Chanel has chosen Jean-Pierre Jeunet to direct the next No. 5 advertising film, starring actress Audrey Tautou starring in the lead role.
Jeunet had directed Tautou already in the César- and BAFTA-winning Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (Amélie in English) and Un long dimanche de fiançailles (The Long Engagement). The Chanel advertisement will be the third collaboration between Jeunet and Tautou.
Tautou, born in the Auvergne region, is best known for Amélie and the film adaptation of The Da Vinci Code, with Tom Hanks.
The advertisement will be shown in 2009.
Chanel is no stranger to artistic commercials. Its 2007 film for its Rouge Allure lipstick was directed by Bettina Rheims and starred Swiss model Julie Ordon.
World-renowned burlesque performer Dita von Teese and Cointreau, the famous French orange liqueur, hosted a lavish debut party in New York for their first collaborative effort, the Be Cointreauversial Show at the Angel Orensanz Foundation at 172 Norfolk Street.
Over 500 guests turned out including Jason Lewis, Russell Simmons and Porschla Coleman, Nacho Figueras, Andrew Buckler, Adam Lippes, Liz Goldwyn, Hope Atherton, Tara Subkoff, Dylan Lauren, Catherine Malandrino, Nicole Miller, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, Kelly Killoren, Aimée Mullins, Simon Hammerstein, Jill Zarin, Countess Luann de Lesseps, Jazleen, RuPaul, Zaldy, Kai Kühne, Casey Spooner, Susanne Bartsch, Traver Rains, and Richie Rich.
Party revellers sipped Cointreaupolitans and Cointreau margaritas before being treated to the highlight of the night, the reveal of the Be Cointreauversial Show. Strutting on stage in her crystal-encrusted costume, designed by Catherine D’Lish (made of 350,000 Swarovski crystals and weighing approximately 75 lb) she posed and pranced before plunging into a Martini glass. She dazzled the crowd with a performance that proved to be a dizzying blend of grace, wit and pure femininity. The show ended in a brilliant blaze of violet light as Dita took a sip of the new cocktail, the Cointreau Teese, and winked at the crowd. Waiters then made their way into the crowd with trays of the new violet coloured cocktail.
The show was conceived by Dita as an evocation of the Cointreau world. Cointreau and its unique ‘French touch’ has thrived for more than 160 years without changing anything, from the shape of its legendary bottle to its delicate and instantly recognizable orange flavour. It was only natural to join the iconic image of Cointreau to the world of Dita von Teese and her carefully crafted character, a blend of retro and modernity mixed in with the ultimate feminine freedom of thought.
‘With this performance, I wanted to express the sensual and delicious first sip of a Cointreau cocktail while sparkling with the essence of the Parisian history of the liqueur,’ said von Teese.
Katoucha Niane, the model who graced Yves Saint Laurent’s campaigns in the late 1980s, has been confirmed as the body recovered Thursday in the Seine. She had been reported missing on February 1. French police officers are treating her death as accidental: it was believed that she returned to her houseboat drunk and fell in the river.
A post mortem showed that Niane, 47, had drowned ‘due to rapid submersion without any trace of violence’.
Niane was a campaigner against female genital mutilation, which she herself had suffered aged nine in her native Guinea.
Prior to the YSL campaign, Niane had modelled for Lanvin, Thierry Mugler, Christian Lacroix and Paco Rabanne.—Lucire staff
Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni arrive in Egypt for their Christmas holiday in 2007.
Although some media reported this as a fait accompli weeks ago, it only happened Saturday 11 a.m. in Paris’s 8e arrondissement: President Nicolas Sarkozy and model–singer Carla Bruni have wed, on the first floor of the Élysée.
The source is more credible than others cited before: the Mayor of Paris, François Lebel, who told the AFP, confirming it on the Europe 1 and RTL radio stations. Lebel officiated at the ceremony.
Bruni wore white while Sarkozy wore a suit and tie, he said. It was a ceremony of ‘great simplicity and much love between the couple.’
The ceremony itself took around 20 minutes, said Lebel.
The witnesses were Nicolas Bazire and Mathilde Agostinelli for M. Sarkozy and Farida Khelfa and Marine Delterme for Mlle Bruni. Twenty-odd people—‘close family and several friends’—attended the wedding, according to Lebel.
A few hours later, the Élysée issued its own press statement.
Despite the happy day, Sarkozy was still at work: he spoke with the President of Chad, Idriss Deby, and held a crisis meeting about the rebel attack on the capital, N’Djamena.
