Once Upon a Perfume: The Story Chanel Didn't Mean to Tell

Perfume advertisements are almost always highly sexualized — for both genders. Often creative, even artistic, they range from the evocative to the elegant to occasionally the rather absurd. There is, however, a new commercial airing for a new fragrance — Coco Mademoiselle Crush Absolu — that strikes me as one of the most disturbing I’ve seen in years. I will explain why later in this essay, but first I will tell the story of the advertisement as though it were a fairy tale.Karina in the TavernOnce upon a time, not so long ago, there was a beautiful young woman who was so attractive that people followed her everywhere, just to glimpse at her loveliness. One day, her attendants — for she was a special woman with many servants — were busy grooming her: applying make-up, helping her dress in an elegant white ensemble, and combing a hairpiece of long brown tresses that Karina (for this is the name we will call her) would often wear in public. Once she had been suitably groomed and attired,…