COTY | FRENCH LESSON | 1978
In 1978, this is how the British saw the French / COTY "FRENCH LESSON"
This perfume ad for Coty L'Aimant won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 1978. Released with the line "Do you speak L'Aimant?", the film feels like a mirror reflecting how the British saw the French—and how they saw the French language and the culture of perfume.
The idea
The title is "FRENCH LESSON." The perfume is called L'Aimant, which means "magnet" or "lover" in French. It looks like there's a kind of wordplay built in here, where language and scent overlap.
What happened
The director was Hugh Hudson, who would later go on to direct Chariots of Fire. The agency was Boase Massimi Pollitt, and this campaign earned BMP their first Cannes Grand Prix.
Afterthought
Ads from the 1970s had a boldness we wouldn't allow today—stereotypes, treating whole cultures as symbols. It's easy to call that "not okay," but I think archives like this are exactly what we need to understand where people's eyes were pointed back then. I didn't know the details myself until I watched the film, but even just the title and the line give off the feel of a particular era.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 1978