Sarkozy’s popularity ratings have been falling, and some connect them to his romance with Bruni.
Echoing the expense that President Clinton was once known for (an infamous expensive haircut at LAX), a commission in France examining the make-up, hair and related expenses of its presidential candidates in 2007 revealed that the Socialist Party’s Ségolène Royal spent €53,581during her campaign.
Nicolas Sarkozy, who won the presidency, spent €34,445.
The commission would not reimburse either candidate in full, with Royal receiving €17,220 and Sarkozy €11,482. It wound up paying about half of the €21 million claimed by the candidates.
In terms of spending per vote obtained, L’Express has published a table which shows that Marie-George Buffet spent the most, at €6·81. Trotskyite Olivier Besancenot spent the least, at €0·61. Of the two leaders, Sarkozy spent €1·83 and Royal €2·17.
The Medinge Group, an international think-tank on branding and business, today releases its fifth annual Brands with a Conscience list. In the Group’s opinion, these eight diverse organizations show that it is possible for brands to succeed as they contribute to the betterment of the society by sustainable, socially responsible and humanistic behaviour.
The international collective of brand practitioners meets annually in August at a secluded location outside Stockholm, Sweden, and collaborate on the list, judging nominees on principles of humanity and ethics, rather than financial worth. The Brands with a Conscience list is shaped around criteria including evidence of the human implications of the brand and considering the question of whether the brand takes risks in line with its beliefs. Evaluations are made based on reputation, self-representation, history, direct experience, contacts with individuals within the organizations, media and analysts and an assessment of the expressed values of sustainability.
Last year, the group added a unique category commendation, the Colin Morley Award, recognizing exceptional achievement by an NGO. Mr Morley, a member of the Medinge Group, died in the London Underground bombings on July 7, 2005. The award commemorates his visionary work in humanistic branding.
For 2008, the group has singled out the following organizations:
Aveda
Chocolonely
Hennes & Mauritz
Happy Computers
International Watch Co.
Pret a Manger
Dame Anita Roddick
and the 2008 Colin Morley Award for a non-governmental organization is given to Star School.
Announcing the 2008 Brands with a Conscience, Stanley Moss, CEO of the Medinge Group and chairman of the initiative, called them ‘solid indications of the trend towards humanistic branding—this year’s list shows a renewed interest in ethical conduct, accountability and outcome. The 2008 winners remind us that at their essence, brands are for people.’
‘Branding has a huge role to play in creating a better and more sustainable world,’ remarked Thomas Gad, Chairman of the Medinge Group. ‘There already exist alternative technologies and products with less damaging impact on the environment, climate and people’s lives. But new green products and alternatives need to become attractive in the minds of people, in spite of their sometimes being more expensive and different. That is why the Medinge Group’s annual Brands with a Conscience Award is more relevant and important than ever. Branding can become a true-flag bearer for a better world.’
‘For the last four years, the Medinge Group has named Brands with a Conscience, forerunners to the social responsibility curve, long before the mass media came to champion their causes. This year’s mixture of companies again represents those leading the way, including some who pushed the humanist agenda for years without recognition.
‘In particular, we posthumously award a BWAC to Dame Anita Roddick for her lifelong contribution to fighting injustices. This is a recognition that Dame Anita had successfully developed her name into a brand with a reputation, one which had an immediate resonance to many. Star School’s recognition as our Colin Morley Award winner for 2008 is fitting: this is the sort of organization we think Colin himself would have endorsed for its work in combating HIV and Aids in Zululand, by targeting 40,000 high school students,’ said Jack Yan, a founder and director of the Medinge Group.
Ian Ryder, a founding member and director of the Medinge Group, commented, ‘Each year since we began these awards, the whole world has become increasingly concerned about planetary sustainability. World leaders are meeting in Bali as we issue this year’s winners list. Some of our featured brands have been concerned for years about issues like these. They have actually demonstrated their commitment and not just talked about it. The standard just keeps getting better.’
Patrick Harris, a director of the Medinge Group, added, ‘Medinge’s Brands with a Conscience winners are not peripheral, fad-based organizations. They are thriving, successful, humanity-centric entities. They are market-forming and world-changing. Together, they are a glimpse of the future of brands. Today’s Brands with a Conscience are embracing an era of generational thinking. They perform the ultimate recycling effort, that of discarding the current disposable, short-sighted generation of thought and replacing it with one of longevity and humanity at its core.’
