PARIS — Pow! Bam! Wham!
Thierry Mugler is putting the fun back into fragrance by creating a cast of imaginary comic book characters to populate his olfactive universe. In September, Thierry Mugler Parfums will introduce BMen, a men’s scent complete with a new hero. The fragrance will be launched internationally.
The Groupe Clarins-owned brand will introduce the fragrance as a brother to its AMen scent — known as Angel Men in the U.S., Canada and the Middle East —which was launched in 1996.
Like AMen, BMen was inspired by Mugler’s lifelong fascination with comic book superheroes, including Superman and the Silver Surfer.
Related Articles
Such characters lend themselves well to fragrance projects, the company executives believe.
You May Also Like
“[Superheroes] have no cultural barriers; everyone can understand them,” explained Vera Strubi, president of Thierry Mugler Parfums Worldwide, Wednesday at the international press launch for BMen held at the top-secret La Grande Soufflerie wind tunnel in Meudon, outside Paris. The site, which is under the auspices of France’s Ministry of Defense, features six enormous fans used for testing planes and spacecraft.
The otherworldly location provided a vivid backdrop to the new Muglerian superhero conceived as a counterpart to AMen.
While BMen is meant to safeguard the world, AMen is more of a visionary, a discoverer of new planets. BMen is described as passionate, active and highly communicative, whereas AMen is seen as having inner strength.
The BMen character was brought to life in a comic book illustrated by Bertrand Demey (also known as Beb-deum) and written by Jacques Jouet. Some 20,000 of these will be given to purchasers of the new scent’s 100-ml. limited-edition version. Strubi noted additional comic book installments featuring the BMen and AMen superheroes could also be in the pipeline.
BMen was developed in response to consumer demand, said Strubi. She explained that two years ago, Thierry Mugler Parfums had sent its AMen customers two sample-sized vials each containing a main olfactive accord — either “fiery” or “woody” — found in the juice. In response, the firm received numerous requests for a new scent based on AMen’s woody accord, but in the same vein as that fragrance.
“We created BMen for AMen customers and [also] hope to recruit new customers who will be attracted to the new fragrance,” said Strubi.
She added there’s no fear BMen will cannibalize AMen’s consumer base, because people — both men and women — today require a whole wardrobe of scents.
“Today, nobody has just one perfume at home; they zap from one to another,” she said. “[People] wear different scents for different occasions and moods.”
As the personalities of the AMen and BMen superheroes differ, so, too, do their juice characteristics. BMen features notes of sequoia and rhubarb, while AMen’s key notes are patchouli and coffee.
BMen’s juice, created by Quest International’s Jacques Huclier and Christine Nagel, also includes green, citrus accords, plus vetiver and dry, woody notes.
While Strubi refused to talk numbers, industry sources estimate BMen could generate $10 million in global wholesale sales during its first year.
The eau de toilette comes in a new iteration of AMen’s flask-shaped bottle. However, while AMen’s flacon is silver with a blue glass star, BMen’s bottle is khaki with a red glass star.
The 100-ml. limited-edition eau de toilette BMen metal spray with the comic book will retail for $93.20 at current exchange rates, or 78 euros; the 100-ml. metal version will be the same price; the 100-ml. recharge will be $68, or 57 euros; the 50-ml. eau de toilette spray in a rubber bottle will be $50.80, or 42.50 euros; the 200-ml. hair-and-body shampoo will be $27.50, or 23 euros, and the 75-gram stick deodorant will be $26.30, or 22 euros. All prices are for France.
BMen’s in-store launch will be accompanied by scented military tags and also more traditional samples. While an advertising campaign isn’t planned, visuals of the BMen superhero, include a short cartoon movie, will be used in sales points and window displays.
— Brid Costello