Dior - Sauvage / Johnny Depp - Director's cut (2015) :90 (France)

Johnny Depp is playing a Ry Cooder riff on his guitar when restlessness hits him. He needs to get out of the city, which is Los Angeles, and drive somewhere. He takes his muscle car straight to the desert, passing random buffalo and oil rigs along the way. What is he looking for? Even he doesn't know, as he buries his jewellery - that is, his wordly possesions - in the desert sand. Happy tears seem to fill his kajal lined eyes as he sees the magic of the wild.

I know that people like this ad, that every shot is arguably beautiful, that Johnny Depp looks as handsome as ever at 52, but this ad is so pretentious it makes me grit my teeth. It's trying so hard. However, perfume ads live in a certain area of the ad-world, where you balance on the edge of flop or fantastic, and a lot of people think this is fantastic. It does communicate that the new fragrance Sauvage, where the name is taken from the 1966 Dior Eau Sauvage, but has little in common with that scent, has a certain wild aroma. It is inspired by desert landscapes, open blue skies that cover rocky landscapes and hot desert sun.

Created by Dior in-house perfumer, François Demachy, the fragrance is announced as radically fresh, raw and noble at the same time. The composition is reportedly prevalent with carefully selected natural ingredients. Fresh top notes of Calabria bergamot encounter ambroxan, obtained from precious ambergris, and its woody trail.

Starring Johnny Depp

Directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino 

Music by Ry Cooder.