By πΈππ πΉπ ππππ£π
Parfums de Marly's new "Les Extraits" line has turned frag comm's opinion of it on its head, and not for the better. I think I know why, even without having smelled them.
I have stayed mostly quiet about PDM's latest direction up to now, but enough is enough. I have studied and worked with marketing and design teams for many years, and rarely have I seen such as serious mistep as this.
I am not saying the following lightly, but neither am I saying something most people are not thinking privately.
There are three main reasons why I am seeing the new PDM fragrances getting more suspicion than acclaim, and it has everything to do with sales and marketing:
1️⃣ The cost of the Les Extraits fragrances on PDM's site is extremely high, at this time at more than $771 CAD ($550 USD) before taxes, which is more out of reach than all but the wealthiest frag heads, not the entry level niche crowd. At this price point the juice must be damn well above impeccable, as potential buyers are used to the unusual and trendsetting. Which brings us to ...
2️⃣ So far reviewers have mostly damned the new frags with faint praise as being fairly pedestrian (and dare I say ... designer!), not what customers carefully choosing their next big niche fragrance want to hear. Niche heads may not want to admit it because they are used to putting up with a lot in the name of art, but it doesn't take much negative press for them to head for the exits. The last thing they want to buy is something boring and pedestrian, even if that is unfair criticism.
3️⃣ The packaging of the new bottles is a radical departure from what most people have come to love and believe the brand stood for. Originally said to be inspired by King Louis XV of France's royal residence ChΓ’teau de Marly, PDM's name has been built on many years of carefully positioning the house to evoke all the tradition and heritage of an 18th century royal court, not ... π΅π©πͺπ΄.
The third concern above is I think even more of an issue then the first two, for myself at least. Prices can be easily changed, reviewers can change their mind, but making a serious mistep in branding can potentially spell trouble for a brand for many years.
Even individuals like myself who are not PDM fans think the original style has a simple beauty. Its design communicates a time in which artisans used rulers, printing blocks and hand drawings to create works of art. The new bottles on the other hand have to my eye an antiseptic and almost alien appearance. I would not be surprised if the horse on the new bottle (or Donald Trump's head in profile looking left, depending on who you ask) was created by an excited design student using AI.
With the new bottles PDM's design language also screams an embrace of futurism, which is a complete break with its identity until now. I cannot understand why they would take such a departure from an almost universally loved bottle design. There is something human profoundly lacking in the new design, in my opinion.
I don't know what I'm supposed to think about the new juice inside with such a radically different approach. PDM definitely does have our attention though, so if that is what they wanted, they certainly have it. My question is what will we think after PDM has had their 15 minutes in the sun? Once the shock wears off what will history say about this moment in time?
I hope I'm wrong and I wish PDM all my best, but in my opinion I don't see how the new design will work. The best thing they can do is discontinue this poorly thought line and get back to doing what they do best: entry-level aspirational niche fragrances inspired my aristocracy.
What are your thoughts on the new Parfums de Marly Les Extraits line? Do you agree with my criticisms, or do you have another take?
Sound off in the comments below!
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