‘The continued shift away from “branding-as-persuasion-to-buy” to “branding-as-how-we-improve-the-world”—with authentic, human considerations at the core of the organization—really gathers pace,’ observed Tony Quinlan, a Medinge member. ‘This year’s award winners effectively counter the ridiculousness of the profit-above-all approach which too many organizations take. Congratulations to such a diverse group, working in diverse sectors—all deserving of our praise and gratitude.’
The winners in detail Aveda www.aveda.com
An impressive sustainability-committed body and hair care brand. Its mission positions Aveda as a catalyst for awareness and change at all levels. The company gave its original endorsement to the Valdez Principles (later the CERES Principles) in 1989. Individual responsibility is core to Aveda’s culture. The company regards its employees as change agents with the power to change the course of human civilization.
Chocolonely www.chocolonely.com
Tony Chocolonely produces 100 per cent slave-free chocolate. Most chocolate is harvested under slave conditions (often by children) in west Africa. Dutch journalist Teun van der Keuken set out to make chocolate products that are certified slave-free. As he has shown in his TV programmes, that is not easy. He even went so far as to start a court case against himself (which he lost), as a consumer of slave chocolate, to shame chocolate producers.
Hennes & Mauritz www.hm.com
Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) has taken a leading position in crucial issues and earned acclaim for it internationally. The company operates in 28 countries and has more than 60,000 employees all working to the same philosophy. Alongside commercial success, this company demonstrates solid principles of entrepreneurship and a strong sustainability credentials, all the more difficult in a business where unnecessary over-consumption, cost-shaving, and issues of ethical production will be the inevitable accusations. H&M has grown into one of the most demanding fashion producers in the world, and today stands as a benchmark of standards for the industry.
Happy Computers www.happy.co.uk
Happy is a training company, that makes learning about IT an enjoyable and helps companies create great workplaces. Ethics are at the core of the business, with every new employee introduced to this through the company’s Corporate Scruples game at their induction. Happy has sent trainers to Uganda, Nigeria and Cambodia to, pro bono, to support the creation of local sustainable training centres. In London they provide support to a range of local charities, employ a deaf trainer to deliver IT training in British Sign Language and have been carbon-offsetting since 1991 (long before the term was in use).
Although only employing 50 people, Happy has previously been rated the best company in the UK for customer service (Management Today, 2003), the best small business in terms of positive impact on society (Business in the Community, 2006) and the second-best place to work for (Financial Times, 2007).
International Watch Company www.iwc.com
Since 1868, a brand of the utmost integrity, dedicated to the manufacture of quality timepieces. A beacon for the watchmaking craft, which offers three- to four-year apprenticeships in the discipline. Creates limited quantities. Number of employees in 1869: 196; number of employees in 2006: 390. Pursues a strong social and ecological policy as part of its CSR initiatives, and in partnership with adventurer and environmentalist David de Rothschild (Adventure Ecology). With structural measures and alternative energies, IWC is cutting its carbon dioxide emissions by at least 50 per cent. Certified as climate-neutral business, at the same time a driving force behind the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, a global organization whose aim is to open up new prospects in life for underprivileged children.
Pret a Manger www.pret.com
Good food with organic (where possible), non-GM ingredients. Leftovers to homeless. First coffee for free each day—in every shop—to remind of the importance of the customer. Several charities supported, also a foundation, a great working environment to all staff. The company is not too bothered about profits. On its website, it states that someday, it hopes to earn 9 per cent profit, but hasn’t yet.
Dame Anita Roddick www.anitaroddick.com
Dame Anita Roddick showed admirable leadership not only in the Body Shop but as an advocate for Fair Trade, the environment, corporate social responsibility, free speech and other causes through her personal work. Much of this can be found at anitaroddick.com, which was updated personally until her passing. All of this reflects a personal brand that is consistent and honed, supported by causes, many of which are compatible with the Medinge Group’s own aims. Anita Roddick believed in living her own personal brand as much as for her audiences, including the media, and had few detractors, something which cannot be said for many other high-profile types.
The Colin Morley Award for excellence by an NGO: Star School starschool.brimstone.net/document.asp?levelid=180
Star School works with 40,000 high school students in HIV–Aids-stricken Zululand, South Africa. This schools-based intervention encourages learners to build their future through informed decision-making. The group works within existing structures—in this case, the school system. The NGO is financed by the Swedish entrepreneur Dan Olofsson, endorsed by the South African government. Star Schools are now spreading out on the African continent. The project was launched in 2005, and has since been rolled out to 40 schools in the Umkhanyakude district of Kwa-Zulu Natal.
