Creed, really that good or just marketing hype.

I vacillate back and forth on this exact question. YES, there IS a lot of hype with Creed and just about the time I determine not to buy into the PR machine, I get a whiff of something that I really like.

For example, recently I have been using Silver Mountain Water and really enjoy it. Is it a brilliant scent? No, not really, but it is a very wearable scent that "feels" right. Same with Erolfa, same with Neroli Sauvage, same with Himalaya, same even with Green Valley or MI. Nevertheless, if I weren't able to get mine at discount, I don't know that I'd go through and pay full price for them. If I"m going to spend $100+ on a fragrance, I don't just want "nice." I want "astounding", and that only happens VERY rarely (in recent memory, the only "DAMN!" enducing scents I can think of were TDC Rose Poivree and Malle Bigarade Concentree... I must like smelly scents).

it 's a very good line, the ingredient quality is stunning but I find their fragrances "not me", a little too classic for niche.

Creed is one of the oldest perfume house in the world! it is not a hype thing like a $200 Montale bottle or expensive niche lines which quality is very average and fragrances very generic (Bond No 9, Keicho Mecheri etc)

rach2jlc I would disagree with you on Malle's Bigarade Concentree, which is quite similar to Creeds' Cologne Bigaradee (a 100 year old fragrance with more luscious citrus notes) and is one of the less inspired Malle offerings.

Creed is my favorite house because it has the greatest number of fragrances that I like (yes, I have tried atleast 9 fragrances each from other talked about houses as well).

Talking about spending $100+ on a fragrance (2.5/4.0 oz), no way in hell do I think its worth it (be it a Serge Lutens, Malle or Creed fragrance or any other overpriced line). Ofcourse if you are extremely well off, $198 for a 4.0 Oz. bottle might be peanuts to you.

Do you mean Creed's Citrus Bigarade (I think Cologne Bigarade is another Malle)? If so, I like that one as well, but I guess I didn't find them all that similar. It seems much less "stinky" than the Malle. Anyway, I don't know whether or not it is less inspired, but it was just one that connected well with my nose and surprised me.

Doh! Yea, its Citrus Bigarade - you are right about the stinkiness. Bigarade concentree uses a hay note or something, while Malle's Cologne Bigarade is the one more inspired by Citrus Bigarade. Damn, thats a lot of Bigarade. Eitherways, I won't spend more than $50 on any of the bigarade's especially considering the poor longevity of all 3.

I would say that they produce high quality cologny scents..
Some of them are really nice - Original Vetiver, Royal Delight

But they are not worth that price.sure, not..

On that, my friend, we are in agreement!

I think creed has less talented perfumers playing with better ingredients. And the bottles themselves are probably expensive as hell too. I think that in most cases where creed goes head-to-head with Guerlain (OV v GV) Guerlain does them better.

I mean, really, if you want to spend a lot, go for the Malles. I think they are the very best thing going right now, along with the general weirdness of CdG (which isn't for everyone). You know that you're not paying for bottles or hype in the case of Malle (I haven't seen any frederic malle advertisements) and they are still cheaper than Creed, and with the same quality ingredients to boot.

I don't think Creed is "just" marketing hype, but the marketing hype sure is annoying. Here's the thing: there are two types of people who like Creed. There are the people that are very knowledgeable about scent that like the Creed style and love to wear Creed. For them, the high price (or discounted price) is justified because to them the scents are great. Then there are the people that don't really know anything but hear that Creed uses only the finest ingredients, is worn by royalty and celebreties, and on and on with marketing crap. These people generally (I won't say always) just buy into the hype.
So no, Creed isnt just marketing hype, but the marketing hype certainly plays a role in many people's experience with Creed. For me, Creed scents are not particularly interesting. I also just don't really enjoy wearing them. I can see why some people like them, but I think that it is marketing hype that pushes them from being a house that is liked by a few to a house that everyone on Basenotes at one time or another has heard is the cat's meow.

I think they are excellent. Fantastic quality notes and simple effective structures (for the most part). They fit my prefered style very well - I like things classic and timeless.

Like ZZ I don't like them all and love many from other houses but creed have the greatest number of hits for me. The hype is a bit annoying sometimes but basically I figure - creed have good product and are trying to push it in today's cut-throat market. So what? If people are silly enough to buy on hype then for once they haven't been mugged because the product is good. If all that means that a product I like continues to get produced because enough people buy it then I am happy with that.

Some of the reasons, I think, that Creed fragrances stand out for a lot of discerning noses is that it is not a fashion company that has a perfume division; it is not a company that does ANY mass-market advertising; it is not a company that looks for publicity in any significant way. They are just a quality maker of scents, and they have a long and proveable history (unlike others whose claim to meaningful history is somewhat dubious and probably not continuous- - a la one of my absolute favorites D'Orsay). That being said, I am not sure they are to "top of the cosmos" or that they claim to be. One big problem, IMHO, is longevity. Many of their fragrances are very short-lived. Couple that with high prices and there is a question as to their entitlement to a preeminent position. The other day, I finally got around to a healthy sample dousing of Creed 1948 Vetiver. I left Bergdorf's in 7th heaven. I thought I had found the most incredible men's fragrance IN THE WORLD! And what do you know? By the time I got to Grand Central about 10-15 minutes later, it was pretty much gone. Within 20 minutes it was absolutely gone. That's the problem.

