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Conceived by Fabien Baron as Consulting Creative Director, the ad campaign was shot by Steven Meisel in New York |
INTERNATIONAL. As a new ck one fragrance hits the shelves, the US lifestyle brand could hit an annual turnover of US$1 billion globally, according to a top executive at the leading fashion house Calvin Klein.
After a stellar run of profits since the original launch of the ck one unisex fragrance in 1994, which changed the rules of the beauty game, the brand has been extended with a line of casual apparel, including jeans. And now a second ck one fragrance – ck one shock – is being rolled out by Coty Prestige unit Calvin Klein Fragrances.
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ck one shock for her and ck one shock for him: the first non-shared fragrances in the ck one portfolio |
Always a hot property for travel retailers having achieved classic status in the fragrance world, ck one has now gained a new family member, ck one shock. The graffiti-inspired product – the first non-shared fragrances in the ck one portfolio – is described as “edgy, sexy, impulsive” and designed for after-dark party wear. It represents a fine-tuning of the brand and “bringing it back to where it needs to be”, according to Calvin Klein Vice President Global Marketing Thomas Burkhardt.
Speaking at the celebrity haunt Shoreditch House, a private members’ club in trendy East London, Burkhardt set out the overall ambitions for the ck one brand, telling The Moodie Report: “The objective is to turn ck one into a total lifestyle brand. We already have the [signature] bottle, and there is so much richness in it. We have ck one fashion, the ck one fragrance, and now the second ck one shock fragrance. There’s more to come,” he said, referring to plans to extend the brand into other product categories. ck one already spans jeans, underwear and swimwear.
Burkhardt said the brand already generated US$250 million in annual turnover at retail and, when asked if the brand could reach US$1 billion, he responded: “Why not?” He would not be drawn on the other product categories that might be introduced, or the timescale, but said there would not be any further launches this year. ck one shock is the focus for 2011.
What fascinates me about ck one shock are the faces who have been chosen to represent the new product in the ad campaign. The Moodie Report was lucky enough to meet some of the cast members, who star in the print and billboard ads, a raunchy video, on the ck one website, and in digital/smartphone content. The company selected a wide range of young faces who aren’t all models but who have the all-important “˜attitude’. Like many young people, they don’t have one job – they have a portfolio of jobs. Like the image of the ck one shock fragrance itself, they can’t be tied down – they are free to express themselves and be individuals.
The cast is led by the blonde, Dutch supermodel Lara Stone who combines classic beauty with an approachable girl-next-door attitude; Sky Ferreira, the American singer/songwriter; the classically handsome male model/British boxing champion/Olympic hopeful Rob Evans; Aaron Frew – a male model who’s only 5ft 7ins but full of character who will go far – the ck one shock ad campaign has already opened many doors for him, he says; and Alice Dellal, the London-based model daughter of a successful Brazilian businessman and an ex-model mother, who has a quirky and original fashion look (check out her hair in the shots on this page) and a savvy, confident personality. Oh, she also plays the drums in her band, is a DJ, and she’s a businesswoman in her own right, too, having “invested my own money in the jeweller Dominic Jones”, whose pieces she was wearing during our interview.
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Left: Dutch supermodel Lara Stone stars in the ad campaign; Right: The cast at the London launch event included singer/songwriter Sky Ferreira, Lara Stone, male models Aaron Frew and Rob Evans, and model/drummer/DJ Alice Dellal | |
The other young cast members in the ad campaign included Tanzanian model Herieth Paul, American musician Ian Mellencamp, British model/songwriter Ruby Aldridge, Japanese student/singer Tomo Aki Kurata, Swedish artist Viggo Jonason, Chinese supermodel Xiao Wang and Russian model/rapper Yuri Pleskun. Conceived by Fabien Baron as Consulting Creative Director, the campaign was shot by Steven Meisel in New York City.
