Every marketing campaign in Emily in Paris season 3, deconstructed and rated
Ever since its debut, Netflix’s romantic drama/comedy series Emily in Paris has been polarizing the Internet community. Some have found it entertaining, easy to watch, and chic; others — clichéd, silly, and predictable.
The newly released season 3 was no exception. For the third time in a row, the online realm was flooded by snarky comments on the questionable fashion choices of the serie’s main characters, their erratic behavior, and the show’s flawed portrayal of the luxury marketing industry.
Love it or hate it, however, you can’t deny the fact that Emily in Paris is extremely popular. In just a week following its debut on the streaming platform, the show’s third installment has amassed over 117.6M hours viewed and landed in the Top 10 in 93 countries.
That’s a whole lot of people binge-watching the show, unable to peel their eyes off of Emily&Co’s adventures. No judgment… Messy love triangles, complicated friendships, and workplace gossip are extremely entertaining to observe!
Besides, in between all of that relationship drama, there was something else in Emily in Paris season 3… Marketing! And that’s what we’re here to discuss.
Read this article to learn more about the 7 marketing campaigns Emily Cooper ideated and/or executed, and whether or not they would’ve been successful off screen.
Oh, and… Spoiler alerts for anyone who’s yet to give Emily in Paris season 3 a watch!
McDonald’s — Un petit plaisir, McBaguette
In the previous two seasons of Emily in Paris, the clients of Savoir — the marketing agency where Emily Cooper works — were all fictional businesses.
In season three, however, things have changed. Throughout the season, we see a lot more real companies looking to do business with Emily Cooper.
For instance, in the very first episode of the season, “I Have Two Lovers”, the client Emily brings to Sylvie when asked to expand the Agence Grateau’s clientele is none other than McDonald’s France itself.
At first, Sylvie is skeptical about the idea. At the end of the day, the newly formed Agence Grateau specializes in luxury marketing. However, when she realizes that the majority of the agency’s clients are gone due to the non-compete clause signed with the Gilbert Group, she agrees to meet up with the McDonald’s execs.
Besides, in the series, McDonald’s isn’t your average fast food restaurant. Its menu is diversified with macarons and the McBaguette (whatever that is). To quote Emily herself, it’s…
“— A little treat, indulgence…
— A little luxury!”
The idea of positioning McDonald’s as a luxurious spot lies in the center of Cooper’s pitch. She comes up with the idea to build a campaign with a classy, retro vibe. For that, she suggests using George Gershwin’s (the original American in Paris) song “‘S Wonderful” but changing the lyrics from “‘S Wonderful” to “McWonderful, McMarvelous, McParadise, McBaguette”.
(Source: Netflix)
Would this work in real life? Despite their love for the idea, McDonald’s doesn’t go through with it as the meeting gets interrupted. So, we can’t be sure whether or not it would’ve been a success even in the Emily in Paris universe, let alone in real life.
But chances are, it would’ve flopped. The French are notoriously disapproving of American brands trying to assimilate into French culture. So, un petit plaisir gets a no-pass from us.
Edgard and Cooper — Pet filter
The second brand — again, a real one — that appears in the third season of Emily in Paris is Edgard and Cooper. In episode 4, this Belgian-based pet food company comes to Agence Grateau to hear their creative proposal.
And they absolutely loved what they heard: the Agence Grateau team offered a global online cost-effective campaign idea.
“People often look like their pets. But for this campaign, we’re going to take it one step further and let people become their pets with the help of Edgar and Cooper’s avatar filter. QR codes on billboards, packaging, and print ads will link to their app, so consumers can upload images of their beloved fur baby, and share their pet avatar to socials.”
(Source: Neflix)
Would this work in real life? AR marketing is, indeed, a huge trend in marketing in 2023. So, an AR filter is a great idea. Besides, like the characters of the show have noticed themselves, “the personal element of the filter will increase social engagement.”
➡️ Learn how to use AR in marketing in our article.
Putting QR codes on print materials is extremely effective, too. A lot of real-world businesses are using this strategy to communicate information about their products.
However, the quality of the filter the Emily in Paris team has designed is… Below satisfactory. We doubt that something so simple could make that much noise. So, A+ for the idea, C — at best — for execution.
Chez Lavaux, Gabriel — La Liste mention
The entirety of episode 5 is devoted to Sylvie trying to get the agency (and herself) on a high-profile column called “La Liste” to raise brand awareness and generate more leads.
At first, the quest seems almost impossible to complete — the who’s-who list is extremely exclusive; Sylvie has been trying to get on Janine Dubois’ radar for ages but to no avail. Of course, Emily comes to save the day.
Turns out, Janine Dubois is a long-time follower of Emily’s, and one DM on Instagram is enough to set up a meeting to discuss the collaboration in more detail.
(Source: Neflix)
Would this work in real life? Even though Emily’s initial plan failed — Agence Grateau and Sylvie didn’t make it to the list — overall, it was a success: Emily and Gabriel did.
Legitimizing your new business through mentions in reputable media is a great way to tell more people about yourself and the services you provide.
Besides, a strong personal brand of employees is always beneficial. Even if you can’t get your team members on something as influential as La Liste in the Emilyverse, make sure you work on expanding their LinkedIn network. Good job, Emily!
