Looks aren’t everything as we see in “Perfume,” a :30 for Planters Cashews that debuted during Super Bowl XLII. Set to Frankie Valli’s classic “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” the buoyant spot finds a physically unattractive yet charmingly confident woman (who has come to be known as the Unibrow Lady) turning heads wherever she goes. Men are instantly smitten with her, so distracted by their attraction that they ride bikes into the backs of taxicabs and walk through glass doors. A blind man, unable to resist himself, actually turns to follow the woman as she strides past. Eventually, we learn her secret: She has dabbed the alluring scent of Planters Cashews on her pulse points.
Created by DraftFCB, New York, and directed by Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international Hungry Man, “Unibrow” is not only funny but offers a clever take on the overall Planters campaign theme “Instinctively good,” which posits that men are naturally drawn to Planters nuts.
DraftFCB creative director/art director Noah Davis credited fellow creative Howie Ronay, also creative director/art director, with conceiving the original nugget that “Perfume” was born out of, which was the idea of men blinded by pheromones. This eventually led to the thought that the scent of cashews would trigger this pheromone frenzy.
Buckley, a regular Super Bowl spot contributor, thought it was a brilliant idea, but knew it would be a challenge to execute. “The upside was huge,” Buckley shared, “but there was also a big downside if you didn’t pull it off.”
Casting In order to make the spot work, Buckley said he had to get the casting of the Unibrow Lady right. During extensive casting sessions held in cities including New York, Los Angeles and New Orleans, the hunt was on for a woman who “had eyes with a certain spark,” Buckley said. “We created the character via makeup and teeth and prosthetics, but [the actress] had to have an inner beauty that transcended that.”
Buckley continued, “The challenge was to take this character beyond one level and give her confidence and the sense that she’s smart and believes in herself and doesn’t need the conventions of 36-24-36 measurements and a boob job to be a beautiful person.”
After seeing numerous candidates, the director knew he found the right actress the second he met Christa Woomer, a Los Angeles-based performer mostly known for stage work. Incidentally, she had a role in the feature film Mr. Woodcock (directed by Craig Gillespie of bicoastal/international MJZ). “When Christa walked in, it was done,” Buckley said. “She had a spark, and we loved how she dealt with men. Her reactions were just so charming.”
Woomer is fantastic in the role, following in the footsteps of actress Amy Sedaris, known for playing quirky characters, such as Jerri Blank from the cult Comedy Central series Strangers With Candy, who aren’t physically beautiful but have a true sense of confidence and charisma.
Woomer had to undergo quite a physical transformation to become the Unibrow Lady. Buckley played around with her look to get it right, striving to exaggerate her appearance without making her too much of a cartoon. He ultimately employed a unibrow, a mole and prosthetic teeth as well as a device to push Woomer’s ears out.
With the Unibrow Lady’s look set and her male admirers cast, “Perfume” was shot by Buckley and DP Scott Henricksen over the course of three days, mainly at Los Angeles Center Studios, with some location work in downtown L.A. Buckley said he aimed for a 1970s That Girl look and feel.
“Eyes” have it Chris Franklin of Big Sky Edit, New York, cut the footage into :30 and :60 versions, and came up with the idea of using Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” for the spot, Buckley said.
“Chris Franklin’s selection for the music was brilliant,” Buckley praised. “He told me he took the dailies home and watched them against music tracks and got a sense for who he thought the girl was. I thought that was a really interesting way to work.”
In addition to jibing with the look of “Perfume,” Ronay said Franklin’s choice of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” enhances the spot by offering a male point of view on the situation.
The spot–not to mention the Unibrow Lady–certainly stood out during the Big Game. “There tends to be a certain kind of Super Bowl spot, which we’ve all seen before, centering on guys ogling some sort of pin up or supermodel type,” DraftFCB creative director/copywriter Rob Rooney said. “But we took that basic premise and turned it on its head. I think it helped the spot stand out.”
There were some critics of the spot, although this reporter has to point out that all of her female friends loved it. “Most of the people who had problems with it were men,” Rooney said.
Buckley disagrees with those who found “Perfume” offensive. “If you look at it on the surface–ugly girl attracts guys–it could be offensive. But it goes much deeper than that. Her character is much deeper than that,” Buckley maintained. “So if you are looking at it only on a surface level, you are being sexist. You’re not seeing this person for who she is because her beauty is [not just her scent], it is who she is.”
