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Chanel No. 5's second ad: still the Pitts?

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Following its heavily criticised first ad starring Brad Pitt, Chanel has rolled out a second one in the same tone.The ads have been receiving much visibility, however criticism has followed just as closely.On YouTube, where the ads have been uploaded, the second ad has pulled in 1,464,410  views while the first ad has had over 4.6 million views so far.In the second ad, Pitt narrates , again, pensively to the backdrop of emotive music. "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 where ever I go, there you are. My luck, my fate, my fortune. Chanel No. 5," says Pitt, in breathy tones.Lionel Goh, general manager of Saatchi Lab Singapore said the delivery makes it unclear if the ad is for a men's or women's perfume."I have no clue what is the idea both are trying to convey.  It seems that they are using his charm, voice and personality to sell perfume. At first I thought it was for a men's version for an iconic fragrance. Then I watch the second version and realised (sort of) that it is still for women.  Perhaps it is for both? Who knows?If it is a concept that has many parts to it, I would be keen to see how the story unfolds. If not, I hope part 2 was not a bandaid over part 1.""Chanel No. 5 part deux has somehow become a parody of itself. I just wasted another 30 seconds of my life!" said Robert Gaxiola, creative partner, Mangham Gaxiola."O-M-G. Where are the close-ups!? One does not simply edit out my Brad Pitt, put in random clips of women and call it ‘part 2'. Not acceptable," Rayner Lim, creative partner, Contagious, said."After collecting myself over a cup of Clooney coffee, I think I got it figured; why not go all the way? Edit out all of Pitt. VO too. Let's have a refreshing upbeat track. Lady by the window, then cut to sub "in the heart of the metropolis". Lady in the lift, cut to sub "sky lift with breath-taking panoramic city view". More wide shots of random people walking by the lake or into the lobby. Then finally, fades to black and in Pitt's deep hypnotising voice, "Inevitable condominiums. Showroom is now open. By Far East Organisation." I'll buy that too!" Rayner added.However, Chris Chiu, founder of Ren Partnership said that the second spot showed a marked improvement over the first."For starters, it wasn't just him talking about existentialism or whatever it is he was rambling on about. This one had the pack and some women thrown in which at least gives context to what the spot is trying to push. The first one, in my opinion relied on hype and PR alone to garner interest.""Personally I prefer simple in the sense that I wish it wasn't so blatant about Brad the actor but Brad the Chanel user maybe? It would've been kinda cool or interesting to show how he was secure enough in his masculinity to announce that he uses Chanel for example; simply because he loves it," suggested Chiu.Online, one viewer said that it is "a very good advertisement" because "of course, women will love Chanel" since "Brad likes it".Another viewer commented: "I love it when random people decide that they know something about philosophy because they read a book or something."Other viewers also likened the ad to a recent Gucci ad featuring Blake Lively.

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