French actress Mélanie Laurent is the new frontwoman for Dior’s ‘Hypnotic Poison’ fragrance. If your eyes can discern her actual face through the haze of the ad’s Photoshop retouching then you’ll recognize her from Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. She’s a beautiful woman with or without the Photoshop, but the ad falls a bit flat due to its simplicity.
“Nice enough,” Northern Star assessed. “Nothing special, but [I’m] a big fan of Mélanie, so very happy she got this,” he added.
Madame royale couldn’t get past the erasure of Melanie’s features. “Soo Photoshopped, and boring too,” she complained. “I love Mélanie but I can hardly recognize her here and that’s such a shame! She’s got a beautiful face with lovely angles and whatnot but you can’t see any of it because it’s all been Photoshopped away … I really dislike campaigns like this,” she continued. “There’s a difference between a simple, minimalist ad and one that’s just plain boring. Unfortunately this is the latter.”
Melancholybaby really bagged on the ad. “I preferred Monica Bellucci‘s ads,” he posted. “They were far more sensual and inviting. This girl instead looks like she’s offering a yogurt sample in a supermarket aisle. I think I’ll pass.”
I’m not sure which supermarkets Melancholybaby’s buying food from, but I’ve never had anyone offer me a yogurt sample in the manner that Mélanie is handling that bottle of perfume. She doesn’t completely lack sensuality in the ad. I do agree that Dior could have done something more with Mélanie, but with the example they’ve set in their complete lack of action in hiring a replacement for John Galliano, I’m surprised they managed to do anything at all.
