Gucci Launches New Guilty Black Fragrance

Gucci is launching the new Gucci Guilty Black scents for men and women. The first Gucci Guilty launched in 2010 with much success reports Procter & Gamble.

Luigi Feola, P&G's vice president of global prestige, said Gucci Black aims to continue Guilty's story by targeting customers new to luxury fragrances. "We tend to target moods, but this is aimed at a younger age group," said Feola. "We expect the majority to be new to the fragrance....They're brand lovers, but they can't necessarily afford the fashion offering. It's a great entry point for the world of the brand."

The new fragrance will launch in February and, by midyear, worldwide distribution will be complete.

"At the time of the [original] Guilty launch, it was so successful that we could see the effects on the category growth as a whole," said Feola, adding that P&G aimed to re-create this growth especially with Valentine's Day coming up.

The new ad campaign will still play with the idea of giving into indulgence but will take it a bit further with Guilt Black. Stars Evan Rachel Wood and Chris Evans are shown skidding across a dark road - she in a white car, he on a motorcycle - and when the wheels stop spinning, they succumb to a moment of passion in the backseat of her vehicle. Gucci creative director Frida Giannini said director and comic book artist Frank Miller and photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott "create an amazing chemistry between Evan and Chris and bring the story to life just as I had imagined it - sexier and darker, full of provocation."

"The consumer interested in Gucci Guilty Black is really the same as Gucci Guilty, but younger and more daring," she noted, adding that "the Gucci Black wearer wants to feel empowered and sensual. The fragrance helps him or her to be liberated and want to take more risks."

The Gucci Guilty Black women's scent is a creamy and warm oriental floral featuring red fruits and pink pepper in the top notes, lilac and violet in the heart, and patchouli and amber as base notes. The new men's scent is a fougère that opens with coriander and lavender over a heart of orange flower, neroli and aromatic notes, with a base of patchouli and cedarwood.