[Originally posted to Gather.com] This weekend, acerbic sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live took a jab at legendary luxury brand Chanel No. 5’s misguided new ad campaign. The scent’s attempt at subtle sophistication kind of stunk, and the funny franchise got a whiff of a wonderful opportunity for parody.The original ad for the titillating fragrance is titled “There You Are.” Harkening classic Calvin Klein commercials of the 90’s, the black and white spot shows scruffy A-lister Brad Pitt looking gorgeous, if not a little grunge. The bearded star broods in an empty anonymous locale and nondescript clothes. He waxes poetic then blandly drops the perfumes’ moniker, “It’s not a journey. Every journey ends but we go on. The world turns and we turn with it. Plans disappear. Dreams take over. But wherever I go, there you are. My luck, my fate, my fortune. Chanel No. 5. Inevitable” It’s rumored that Pitt sniffed out a $7 million payday for the commercial.
SNL cast member Taran Killam put on his best Pitt impression in the series of parodies on the Bruno Mars-hosted episode, hawking heinous goods like Taco Bell, dog condoms, and a local tattoo removal surgeon. To fulfill the pretentious nonsense quota, he resorts to making up words like “magnificus”. It’s a magnificus caricature of a Pitt and likable lampoon of this rare misstep from Chanel.
Casandra Armour 