What it had to solve
Celebrate positivity and the fragrance's 'happiness' positioning by bringing the brand's muses together for the first time.
The idea
All seven Ambassadors — Roberts, Seyfried, Rossellini, Cruz, Zendaya, Nakamura, Hoyeon — share one 45-second film for the first time, set to 'What a Wonderful World'.
How it works
Emmanuel Adjei filmed the women individually and in pairs in Los Angeles and Madrid, with DP Ross Richardson colouring each shot with light — hues and brightness matched to each Ambassador's complexion and wardrobe — cut together to a feminine rendition of the song.
What it did
No performance figures reported; the film marked the first time the full Ambassador roster appeared together, positioning the fragrance as a shared idea of happiness.
Background
Lancôme's La Vie est Belle, the brand's self-described 'fragrance of happiness', had its Ambassadors appear together on screen for the first time in April 2023: Julia Roberts, Amanda Seyfried, Isabella Rossellini, Penelope Cruz and Zendaya Coleman joined newer muses — French musician Aya Nakamura and South Korean model-actress Hoyeon Jung — in a 45-second commercial set to a feminine rendition of 'What a Wonderful World'.
Director Emmanuel Adjei, of The Directors Bureau, was hired to channel rather than command. 'From the very beginning, I was clear that I was there to channel the energies of these talented, powerhouse women to create something beautiful and honest — more than simply direct,' he told LBB, describing the result as 'both grounded and larger than life'. The women were filmed individually and together, with organic moments woven together into honest, unforced portraits.
The craft carried the airy aesthetic: Adjei and DP Ross Richardson effectively coloured each shot with light, using hues and levels of brightness to complement each Ambassador's complexion and wardrobe. Shoots ran in Los Angeles and Madrid with the Ambassadors paired on set, for agency Publicis Luxe and production company Phantasm PHA. 'Even though the state of today's world can be challenging to navigate, there is strength in beauty,' Adjei concluded.
Why it lands
Fragrance campaigns trade in feeling, and 'happiness' reads strongest when the brand's faces appear to share it rather than pose apart.
Light used as colour lets seven skin tones and wardrobes sit in one visual world without flattening anyone.
Shooting in pairs and individually captured organic moments a single group set-up never could.
A familiar song, reinterpreted, gave seven unrelated celebrities one emotional throughline.
What you can take
Casting a roster is not an idea — directing the roster to share one frame, one song and one light language is.
Since then
The film launched in April 2023 as the centre of the La Vie est Belle campaign; LBB's coverage recorded no media results or sales figures.
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