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Brazilian model Alice Dellal has a quirky and original fashion look, here wearing ck one branded jeans and top |
High-gloss, neon graffiti packaging
Youth culture and street art inspire ck one shock. In a year that marks the 40th anniversary of the New York street art movement, the media guests at the fragrance launch event learnt all about graffiti from the master himself, American artist Jorge “˜Fabel’ Pabon, who took us through the major milestones in the evolution of this art form. Graffiti started appearing on trains and subways in the 1970s, which led to art pieces and art commissions thanks to the artists’ eye-catching “˜tags’ or signatures, followed by graffiti on apparel and sneakers; and finally, like everything else in life, graffiti’s gone digital.
Launched globally from August 2011, the new fragrance consists of two lines: ck one shock for her and ck one shock for him. The female product has the word shock written in hot-pink lipstick, graffiti-style, on the bottle and outer packaging and the male version has the word in lime green. The carton is high-gloss black for men and high-gloss white for women. So shiny, so neon – and so in line with wider fashion trends and influences.
The juice of ck one for her is described as a sensual floriental with top notes of passion flower, pink peony, and poppy flower. Middle notes are liquid chocolate accord, blackberry, narcisse and jasmine, while drydown is magnetic ambers, vanillin, patchouli, and musk. Ck one for him has top notes of clementine, purple lavender and cucumber, with mid notes of osmanthus, black pepper, cardamom and black basil, and drydown of tobacco, ambreine, musk and patchouli.
Both versions of the fragrance are described as “edgy, sexy, impulsive” and designed to be worn when the lights are turned down, in full party mode. To evoke this hedonistic feeling, the video depicts a party scene with raunchy, hypnotic dancing.
The video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXoHNCQrFJM
The bottle design is said to “deface the iconic ck one bottle to send the ultimate message of rebellion”, and to represent renowned Creative Director Fabien Baron’s evolution of the 1994 ck one classic. For her, the line comprises 50ml, 100ml and 200ml edt; 150ml body wash; and 150ml body lotion. For him, there is 50ml, 100ml and 200ml edt; 200ml body spray; 150ml body wash; 150ml aftershave balm; and 75g deodorant stick.
“Accessible, authentic and democratic”
Updating The Moodie Report on the ck one brand, Calvin Klein Vice President Global Marketing Thomas Burkhardt said that the first fragrance, originally launched in 1994, remained in the top 10 in 25 countries. “Two generations are now wearing and rediscovering the fragrance, and this spring, for the first time, a fragrance has inspired an apparel line,” he noted, referring to the jeans and underwear lines produced by Calvin Klein licensee Warnaco.
Innovation around the brand continues, he said, with the launch of a second jeans line featuring an equally diverse cast of young musicians, models and sportspeople, and now with the second ck one fragrance. He described the brand as “accessible, authentic and democratic” and the new fragrance as “light and fresh”.
Asked why the brand chose the name ck one shock and why graffiti became the inspiration, he explained that “Graffiti tagging shocks. But nothing is shocking any more to this young generation”. He said there had been “pushback” from some advertising authorities when they had seen the “steaminess” of the ad campaign.
And now, Burkhardt noted: “It’s the right time to extend the brand into other product categories. We’re always thinking about how to make it edgy.”
As to who he believes will buy the fragrance, he said the average age would be 25 but 15/16-year-olds would want it, too. “The target age group for the images and ads is very young and edgy but we know it’s a mindset and it will appeal to all age groups, but particularly teenagers growing up.”
The fragrance is a different spin on the original and is accessibly priced, he said. The product will retail at around US$44/€38. The roll-out schedule is beginning of August for the UK domestic market; mid-August for France; and 1 September for all other markets, including travel retail.
The ad campaign will have print, TV and digital elements. Interestingly, digital came first with the pre-launch of a website (http://ckone.com), which will go live officially from 1 September with a strong music/DJ element. Other digital innovations will include an iPhone app and QR-style computer codes where images can be unlocked directly from ads – even images embedded on the floor of a shop – and viewed on smartphones.
Burkhardt pointed out that the fragrance had a global awareness across all world regions. “ck one is a global brand, and we live in very exciting times,” he enthused. “Asian people love the original fragrance and Latin Americans have growing disposable incomes.” And, perhaps unlike their elders in these recessionary times, he added: “Younger people do have disposable incomes.”
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