* Coach announces James Franco as the face of their new men’s fragrance
* Coach making efforts to appeal to millennial customer base
* Franco previously fronted fragrance and eyewear campaigns for Gucci
Coach has announced actor James Franco as the face of the house’s new men’s fragrance, Coach For Men, set to launch in September. According to the brand’s press release, Franco was an instinctive choice to represent the new cologne not only for his handsome good looks, but also for his confident and slightly rebellious character.
Coach, who announced plans to buy Kate Spade New York earlier this month, has been implementing new marketing strategies to engage millennials and widen their customer base. Franco joins fellow Coach ambassador and former Spring Breakers co-star, Selena Gomez as faces for the brand.
“James is the quintessential-cool Coach guy. He’s handsome, there’s a bit of danger and he’s thoughtful and challenging, energetic and prolific,” said Coach’s creative director, Stuart Vevers. “He represents so many of the references I’ve used at Coach—references of American style that resonate around the world.”
James Franco’s multi-faceted career as an actor, philanthropist, author and sometimes NYU professor, was alluring to Vevers, who appreciates Franco’s “harmonious dualities: rugged yet refined, fearless and brave, yet thoughtful and grounded.”
This won’t be Franco’s first modeling gig for an upscale fragrance. Franco held a partnership with Gucci starring in campaigns for their men’s fragrance Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme in 2009, and subsequently landing the campaign for their Made to Measure fragrance in 2013.
Franco also expressed his mutual excitement about landing the role, comparing Vevers’s designs to his own dynamic repertoire of projects. “Creativity is the way I engage with life. It’s the way I engage with other people and communicate, and it’s really the way I find meaning in life,” he says. “I enjoyed collaborating with Stuart. There are a lot of references to Coach tradition in his designs, but with an added spin, and that idea is something I have done in my creative work.”
