Television: “Emily in Paris” invents the concept of the sandwich series

PublishedSeptember 11, 2024, 9:15 p.m.

Television: “Emily in Paris” invents the concept of the sandwich series

From Lidl to Google, via Samsung, Jacquemus, and even LVMH, the latest season of the Netflix series propels product placement to the heart of the plot.

From season 1 to season 4, Emily’s outfits hit the mark. The series’ costume designer, Marilyn Fitoussi, claims to “make eyes bleed” with her clothing choices.

Netflix

Lidl, AMI, Samsung, Jacquemus, Vestiaire Collective, LVMH, Google: the latest season of Netflix’s hit series “Emily in Paris” has taken a new step in integrating brands on screen, propelling product placement, even more than characters, to the heart of the plot.

For example, the platform has partnered with Google to allow, via its Lens tool, to photograph one’s screen and be redirected to the web page that sells any of the clothes or accessories worn by the protagonists. Referencing is skyrocketing and commissions are pouring in for “this form of engagement that is reaching a new level,” Netflix responds in a press release.

In a dizzying mise en abyme, these commercial integrations follow the ambitions of the character. The heroine of the series, Emily Cooper, an American who settles in Paris, is thus opportunely charged in her fictional luxury marketing agency with inventing innovative partnerships for all sorts of very real brands.

A good deal

“This way of working is common in American markets where brands are integrated very early on, from the writing of the script, and where advertisers commit to very significant amounts,” explains Jean Dominique Bourgeois, director of the French agency specializing in product placement, Place to Be Media.

“With a budget of between 500,000 and one million euros for a scripted placement, it’s a good deal for brands that would have to spend much more for a multi-country campaign,” explains Jean Dominique Bourgeois, director of the French agency Place to Be Media, which developed the partnership between “Emily in Paris” and McDonald’s in season 3 and placed three other clients in season 4.

Second-hand luxury fashion platform Vestiaire Collective has landed a few minutes as the heroine’s broke best friend Mindy turns to its service, filmed in detail, to sell off her designer wardrobe. The fashion company, which also offers 900 items inspired by Emily’s closet, says it has seen an “uptick” in new customers, both buyers and sellers.

Increasingly improbable outfits

Emily’s outfits, more and more improbable from season to season, are selling. From season 1, the public had kept the Kangol bob, buried since 1998. In season 2, there was the avalanche of chick yellow looks, right down to the beret. Season 4 has already given a striped jumpsuit worn at the masked ball and a blue fur hat worn by Mindy.

“Watching the series gives the disturbing impression of wandering in the middle of a huge shopping mall,” comments the journalist from the men’s magazine. GQAdam Sanchez. The culture and cinema specialist notes that this practice “has been amplified in a crazy way” in the 4th season, with four product placements in the first minutes of the first episode.

And viewers, he assures us, know “what to expect.” And they come back for more. “It’s a special viewing experience,” he sums up. “They don’t come so much for the plot, which is minimal, but for what Emily consumes and wears.”