Drakkar Noir

Drakkar Noir
Fragrance by Guy Laroche
Released 1982
Label Guy Laroche
Tagline Feel the power
Website https://www.facebook.com/Drakkar.Noir

Drakkar Noir is a men's fragrance by Guy Laroche created by perfumer Pierre Wargnye. The fragrance was introduced in 1982 and is manufactured under license by the L'Oréal Group.[1] It won the 1985 FiFi Award for "Most Successful Men's Fragrance (Limited)"[2] and, in 2010, the Canadian Fragrance Awards' "Hall of Fame Award - men's".[3] In 1991, it was the bestselling men's "prestige" ($20+) scent worldwide.[4] The name is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable "Dra-CAR".[4]

There is a song on Phoenix's fifth studio album, Bankrupt!, titled "Drakkar Noir".

Product overview

Name

While the New York Times says the name derives from "a flat-bottomed Viking ship",[4] according to Ron Beasley and Marcel Danesi, the name relates to "Dracula"; they said the fragrance's image "obviously appeals to the dark, macabre, sinister side of masculine sexual fantasies" and possibly to myths such as that of Faust. Others would find that preposterous.[5]

Description

The fragrance is an aromatic fougère, with top notes of bergamot, rosemary, lavender, middle notes of cardamom and geranium, and a dry down of vetiver, cedar, and fir balsam.[6] The top note includes prominent dihydromyrcenol, a synthetic odorant with a metallic citric-floral character, typical of the fougère family fragrances.

I do believe the secret behind this fragrance is the emotion of its construction as well as the power feeling that it evokes. It’s still very modern nowadays due to its timeless contrasting and its sensual masculine power.
— Pierre Wargnye, perfumer; creator of Drakkar Noir[7]

Marketing

The first ad featured a close-up of a man's hand and a woman's hand grabbing the fragrance erotically.[8]

From 1986 to 1991, a TV commercial for the fragrance featured an athletic yuppie-like young man about town, doing activities such as archery and nightclubbing.[4] From 1991 to 1993, another TV commercial featured a boxer and his girlfriend, played by supermodel Stephanie Seymour. The print advertising campaign was photographed by Herb Ritts.[9] In 1994, a new commercial, shot by director Jean-Baptiste Mondino, was introduced. It depicted a rock star amongst his wildly excited fans.[10]

In 1993, Guy Laroche offered a promotional CD, Best of Rock, with every purchase of Drakkar Noir. The CD featured tracks by Jimi Hendrix, Rod Stewart and others.[11]

In 2013, a new commercial was released featuring the Brazilian football player Neymar Jr., photographed again by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, promoting social inclusion through sport.[12]

In popular culture

In a 2012 episode of the popular animated series Family Guy, titled Leggo My Meg-O Drakkar Noir is used by the characters Brian and Stewie Griffin to identify the kidnappers who have sold their relative, Meg, into sex slavery in France.

In the season 3 episode of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, "Mac's A Serial Killer", a character overapplying a fragrance to himself is told by his friend, "That stuff stinks." to which he replies, "It's Drakkar Noir, man." In a season 10 episode, when the gang is on a game show, Mac suggests Drakkar Noir as a popular grooming product.

On Phoenix's fifth studio album, Bankrupt!, the sixth track is titled 'Drakkar Noir'. On the album commentary, a band member describes the reference: "I remember precisely this moment... I told Thomas to 'Sing Drakkar Noir'... And then it started from this little emotion... but we tried to keep close to this first impression.... We loved the fact that it is a very cheap perfume. When you are young you want to talk about beautiful or luxury items, but now we like to talk about really cheap things".[13]

Drakkar Noir was mentioned in How I Met Your Mother episode called "Rabbit or Duck." Ted states that Lily and Marshall are the best at picking people to date because they picked each other. Lily than states, "Oh well with the slight assist from the Wesleyan housing department." in which Marshall follow up with, " And a healthy splash of Drakkar Noir."[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Company Overview: L'Oréal USA at a glance". L'Oréal USA.
  2. ↑ FiFi Awards / Winners: 1985, Fragrance Foundation
  3. ↑ "Canadian fragrance awards echo UK's Fifi choices", The Independent (London), 4 May 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Elliott, Stuart (4 December 1991). "The Media Business: Advertising: A Men's Fragrance Responds to the Winds of Change". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ Beasley, Ron; Danesi, Marcel (2002), Persuasive Signs: The Semiotics of Advertising, Walter de Gruyter, p. 129
  6. ↑ Drakkar Noir at fragrantica.com
  7. ↑ Pierre Wargnye at fragrantica.com
  8. ↑ Drakkar Noir ad at mes-parfums.com
  9. ↑ Early '90s ad at The Free Library
  10. ↑ Rock Star advertisement
  11. ↑ Drakkar Noir - Best Of Rock Vol. 1 (CD) at Discogs
  12. ↑ Neymar: nouvel ambassadeur des parfums Drakkar Noir at ETV-sport.com
  13. ↑ https://play.spotify.com/track/6e7lBISL9Jb1M2ZCeAU5pg
  14. ↑ "Rabbit or Duck". How I Met Your Mother Transcript. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
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