➡️ Learn the secrets of successful personal branding on LinkedIn in our guide.
McLaren — McLaren Experience
Another go-big-or-go-home product placement in the third season of Emily in Paris is McLaren’s extremely exclusive Artura car (for the sake of the show, it was renamed to McLaren model “Purple Edition”).
To promote the release of the limited edition of the car, McLaren partnered with Agence Grateau to host the McLaren experience for brand ambassadors.
As always, things went South, and the original venue for the event cancelled on Agence Grateau last minute. But Emily — again — snapped her fingers and found a replacement, lavender fields of their other client, Antoine.
What a lucky coincidence, right? They got to match the car with the location and keep all the fees in-house! And Chef Gabriel got to cook for the guests, too. Amazing!
Lavender fields, a purple McLaren, the launch of Antoine’s limited-edition purple fragrance, and the purple dress-code. Everything went according to plan.
(Source: Neflix)
On top of that, with almost 150K followers on Instagram, Emily Cooper is an influencer herself. So, her snapping a picture of the “Purple Edition” McLaren and adding a branded hashtag counts as influencer marketing. Kinda.
Would this work in real life? Yes and no.
Exclusive experiences for brand ambassadors are usual practices in the world of marketing, so that’s believable. Besides, the McLaren experience wasn’t that crazy (unlike the Tarte Dubai Influencer Trip, which received lots of backlash as people scolded the brand for its squandering during an economic recession).
However, Antoine’s announcement of the launch of his fragrance would’ve not slid in real life. It’s like proposing to someone at a wedding — such things must be agreed on beforehand.
Pierre Cadault — The grand store opening
In season 3 of Emily in Paris, Pierre Cadault, a fashion brand that has been a long-time client of Savoir, gets acquired by a huge holding, JVMA.
In the spirit of huge corporations, they don’t really care about Pierre’s feelings and creative vision; they just want to make money off him. So, they invest lots of money into a high-tech store, the central theme of which is… Pierre’s face.
(Source: Neflix)
In the store, Sir Cadault’s face is… Everywhere! From clothes and posters to a hologram in the center of the room. And inside of mirrors, too. No, really! Whenever someone comes up to a mirror, Cadault’s face appears from nowhere, rating their outfit with a “Très chic, it’s a Ca-DO” or “Désolé, that’s a Ca-DON’T”.
On the actual day of the store’s opening, the marketing agency invites lots of influencers to cover the event on their social media.
(Source: Neflix)
An influencer taking over Vogue’s social media account — an oldie, but definitely a goodie.
Would this work in real life? Yes, and we know it for a fact.
Just a few weeks after Emily in Paris season 3 aired, Louis Vuitton launched an eerily similar campaign to promote their collaboration with a Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama.
To celebrate the luxury designer’s latest collaboration with Kusama, Louis Vuitton transformed many of its shops into enormous homages to the artist’s iconic polka dots.
The location with the most attention was the Upper East Side boutique, where a life-sized Yayoi Kusama lookalike robot greeted bypassers from behind the window.
(Source)
(Source: Neflix)
Pierre Cadault — Is he dead, or is he not?
The whole Pierre Cadault storyline is, perhaps, the messiest work-related thing that happens this season. So, it’s not surprising that he got not one, but two on-screen campaign.
Right at the store opening event, Emily and her team orchestrate another plan — to announce the “death of Pierre Cadault, the brand”.
To heat up the public interest, Emily, Sylvie, Julien and Luc go around the party, spreading rumors that Pierre Cadault is… Dead.
(Source: Neflix)
“Would you like me to take a picture of you? In honor of the late, great Pierre Cadault… …Perfect, don’t forget to post!”
The plan achieves its goal, and social media gets flooded with speculation:
(Source: Neflix)
Only for Pierre to appear at the party and make a bold announcement:
“Hello! It’s the real Pierre Cadault, not a hologram. The rumor of my death has been greatly exaggerated. The truth is, Pierre Cadault, the brand, is dead. It died the moment I sold my soul to JVMA. Just wait until you see the second coming of Pierre Cadault.”
Would this work in real life? Word of mouth marketing is extremely powerful, especially when influencers are involved. Make them talk about your brand, and you’ll inevitably go viral!
10/10 campaign! Simple yet effective.
Ami Paris — Love is in the air
The final piece of marketing we get to witness in Emily in Paris season 3 is the brand awareness campaign Agence Grateau designs for a French clothing brand, Ami Paris.
The first idea was to highlight the romantic nature of the brand by livestreaming a surprise engagement on Ami’s Instagram account.
However, upon closer examination, Emily concludes that the proposal angle isn’t that romantic. Trying to manufacture a moment that’s supposed to come from the heart is a bit too capitalistic.
So, after a last-minute change of plans, Emily brought a different campaign idea to the table: several hot air balloons that resemble the Ami logo floating above the French countryside with couples in love. “Love is in the air”
(Source: Neflix)
Would this work in real life? Absolutely! The Ami Paris campaign Emily Cooper has designed and orchestrated in the show is a perfect example of a guerilla marketing campaign that can drive lots of attention to the brand and place it in the spotlight. Perfect for increasing brand awareness!
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