Netflix original series Emily in Paris isn’t exactly prestige TV. The show’s bright, colorful scenes and low-stakes plots have led some viewers to describe the experience as “CoComelon for adults.”
Still, the show is attracting high-brow brand attention. Luxury brands including AMI Paris, Boucheron, and Augustinus Bader were featured in Season 4 as clients of main character Emily Cooper, who works at a French ad agency. Other high-end brands, like Louis Vuitton, Porsche, and Rimowa, also make more low-key appearances in the latest season, which quickly became the No. 1 series on Netflix when its first five episodes were released in August.
Baccarat, the 260-year-old French crystal company that also sells fragrances, was featured early in Season 4 as a client looking for help in selling a fictional perfume called “Heartbreak.” Adam Banfield, Baccarat’s North America president and CEO, told Marketing Brew that it was the brand’s first TV show integration, facilitated by actress Lily Collins, who plays Emily.
“It’s obviously been a really exciting moment for the brand and it all came about quite organically, which is always a nice plus whenever you do these sorts of things,” Banfield told us.
Luxury French resale site Vestiaire Collective also made its first TV appearance in the show this season, US CEO Samina Virk told us via email. Both she and Banfield said the cameos were part of a broader effort by the brands to reach a US audience.
Crystal clear
Baccarat is perhaps best known among younger demographics for its Baccarat Rouge 540 perfume, which has been the topic of countless videos on social media in the last few years. Banfield told us that the US is the “strongest market for the fragrance,” which created “fertile ground” to speak to consumers through Emily in Paris.
“This was a wonderful opportunity, for those that may think of Baccarat as a fragrance brand, to introduce them to the world and the beauty of the Baccarat brand more holistically,” he said.
Working the history of Baccarat into the show required a storyline integration, which Banfield said his team prefers over more standard product placement. In episode three, a masquerade ball takes place in the Maison Baccarat in Paris, a storyline that Banfield said was inspired by the artist and art patron Marie-Laure de Noailles, who formerly owned the building and used to host masquerade balls in the ballroom.
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“That obviously triggered the ideas and the thoughts to write that into the story of Emily in Paris,” he said.
The bottle for the Heartbreak fragrance was also pulled from Baccarat’s history—it is modeled off the brand’s puffed Coeur Amor crystal heart, which it’s been selling since the late ’80s.
“When things like that unfold more naturally, the opportunity and the result is going to be far more organic, and I think will resonate more strongly with consumers than just an overt product placement, which I think people catch on to,” Banfield said. “It’s a more commercial tactic, shall I say, rather than a more meaningful marketing strategy.”
To bring Emily in Paris fans something real, Banfield said the team considered making Heartbreak perfume, but the timeline proved too short to make it possible. Instead, they landed on offering a limited-edition broken-hearted Coeur Amor that retails for $490.
Banfield said he’s been “very encouraged by [Baccarat’s] sales so far” and expects to see that continue through the holiday season.
In addition to selling the show-themed crystal, Baccarat also hosted the cast at its New York hotel for a party celebrating the new season in September. Across the board, Banfield said the partnership with Emily in Paris has generated “over a billion press impressions” for the brand. “We couldn’t have been happier with the result and the outcome and the outreach and the eyeballs and impressions that we’ve had,” he said.
Since Vestiaire Collective’s TV show debut, in which Emily’s friend Mindy resells her clothes with the brand, Virk said there’s been an increase in Google searches for Vestiaire Collective around the world and an increase in social followers. On its resale platform, she said, the number of new buyers and sellers has grown, too.
“We are thrilled to have partnered with such an iconic television show that celebrates fashion in such a powerful way,” she told us.
Based on the success of its first TV cameo, Banfield said it won’t be the last time Baccarat works with a show. With Season 5 of Emily in Paris officially on the way, should viewers expect Heartbreak 2.0?
“Anything’s possible,” he said.
Update 10/9/2024: This piece has been updated to better describe Baccarat's businesses and to more accurately describe where a masquerade ball takes place in an episode.