UK. British fragrance house Jo Malone London, part of The Estée Lauder Companies, celebrated its collaboration with Paddington Bear (a beloved British children’s book character -Ed) with a joyful VIP event in London on 3 July.
The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan was on location at the Jo Malone London Townhouse, the headquarters of the brand, to discover its latest Orange Marmalade fragrance. The scent was inspired by Paddington Bear’s favourite snack, orange marmalade sandwiches.
The fragrance launched in global travel retail at the beginning of July and is the brand’s biggest summer launch for 2024.
Jo Malone London is showcasing Orange Marmalade with a dynamic pop-up campaign in global travel retail, including a high-profile promotion at Heathrow Airport with Avolta, followed by animations in Europe, Americas and Asia Pacific travel retail.
At the pop-ups, travellers can look forward to seeing Paddington Bear dolls and customisable tins, as well as quirky gingham design elements.
The event was attended by key media and influencers from all around the world and was graced by top executives from Jo Malone London including Senior Vice President Global Creative Wandjina Glasheen-Brown and Vice President Global Fragrance Development Celine Roux-Alezais.
To celebrate the launch, Jo Malone London transformed its headquarters into a whimsical train station, complete with vintage train carriage and conductor. The setting paid homage to the Jo Malone London x Paddington Bear campaign film, which debuted on the same day.
Welcoming guests to the event, Glasheen-Brown said: “For this collaboration, we really wanted to create a story with charm. Jo Malone London and Paddington Bear have so many things in common. Both are timeless classics that are synonymous with Britain. Both bring people together; both have impeccable manners but are a touch audacious at times.”
Describing the campaign film, she said: “We find ourselves with Paddington and friends faced with a train delay. This doesn’t get them down and instead they embrace the opportunity to have an afternoon of antics, filled with generous servings of orange marmalade sandwiches and all with good humour.
“For this world, we embraced classic, traditional Jo Malone London analogue sweetness with high production value. You need that balance to create the world you see come to life today. We hope that it all makes our customers smile.”
Guests participated in an orange pouch crafting workshop, held inside the vintage train carriage. This was followed by orange marmalade jar personalisation, where guests were able to customise their marmalade jars and tins using travel-inspired stickers from the Jo Malone London x Paddington Bear collaboration. In line with the spirit of the collaboration, each guest was given two jars, one to keep and one to share with loved ones.
Afterwards guests were treated to an afternoon picnic in the heart of Soho, before they hopped onboard a vintage double-decker bus, decorated in travel-themed Jo Malone London x Paddington Bear stickers.
The bus took guests on a tour of London’s key tourist spots, including Paddington Station, where Paddington Bear’s statue can be found. The bus journey concluded in front of Tower Bridge, where the brand has unveiled a giant Jo Malone London x Paddington Bear gift box, complete with branded ice cream cart.
The gift box serves as an ideal selfie opportunity for tourists, while driving awareness for the Orange Marmalade scent and Paddington collaborations. A QR code in front of the gift box connects visitors directly to Jo Malone London’s WeChat Mini Program and its online store.
The event concluded with an intimate dinner hosted by Glasheen-Brown and Roux-Alezais at Quo Vadis in Soho.
Talking about the inspirations and the creative journey of Orange Marmalade, Roux-Alezais added: “Orange marmalade has been a favourite jam of the British people, queens and kings over the centuries. Marmalade making is not just about the final product, but the process, because nothing is nicer or sweeter than making marmalade with your family or friends and then sharing it with loved ones. This was the inspiration for this new fragrance.
“We worked with long-time collaborator, Perfumer Marie Salamagne, to bring this inspiration to life. We thought about creating something sweet, warm but with the elegance of Jo Malone London. Everything with this project was seamless, almost as if the stars aligned to create this scent.”
She added: “We tried so many jams and spent many days and nights trying different marmalades to pinpoint what we wanted. We wanted to capture the bitterness of orange peel, the naturalness, warmth and comfort of marmalade that goes beyond the citrus and zesty tones.
“This fragrance is all about the contrasts between bitterness, zest, warmth and comfort where we used natural patchouli, warm sandalwood and a touch of English lavender. This fragrance is bright and tantalising, it’s a scent for men and women of all generations, a timeless character much like Paddington Bear himself.” ✈
{Watch the YouTube Video above for exclusive footage of the Jo Malone London x Paddington Bear event, filmed by The Moodie Davitt Report Brands Director Hannah Tan with editing by Declan Moodie}