2007 BWAC Committee
Malcolm Allan
Paulina Borsook
Thomas Gad
Sicco van Gelder
Ava Hakim
Patrick Harris
Pierre d’Huy
Nicholas Ind
Tim Kitchin
Johnnie Moore
Stanley Moss (chairman)
Simon Paterson
Tony Quinlan
Anette Rosencreutz
Ian Ryder
Erika Uffindell
Jack Yan
Ton Zijlstra
The French political and gossip press, as well as some glossies, united over Christmas as President Nicolas Sarkozy’s girlfriend, model-turned-singer Carla Bruni, flew to Luxor with his family to stay at the five-star Hotel Sofitel Old Winter Palace (left), near the Karnak temple. The family flew on a Falcon 900 private jet loaned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré. This was confirmed by the Élysée.
The Élysée states that President Sarkozy has an official visit in Egypt on the 30th, but has not elaborated on Ms Bruni’s role.
The political left is critical of the relationship being in the limelight, despite an earlier poll showing that 89 per cent of French people regard it as a private matter.
Given the state of the non-political media, the attention Sarkozy and Bruni have received is unsurprising and cannot be levelled entirely at the President. While he has been attacked over a lack of solemnity for the office by Jean Matouk, a leftist economist, one thinks that even the most restrained of conduct would not stop public and gossip media interest. The alternative, surely, must be to transport Ms Bruni as cargo—or hide the relationship altogether (as Sarko’s married predecessors once did with their extramarital affairs) in an age of transparency?
The price of the rooms at the Old Winter Palace might be a better target for leftists: some of the top suites go for $1,100 per night, according to Libération.
According to a survey published in Le Journal du Dimanche, 86 per cent of French people do not feel that the image of President Nicolas Sarkozy has changed since his romance with model–singer Carla Bruni became public. Eleven per cent believe his image has deteriorated, while three per cent believe it has improved.
Eighty-nine per cent believe that the President’s romance is private and no concern of the public; the remainder believe the affair is a public matter.
The poll had a sample of 964 eligible people aged 18 and over, and interviewed people between December 20 and 21 (not October 18 and 19 as reported by AP).
Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France, is enjoying a heck of a publicity honeymoon. First, he won the election. Then, he went to the US and gave a speech to the Joint Houses that had everyone from Dubya to Hillary applauding. His speech citing Israeli–Palestinian peace a few days ago was largely well received. And now, with news that he and model–singer Carla Bruni are romantically involved (according to L’Express, referencing the cover story from Point de Vue tomorrow) has brought Sarko into the realm of the gossip press (Bruni has been linked to Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton), as well as those of us who normally report on fashion.
Funny, I was reading about Ms Bruni a few days ago prior to any confirmation of her dating, so she is in the Zeitgeist as well. Do we media build these things up? I used to wonder before I was this involved.
The answer is no, at least not initially. I wish it were yes and I could paint some story about a conspiracy. But there is a Zeitgeist out there and there may be no rhyme nor reason we would follow a particular story. And, right now, Sarko and Carla are the French “it” couple as we head into 2008.
What will follow is that the media will realize this is a money-spinner of a story, and updates will be less driven by the Zeitgeist and more by the profit motive. Watch this space. The weeklies will have a field day.
There are a lot of connections between myself, Stanley Moss, Pierre d’Huy, Lucireand the Medinge Group. Rather than explain things too much, I’d like to share some photos that won’t be in a future Lucire from Stanley, who serves as travel editor: after all, this blog is about the behind-the-scenes happenings at this magazine and our team.
These photos were from a road trip in Arizona, passing the red rocks at Sedona, back in the late summer and early autumn.
Stan and Pierre at Sedona
Rules of the west detailed: a brand is important
Pierre with Hopi chief Allen Pooyouma
The last shot is Pierre with Hopi chief Allen Pooyouma. Pierre is not freakishly tall: the Mustang is a good indicator of scale.
There will be road trip articles in Lucire next year: watch this space.
The French political and gossip press, as well as some glossies, united over Christmas as President Nicolas Sarkozy’s girlfriend, model-turned-singer Carla Bruni, flew to Luxor with his family to stay at the five-star 
