REWIND: J’adore, tu adores: Charlize Theron for Dior’s J’adore

ED’S NOTE: This post was originally published December 2011. It reflects my interest as a marketing student in advertising, search-engine optimization, and viral marketing. No agencies or products are endorsed. The opinions expressed here are mine and in no way reflect the opinions of my employers.

~~In what is a nice break from the nearly insufferable, panic-inducing holiday ads of the season,~~ EDITED 11-30-2012 Prime-time viewers are getting an eyeful of glamour, thanks to Dior’s J’adore “film” by Jean-Jacques Annaud, that features the always-gorgeous Charlize Theron, and co-stars such greats as Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich, and Marilyn Monroe.

The commercial, which was filmed in the Galerie des Glaces at Versailles, isn’t new; it was released in early September. However, it’s getting airtime this holiday shopping season, as it should, because the spot easily and smartly appeals to both sexes: the women who want to be Charlize Theron, and the husbands and boyfriends who want to be with Charlize Theron.

What caught my attention was the music that propelled the viewer through the couture-show setting: 2009’s Heavy Cross by Gossip — with Beth Ditto‘s punk princess vocals and Brace Paine’s hypnotic bass riff — was compelling enough to make me grab my iPhone and Shazam it. (I have since played this song to death.)

At the time of this writing, this clip on YouTube had 1,211,325 views, 4,404 likes, 84 dislikes, and 474 comments.

From the YouTube comments:

I have a theory, each of the girls represent a perfume:

Grace Kelly (Miss Dior Cherie)
Marlene Dietrich (Hypnotic Poison)
Marilyn Monroe (Dior Addict or J’adore)
Charlize Theron (J’adore obviously)

<3 Dior!

~ franzchick66,
YouTube member

Nice theory, franzchick66. I can’t afford to smell that good, so I’ll have to take your word.

The subscribers to Dior’s YouTube channel are active and enthusiastic about the “films.” I’ll readily admit that I know nothing about couture, but even so, I still remember Dior’s 2007 smokin’ hot, 30-second “film” that has Charlize striding through a mansion, elegantly disrobing as only she can to Marvin Gaye’s 1978 Funky Space Reincarnation.

And that, kids, is what they call an impression.