Opium (perfume)

Naming and theme

Opium caused a stir with its controversial name and brought accusations that the brand designer Yves Saint Laurent was condoning drug use. In the United States, a group of Chinese Americans demanded a change of the name and a public apology from Saint Laurent for "his insensitivity to Chinese history and Chinese American concerns." They formed a committee called the American Coalition Against Opium and Drug Abuse, which expressed outrage at the choice of a name representing "a menace that destroyed many lives in China." However, the ensuing press coverage helped to increase the sales, with the perfume soon becoming a best-selling product.

For its promotional U.S. launch party in 1978, the German ship Peking—named after the Chinese city of Beijing—was rented from the South Street Seaport Museum and draped with colorful banners, the well-known American novelist Truman Capote sitting at its helm at the event.

Opium, Lilac Perfume Oil and White Musk from The Body Shop, Juniper Breeze from Bath & Body Works and Royal Secret formerly Germaine Monteil were among the perfumes tested in 2003 in a study of the relationship of scents to memory.

Advertising campaign controversy

A poster advertising campaign for the perfume caused another controversy in October–November 2000. It featured English model Sophie Dahl lying on her back naked except for a necklace, a bracelet and a pair of stiletto heels, with her eyes closed, seemingly in the throes of ecstasy, and her legs spread apart as she covers one of her nipples with her hand, leaving the other exposed. but was met with negative reactions in some places, particularly in the United Kingdom. The British Advertising Standards Authority received more than 700 complaints from the public, and ordered the posters to be withdrawn on the grounds that they were too sexually suggestive, degrading to women, and likely to cause "serious or widespread offence". American journalist Susan Faludi argued that certain perfume advertising campaigns pushed "idealization of weak yielding women" to the extreme, citing the Opium advertisement as a primary example.

''Opium pour Homme''

YSL launched the male complement Opium pour Homme in 1995, created by Jacques Cavallier of Firmenich. Its main note is set by vanilla, with black currant, galangal, star anise, ginger and pepper, fusing with base notes of cedar and Tolu balsam. Its flask was designed by Jérôme Failliant-Dumas.

Commercials

In 1992 and 1999, U.S. film director David Lynch created commercials for Opium.

Notes

References

References

1. Moran, Jan. (2000). "Fabulous Fragrances II : A Guide to Prestige Perfumes for Women and Men". Crescent House.
2. Groom, Nigel. (1997). "New Perfume Handbook - Second Edition". Springer.
3. Agence France-Presse. (2008-06-01). "Fashion giant Yves Saint Laurent dies at 71".
4. Friedman, Monroe. (1999). "Consumer Boycotts: Effecting Change Through the Marketplace and the Media". Routledge.
5. Moran, Jan. (2000). "Fabulous Fragrances II : A Guide to Prestige Perfumes for Women and Men". Crescent House.
6. (28 May 2014). "Histoire de parfum : Opium". Hearst Corporation.
7. Moran, Jan. (2000). "Fabulous Fragrances II : A Guide to Prestige Perfumes for Women and Men". Crescent House.
8. Herz, Rachel S.. (2004). "Neuroimaging evidence for the emotional potency of odor-evoked memory". Elsevier.
9. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927222135/http://www.sophie-dahl.com/images/full-size/opium.jpg Opium advertisement, Yves Saint Laurent, at ''The Sophie Dahl Gallery'']
10. Forden, Sara G.. (2001). "The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed". Harper Paperbacks.
11. (19 December 2000). "'Offensive' Opium posters to be removed, ''The Guardian'' - December 19, 2000".
12. Carter, Cynthia. (2003). "Violence and the Media". Open University Press.
13. Faludi, Susan. (1992). "Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women". Anchor.
14. Groom, Nigel. (1997). "New Perfume Handbook - Second Edition". Springer.
15. Rodley, Chris. (2005). "Lynch on Lynch". Faber & Faber.