In spite of his much-publicised lawsuit with ex-wife Amber Heard, Johnny Depp has scored the biggest men’s fragrance contract ever. French luxury fashion house Dior has signed a three year deal with the actor to remain the face of its Sauvage fragrance for a reported US$20 million.
No wonder. Sauvage has enjoyed explosive success since Depp first fronted the fragrance in 2015. One bottle of the juice was sold every three seconds in 2021, making it the best-selling perfume in both the men’s and women’s categories. The first time a male perfume has taken the number one spot globally. According to NPD, it was the most purchased fragrance during the northern summer last year.
Depp won the multi-million legal action against Heard in June 2022 and sales of Sauvage soared at retailers, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Bernard Arnault, CEO of Dior’s parent company LVMH, has said that “the image of Johnny Depp” is one of the main reasons behind the fragrance’s phenomenal performance.
Disney may have dropped Depp from The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and he lost his role of Grindelwald in the Harry Potter spin-off films. But the actor is on the comeback trail outside Hollywood. He stars as King Louis XV in the new movie, Jeanne Du Barry, which had its world premiere in Cannes last week. He will also be directing Modi, a bio-pic of the Italian painter Modigliani, starring Al Pacino in the coming months.
The new Dior contract far surpasses the moolah other male celebrities have negotiated for major fragrance deals. Twilight star Robert Pattinson received US$12 million for fronting Dior Homme. Brad Pitt inked a US$7 million deal for Chanel No 5. While most famous male faces are content to pick up around $US$2 million to $US 4 million like Chris Pine‘s three year contract promoting Armani Code.
Its been a big week for the appointment of new faces for some of the world’s leading men’s fragrance brands.
Stranger Things alumni, Charlie Heaton, has been named global brand ambassador for Paco Rabanne’s new Phantom Parfum for Men. The actor will feature in the campaign for the new juice, set to begin its pre-launch in July in travel retail and online before rolling out globally in September. A blend of French lavender, black vanilla bean and Haitian vetiver – all the ingredients are entirely composed of natural ingredients.
Multi-award winning fragrance, Bleu de Chanel, debuted as an eau de toilette in 2010 and has been one of Chanel’s biggest hits ever since. French actor, Gaspard Ulliel, was the face of the fragrance for 12 years until his death in a skiing accident last year.
The French luxury fashion house has appointed Dune star Timothee Chalamet as the new face of Bleu de Chanel. The decision to hire the 27 year old actor indicates capturing a fast-growing market, according to Vogue magazine. The international men’s fragrance market was valued at US$14.2 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach US$19.6 billion by 2025. The movie Dune: Part Two will be released worldwide in November.
Noted Italian-American photographer, Mario Sorrenti, will shoot the ad campaign starring Chalamet and a campaign film will be directed by Oscar-winning director, Martin Scorsese, later in the year.
Read the current issue of our digital magazine below:
- For more news and updates, subscribe to our weekly newsletter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Like us on Facebook
- Connect with us on LinkedIn