Lincoln | Scent of Sanctuary
2023 PRWeek Shortlist • 2023 NY Festivals BronzeWith an assist from Serena Williams, I helped launch a rejuvenating new perfume brand with an unexpected twist: It’s not from a cosmetics company, but an automaker. 🤯
Full Story:
Social Recap:
To kick things off, Serena Williams posted a real ad for our fake fragrance.
Freshly retired, Serena Williams’ insta post made it seem like the Coastal Mornings scent was her next endeavor.
To make our fake fragrance feel even more real, we built a faux storefront in Miami during Art Basel.
People visiting Miami for Art Basel stumbled across an unexpected surprise: a Coastal Mornings boutique that included an invitation to our launch event.
An army of fashionable influencers helped set the stage.
Inviting their audiences along for the ride, a dozen influencers across IG and TikTok explained that they’d received a mysterious new fragrance in the mail, along with an invitation to an event in Miami to learn more about it.
No premium fragrance is complete without hand-crafted bottles and revitalizing design.
In addition to giving the Coastal Mornings ‘brand’ a unique look and feel, we partnered with a glass blower who hand-crafted a limited series of bottles with an orange ombré effect that hinted at the rising sun.
During Art Basel in Miami, we revealed the unexpected brand behind the fragrance.
Finally, we pulled the rug: Lincoln was the sanctuary-obsessed brand behind the fragrance. And in the future, you could only experience Coastal Mornings inside a Lincoln. Serena explained to her fans the connection between scent, sanctuary, and Lincoln.
Our influencers followed up their teaser posts with elegant shout outs to Lincoln, like this film-noir inspired tour de force.
During Art Basel, we invited anyone to experience the Coastal Mornings scent for themselves.
Anyone who stopped by could try Coastal Mornings, the only time it would be available outside of a Lincoln.
Turning fun into function, we auctioned off the custom bottles for charity.
Serena signed each hand-blown bottle, which we auctioned off for charity, with all proceeds going to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County.
We put the future home of Coastal Mornings on display.
The futuristic Lincoln Star Concept vehicle was on site, giving people a look at where they could find Coastal Mornings in the future.
Wrapping it all up, a panel of experts solidified the connection between Scent & Sanctuary.
A scent expert, a Lincoln designer, and brand ambassador Serena came together to explain the role that scent plays in finding sanctuary.
A deeper look into why Lincoln made Coastal Mornings.
Lincoln understands that scent can have a powerful effect on mood. So, in their never-ending quest to create the most revitalizing vehicles on the road, they did something you wouldn't expect from an automaker. They developed a soothing digital scent that will only be available in a Lincoln. The Coastal Mornings fragrance, with notes of sea mist and the soft, warm glow of the sun, was created to rejuvenate you by evoking the feeling of a walk along the beach at sunrise.
To draw attention to Coastal Mornings, we went to Art Basel in Miami and performed our own version of performance art. Instead of simply announcing scent as a new Lincoln feature, we hid the brand behind the scent and presented it as an all-new fragrance in a limited series of custom-made, artisan-blown bottles.
Once people were eager to learn more about the Coastal Mornings fragrance, we revealed the twist: it’s not a new fragrance from a cosmetics brand, but a digital scent created by Lincoln in order to provide a new dimension of sanctuary when you’re driving in one.
Thanks to Hudson Rouge for bringing me in to help out on this project and thanks to Lincoln for letting us present Coastal Mornings in a unique, unexpected way.
CREDITS
Agency: Hudson Rouge
CCO: Jon Pearce
Creative Director: Nathan Archambault
Creative Director: Luke Partridge
Creative Director: Brett Minieri
Producer: Mary Ellen Verrusio
Design Agency: Studio Butch
Glassblower Studio: Vitreluxe
Editorial Company: Cosmo Street
Editor: Joshua Berger
Videographer/Editor: Dylan Rives
Influencer Agencies: KRo & UWG
Talent: Serena Williams