Recently, Paco Rabanne launched a new fragrance for men, Phantom—a name that suggests discretion, even invisibility. However, this is not the case. First of all, its silver robot-shaped bottle, quite disruptive for the sector, is able to connect directly to a smartphone via an NFC chip for playing in augmented reality. Also because of its juice. The brand had the idea to use artificial intelligence to associate effects. A premiere. And a sacrilege in the world of scent ruled by creative noses that rely on intuition and inspiration.

According to the press pack, the algorithm would not have replaced the noses but would have encouraged them to go further than their own brains can grasp. We are thus talking about “augmented creativity” since the computer assists the creator. A bit like an application that suggests a route, a recipe or a musical selection… The result is a juice whose promise is to boost the user’s self-confidence, energy and sexiness. Quite far from discretion, indeed.

This summer, we discovered in the women’s press the existence of small perfume brands (CnR Create, Maison Douze) built around the virtues associated with zodiac signs. According to a recent Ifop survey, 69% of young people aged 18 to 24 say they believe in at least one of the “para-sciences” compared to 54% of those aged 50 to 64. Brands have clearly understood this trend…

If (beautiful) promises have always been the driving force of marketing, we have to admit that they are now more and more sophisticated and far from the objective product reality, to the point of verging on the irrational. This evolution is no coincidence. In a world that is perceived as uncertain and whose manuals have been lost, isn’t irrationality an attractive response? A kind of total feel good, highly desirable in these chaotic times. Isn’t it also the sign of a desire to believe in “something else”? Especially when rational promises are not always successful… Tomorrow’s world or not, we are at a turning point.