MSLK was asked to comment on Prada’s newest fragrance campaign for Luna Rossa Ocean, which features Jake Gyllenhaal and the America’s Cup. Sheri emphasized the campaign’s clever metaphorical connection to the fragrance’s essence and the exploration of emotions like adventure, freedom, courage, and strength, resonating with the spirit of the sailors involved.

Prada’s seafaring scent gets star treatment in documentary

Italian fashion brand Prada’s beauty arm is emerging from the blue depths to tell audiences a story. Uplifting the new Luna Rossa Ocean masculine fragrance, a documentary, titled “Beyond the Line,” is being aired across the brand’s social media platforms.

The film and corresponding campaign, which stars ambassador and American actor Jake Gyllenhaal, showcases the yachting team named after the scent as they continue their quest to sporting excellence – an avenue luxury is increasingly looking to for marketing opportunities.

“Luxury has a long relationship with technical and adrenaline-fueled sports such as racing,” said Sheri Koetting, founder, brand strategist and creative director at MSLK, New York.

“America’s Cup is performance at its highest level, this is a great metaphor and association for the ingredients and feeling one can discover inside [the fragrance],” Ms. Koetting said. “In addition, the campaign takes great pains to focus on the feelings of adventure, freedom, courage and strength that these sailors must possess.

“These attributes speak to the heart of those who yearn for the open seas.” Ms. Koetting is not affiliated with Prada, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.

On the waves

Reviving a campaign that launched in October 2023, “Beyond the Line” walks the line between marketing endeavor and informative documentary. The art form has seen an influx of usage among maisons, with Italian fashion label Gucci being the latest to utilize the style.

In the nine-minute-long video, Mr. Gyllenhaal joins the crew of the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli yachting team, an incredibly successful club since its founding more than 20 years ago, winning multiple events and tournaments all around the world. During his time aboard, he speaks with the designer of the ship, the crew’s captain and various members of the troupe.

Performing alongside the athletes, he pushes his body to the brink. Each race is around 30 minutes, with training taking the form of fast-paced, full-speed sustained bike rides for that duration – the 43-year-old actor is barely able to keep up, something he takes great pride in.

Mr. Gyllenhaal compares the sportsmen to Prada’s designers, as days of work and practice go into each race, like what is needed for each fragrance or apparel release.

Once on the water and at speed, the actor compares the feeling to flying, as the yacht is floating above the water due to its design. Traveling at speeds of up to 50 knots – or nearly 60 miles per hour – the AC75 Luna Rossa is one of the fastest in the world.

Many other labels have also embraced the sport, such as Rolex (see story), Puig (see story) and Loro Piana.

Through the documentary, Prada is able to place a spotlight on the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli yachting team, which bears the name of one of the maison’s iconic men’s fragrance lines, which recently released a new entry.

“Behind-the-scenes content has been performing strongly for several years now; many attribute the rise to TikTok where content is typically fast-paced, less produced, and unpolished,” said Ms. Koetting.

“The appeal of behind-the-scenes content is you get to feel more connected to the product, the brand, and the process,” she said. “In this case, I love how Prada is taking advantage of an investment they’ve already made in sponsoring an America’s Cup vessel.

“They are leveraging stories that are already part of their DNA to yield authenticity to the Prada Luna Rossa Ocean fragrance.”

Sea spray

The Luna Rossa Ocean scent, launched last year, embraces technology through a new approach to extracting essences and olfactory notes.

Naturally sourced lemon, saffron accords and oakwood comprise the masculine scent. A dark crimson-andnavy bottle contains the liquid, itself having a sporty appearance, perhaps in a nod to the sailing team that represents the product line.

Uplifted by the release of the “Beyond the Line” documentary, the fragrance was originally unveiled in October 2023 with the launch of another campaign starring Mr. Gyllenhaal, who has been the face of the Luna Rossa collection for three years. Visuals depict the actor on board the brand’s seafaring ship, potentially teasing the film to come.

April 16, 2024 By Zach James