-winning musical Moulin Rouge!.
The ad film was made on a budget of $33 million, which is equivalent to around $52 million today after adjusting for inflation. The short film lasted 120 seconds which meant it cost $275,000 to film per second. Besides Kidman, Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro also starred in the ad film.
Nicole Kidman Was Paid Handsomely For The Costliest Ad Ever
Modern consumers are still coming to terms with new-age ads spending millions to create a short ad film. However, the French luxury fashion house, Chanel spent $33 million for a 2-minute ad film for its No. 5 perfume in 2004 (via Luxury Launches). Nicole Kidman was a sensation back then, starring in films like Eyes Wide Shut, The Hours, and Moulin Rouge!, and was cast as the lead in the film.
Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann was tasked with creating the expensive ad film. Kidman’s fame earned her a massive paycheck of $12 million ($6 million per minute) for the Chanel No. 5 campaign, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. She followed in the footsteps of the likes of Catherine Deneuve, Ali MacGraw, and Candice Bergen, who all appeared as Chanel faces.
The ad, titled The Film, saw a romantic story brewing between a superstar, played by Kidman, and an unknown man, played by Rodrigo Santoro. Kidman’s superstar actress wants to escape the paparazzi and ends up in a cab with a man. The handsome man falls in love with the actress and the two have quite a romantic adventure. The man’s apartment has a giant Chanel sign on the rooftop.
Kidman’s character returns to her superstar life in the end. She reminisces her adventure on the red carpet while sporting a diamond pendant inscribed with “No. 5”. The ad film used Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune soundtrack, performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
The late head designer of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, was in charge of the film’s costume department and even appeared in a cameo.
Nicole Kidman’s Chanel Ad Played A Role In Creating More Storytelling Ads
Nicole Kidman’s Chanel ad campaign was not just any expensive ad, but it brought in an experienced film director and built a compelling story for the product. One review for the ad from J. Walter Thompson ad agency in The New York Times shared that the film proved that an emotional story is important to sell any goods, including luxury ones. The review read:
It is clearly no longer enough to just have attitude and show a picture; you have to attach an emotional story to that. That is a global trend but it is especially acute when it comes to luxury goods, because with luxury goods you are paying to feel special — you need that personal connection.
People found a resemblance between the ad film and Luhrmann’s film Moulin Rouge!. Luhrmann admitted that many people personally told him about that and he believed that the similarity was due to the film etching in his bloodstream. He shared with The Telegraph (via Fashionista):
That’s what a lot of people said to me at the time. I can see why they thought that. I’d been working on ‘Moulin Rouge!’ so long, it was in my bloodstream.
Luhrmann later worked with Gisele Bündchen, Michiel Huisman, and Lo-Fang to create another ad film for Chanel’s No. 5 fragrance. However, it was not as well received as his work with Kidman.
