YSL Beauty Taps Adam Levine as Digital Only Fragrance Ambassador

YSL Beauty is trying something new to promote its latest men’s fragrance Y, which hit counters in August.

The brand has named singer and “The Voice” judge Adam Levine the first fragrance ambassador that’s solely a digital ambassador, part of an effort to use digital and social media to reach a customer who spends more time than ever tied to their mobile device. The plan is to engage both the existing customer while hopefully attracting new ones.

YSL Beauty did something similar with Zo? Kravitz, who last year started off as a muse whose presence was largely relegated to social media, where she has 3.1 million followers. She wound up becoming the face of the brand a year later, but “initially she was just someone we loved who few found relevant to the brand,” said Alexandre Choueiri, president, international collections, L’Oréal USA.

“It’s different than the competition where you generally pick your face and put it in an ad and that’s it,” explained Choueiri, who called the digital first initiative a “big deal” for the brand. “Adam Levine will not appear in print ads. We’re doing something completely new and different with him in the digital space only.”

While the plan right now is for all Levine-related content — both on the brand’s and Levine’s own social channels — to live online, there could be potential off-line opportunities down the line. He will reveal the partnership today on Instagram, where he has 10.3 million followers.

“We thought it was relevant for YSL Beauty, and especially this fragrance. He celebrates the young man who is creative…who explores new frontiers and trusts themselves,” Choueiri said. “We think he’s a perfect fit for the brand. He’s extremely creative and embodies what we love doing in YSL Beauty — telling our consumers to trust themselves and go above and beyond. We see his creative personality.…He’s always exploring a new area.”

Levine declined to comment on the deal.

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