The most expensive TV commercial of all time
Most TV commercials bark in your face, interrupting your favourite programme to try and sell you a brand new kind of fluffy duster that ‘revolutionises’ cleaning. Cheap, simple and mostly ill-thought, these commercials pass by your retinas without much recognition, but some buck this trend, with producers putting in millions of pounds to ensure their advertisements seize your attention and hopefully the cash in your wallet.
British TV viewers will know this all too well, with every Christmas period sparking a competition between companies as to who can make the best festive advert. The department store John Lewis often wins this white-collar war, with their 2023 commercial costing an approximate total of £800,000 to make while also sprouting its own range of merchandise.
Yet, this vast amount of money pales in comparison to the advertisement that carries the record for being the most expensive of all time. Released in 2004, Chanel No.5 The Film was a promotional commercial for a new line of perfume from the iconic French luxury fashion house. Directed by none other than the celebrated Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, the advert cost a baffling $33million to put together.
Adjusted for inflation, $33m works out to around $52m, which is two million more than his celebrated 2001 Oscar-winning musical Moulin Rouge.
Lasting just 180 seconds, that works out to about $288,888 per second. Yet, despite its baffling price tag, Chanel No.5 The Film was remarkably well received, largely thanks to the talent that came on board for the project. Starring the Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman, the film also benefited from the expertise of the late costume designer for Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld.
Familiarly bizarre, just like most perfume adverts, the short commercial told the story of an actress who runs away with a handsome man and falls in love, presumably just because Chanel No.5 smelled so damn good.
Luhrmann joins a long line of filmmakers who have found greater success in the world of advertising. Indeed, some of the greatest directors of all time have delved into the industry, including Sofia Coppola, Michael Bay, David Fincher, Wes Anderson, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott, with the latter making the Hovis advert ‘The Bike Ride’, which became iconic in the 1970s.
Take a look at the most expensive commercial of all time, Luhrmann’s Chanel No.5 The Film, starring Nicole Kidman and Rodrigo Santoro, below.
