I often wonder if some perfume manufacturers enjoy having a laugh at our expense. It’s the kind of straw-grasping idea that pops into my head when I try to understand the existence of a scent like Gucci’s new Made To Measure. It is so utterly generic, so completely predictable, so resolutely dull that I can’t help thinking it could only have been the result of a joke. Maybe it’s part of some secret competition to see who can inflict the most boring fragrance upon the mainstream. Perhaps the ‘creatives’ at Procter & Gamble and Gucci actually enjoy the challenge of trying to convince the world that a masculine scent structure we’ve all come across countless times before (a ‘fresh’ citrus top with a synthetically spicy heart and a base of unremarkable ambery woods) is, in fact, original and innovative. I’m probably being far too cynical. Nobody’s sense of humour could be that cruel, right? But then… take another look at the name… and feel your heart sink as everything falls into place. Made To Measure is a moniker dripping with quantities of irony vast enough to have caused Shakespeare to gnash his teeth with envy. This stuff is anything but made to measure: it is the very definition of ‘one size fits all’. So yes, well done to those folks who will no doubt cackle all the way to the bank after having pulled the wool over the eyes of hapless consumers by spinning some yarn about “judiciously selected ingredients from around the world” and the “Gucci philosophy of attention to detail”. I hope they give themselves a hearty pat on the back and tell each other how clever they are. Personally, I don’t find this particular joke funny any more. And I certainly don’t think this scent measures up in any way whatsoever. Gucci: it’s time for you to find a new yardstick.
[Review based on a sample of eau de toilette provided by Gucci in 2013.]
Persolaise
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Maybe it's that focus groups are comprised of people who are thoroughly mainstream (and raised on Axe and Bath and Body Works) or afraid to state an opinion that disagrees with the rest of the room.
— Lindaloo
Lindaloo, I think you must be right. And anyway, focus groups always reduce things to the lowest common denominator, regardless of the individual tastes of their members.
Oh, the irony! The only thing we can do (they won't listen to us bloggers, after all the mass market isn't usually our audience)is to open the eyes (or noses, rather) of our friends and family so that they'll settle for something that's not generic or dull. If it doesn't start with us, it's never gonna start!
Vagabond, it's really interesting you should say that. Whenever I have the opportunity to give a non-mainstream perfume to a friend or relative who has only ever worn mainstream stuff, they always – and I mean ALWAYS – remark on how the sample smells much more interesting/detailed/complex/sophisticated than the kind of thing they normally wear. You're absolutely right: part of the battle is overcoming ignorance. Some people just don't know what else is out there.