Bond no. 9 is having a contest to design a new bottle for their new Brooklyn fragrance:
When we introduced our latest fragrance, Brooklyn, last month, its breakthrough street-art surface design brought praise and a barrage of responses. Well, we already knew that aficionados of the borough of Brooklyn can be opinionated. But so many strong opinions reached us about what a Brooklyn bottle could look like that we realized we’d better offer more options if we knew what was good for us.
So throughout March 2009, Bond No. 9 invites everyone—amateurs and artists alike—to join our Brooklyn Bottle Design Competition and create additional visuals for this contemporary male-oriented cardamom-cedarwood eau de parfum.
The rules:
Create your design to fit within the outline of the Bond No. 9 superstar flacon and to include the circular “token” logo. You will need to download the image of the bottle from the Bond no. 9 website (I can’t find it there now; if anyone can find the direct link let me know).
You can use any style, figurative or abstract.
Inspiration can come from anywhere in Brooklyn—DUMBO, Park Slope, Flatbush, Canarsie, Midwood, Bay Ridge, et al.—or from the very idea of Brooklyn.
Any medium is okay: oil, acrylic, watercolor, house paint, pastel, crayon, Magic Marker, makeup—even a ballpoint pen or pencil will do.
Submit your completed design to contactus@bondno9.com by March 31, 2009. The two winners will see their designs put into production with their names on the bottles, and will each receive one bottle of Brooklyn every month for a full year. (via press release)
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FUN!!!!!
Yes! Hope they'll put all the submissions online somewhere.
Brilliant crowd management and PR! Good for them. Maybe a few other perfume marketers will take note of what happens when you actually listen to your audience.
Two quick points: I don't think the new design will actually replace the old one (?)
And could swear I had read somewhere or another that this was planned before the bottle was released, so not sure it's entirely a reaction to feedback on the bottle design.
Either way, it's great fun, and will work nicely as crowd management
Wow! What a great idea. It'd be fun to see what the top 10 or 15 designs are.
I loved the original design, and thought it was lighthearted and fun. I can see where folks might have been a little put off by the implication that all Brooklyn has to offer is a ghetto-inspired image.
New York's neighborhood's ethnic/cultural diversity is always changing. It's a melting pot and difficult to capture one theme on a bottle.
The contest is a nice idea.
I don't know anything about brooklyn, but their original bottle design was just amazing. Funny and everything. Too bad I didn't like the juice!
I wasn't aware that perfume companies regularly needed to employ crown management protocols. Too funny.
Anyhow, it's really a stroke of marketing genius. Now if only they would put the top 5 or 10 designs on their website and make it a popular vote —tally up the votes and the top 2 could be used—the winners by popular demand! (then Florida could have a recount….)
As for the original bottle…ok, maybe not the most positive connotations, or the most completely representative of the “Entity” that is Brooklyn, but come on folks; it's a perfume bottle. (inhale, exhale, remain calm)
oops, that would be crowD management…..I believe crowN management would be more of an issue for the Brits. ; )
I am from Brooklyn and I'm having images of John Travolta in his famous white suit gracing this bottle. For years, Saturday Night Fever was the “bible of Brooklyn.” I sure hope the juice smells a lot better than ultra-mega-hold-Aquanet, which is all you'd smell at the Funhouse on Friday night.
I thought the juice was pretty good: nice enough, nothing I'd go out of my way to buy. But the bottle! I'd save that from a burning building. So vivid and fun. I was shocked when I learned how many people HATED it.
Yes, a vote would be fun too!
I loved the original too, but it'll be fun to see what people come up with…
Zazie, yes it is
LOL — I would love a SNF bottle, hysterical!
Don't know that MANY people did — would be interesting to see numbers!
Thanks for mentioning in the comments what you knew about any “winning” design being actually put into production or not. Fun marketing campaign in any case.
I got my sample of Brooklyn the other day and I actually liked it a lot, though I only sniffed a tiny dab of it. So refreshing and clean, but not in that usual ozonic “fresh” way… I had anticipated something like a heavier, aromatic fougère, but was really pleasantly surprised. I'm looking fwd to more testing — I don't need another lemming, but I think I may get a decant.
Wait — I hope I was clear — the new designs will go into production, just not sure the old bottle will disappear. I'm assuming they'll keep that one as well, and you'll have a choice of which to buy? Or maybe they'll all be limited edition?
I'll bet you are right. It seems likely that the winners designs would be a limited edition thing–who knows what sort of release the winners would be required to sign but I wonder if long term use would end up being a battle for royalties etc. They would have to sign over complete ownership of the design. I'm sure Bond has a corporate lawyer somewhere who already has a plan.
Points taken, R. thanks for the clarification. Pretty good spin either way.
Ah, I see… that's what I was thinking originally: that the winner would be produced as a LE but the original bottle would still be out there too. Haven't they put out single scents in a variety of bottles in the past as well? I mean, in addition to those beadazzled things that I find so tacky?
The only thing I know about Brooklyn is my favorite band They Might Be Giants is from that area.
LOL, I'm so glad someone else agrees that the swarovski laden bottles are TACKY, all they need is a lilttle FRINGE around the cap! acck! I'll be the first to admit that I love Swarovski crystals and I use loads of them in my jewelry but those bottles just make me think of summer arts & crafts, baggies of rhinestone flatbacks and getting white glue under my fingernails. (not good memories)
Haha. Daisy, let's just say I'm no magpie, but if it works for some people, more power to them!
Thanks for reminding me of them Slarty — have been meaning to look up stuff about their music in the new film “Coraline” which I saw last week. I was almost sure it was them (I mean, they're so unmistakable) but have been meaning to make sure. I hear their albums for kids have been really great and loved by both kids and parents.
Don't get me wrong, I like shiny things just fine (we call it “embracing your inner-crow” ) but those bottles are just too much. But, yeah for the folks who like them, go for it!
Personally, I'm fine with more plain bottles …that way the other items in my fridge won't feel inadequate by comparison.
Hmmm…can't think of any really. I guess they did do some special colors for AW Lexington, but you had to buy that plexiglass “shoe” to get them. Maybe someone else will remember something I've missed?
Great band, & they do great kid's music!
Hey, didn't know they did the music for that! My son saw the movie last week but I haven't seen it yet. Creepy book, hear the movie wasn't quite as creepy.
I since discovered they had done a lot of songs originally, but then the producers wanted something different, so only one song made it into the film. Not as creepy as I thought it might be, but fun in such a weird, twisted way.
music info: http://tmbw.net/wiki/Coraline
Well, there was the Andy Warhol Union Square set, 10 bottles of the same scent but each with a different version of the same flower print. Of course, you have to buy the whole box for $1500; does that count?
Yes, forgot about that set! Would love to know how many they sold.
Haha, I agree- it really is a bit tacky. I prefer the plain bottle.
Thanks, will take a look at that link!
Wow, two of my passions fuse: perfume and art contests! I'm so excited.
Cool — will you enter?