Joe

it sounds more like you re the one that doesn t know much about perfume, there CANNOT be any HYPE whatsoever when it comes to CREED, Creed being one of the oldest perfume house in the world!!

I assume you're joking?

well said! the most "annoying marketing hype" thing are all those mass-marketed perfumer huge corporations who have marketing strategists working at round tables to release most profitable projects whose perfume production cost is less than 5 dollars a bottle and ad budget represents 80%!!

can you elaborate? because Creed has had customers and reputation for longer than a lot of perfume houses
plz elaborate ?? where is the hyper except in your imagination and a couple of US perfume boards

Oh, I really thought you were joking with your post.

I wonder if we're defining "hype" in a different way. Hype doesn't mean that the house is well established; hype just means that the house is touted as being always superlative often in absense of a superlative fragrance. Creed has many nice products, but everything that Olivier and dear little Erwin put out isn't brilliant. By hype, for example, I mean the PR blitz surrounding Erwin Creed as he travelled around the USA, talking about some of the newest releases (including ultra-luxe and $$$ packaged lackluster ones like Royal Ceylan and such), or Creed constantly making mention of which celebrities wear their fragrances (it's even on their website), the attitude of Creed-counter Sales Associates, the list goes on and on and on. I don't think it is possible to say that they don't seek publicity; if they did, why keep talking about celebrites who wear their stuff and then instructing Sales Associates to use it as a sales point? Obviously Creed has a need to survive financially, but much of the way that they have done it recently is through appealing to celebrity.

That's great if you love Creed (I have 9 or 10 of them, so I don't hate them either), but there IS hype there, like it or not.

I was not aware of any Creed marketing strategy, I saw Creed more like an old failing house, I m not into Creeds which are too classics for me (those I tested), I know in NYC their boutique 's been replaced by Bond No 9, talk about hype and fake and whatever you want LOL to me BOnd is more like my definition of BS hype and superlatives of marketing crap than Creed or Caron ...u know

Yeah, I know what you mean. Caron is definitely one that (I think) lets the fragrances stand more on their own without needing to resort to hype in order to sell them. I rarely hear people say of Caron, "OH, yes, did you know that Marky Mark wears this one?"

Mr. Ellena certainly beats Erwin Creed in that category, for 2006 atleast - almost every other month or so I couldnt browse a perfume blog site without there being an article or interview or two about how Hermes were going to rock the perfume world with Ellena.

You might recall this article I posted a while ago:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07009/752403-51.stm

The article is on how many of the top tier houses (Serge Lutens and L'Artisan included)have begun distinguishing their perfumes by weaving stories around their offerings. Perfume R&D has to be funded somehow - diversified houses like Chanel and Serge Lutens have an advantage in that they have cosmetics and/or clothings divisions as well. Good earnings in those other divisions can be used to fund new and expensive perfume releases. Thats not the case with houses like L'Artisan and Creed. Every house is in it for the money (including Frederic Malle, as the fast diversifying line of Malle perfumes into body lotion and the new organic body lotion line from L'Artisan indicates). Creed is a family business (note the emphasis on business), not a non-profit family organization out to help the needy and poor.

Touché.

But, for some reason, it doesn't bother me as much with Ellena because I think he's done a lot more work in order to prove himself than Erwin. I mean, the guy's the same age as I am. He strikes me as the Allegra Versace of the fragrance world (yes, I'm just kidding... somewhat).

Anyway, I totally agree that Creed needs to make a profit and has a right to promote themselves however they see fit. In that regard, I agree with Hirch that perhaps their marketing strategies will allow us to have access to many of their better offerings. I couldn't care less that David Bowie also wears SMW, but if that fact keeps it in production so I can enjoy it years down the road, good for them. Overall, in discussing the hype, I was just responding to the post that said that there was no such thing as hype in the Creed world.

LoL, well you gotta start some where. I am sure Olivier Creed went through the same growing pains

Niche houses dont resort to same marketing techniques as the mainstream houses - but when a new product is about to be released, you do need a certain amount of PR to get the word out. It would be quite awkward to see the new Frederic Malle abruptly appear on the shelf on a random visit to Barneys - most of the times, the niche houses do rely on word of mouth via sites like Basenotes and others

I agree with this too, whether JC Ellena does too much or not he 's one the greatest nose today butothers who are only about showing off and marketing strategy usually have less artistic susbtance and talent.

Serge Lutens remains an exception with all that, he 's the most enigmatic silent mysterious and genius marketing strategist of all times! the more hidden and exclusive the more people talk about him.
more seriously unlike other niche lines that come from nowhere and sell expensive fragrances, Serge Lutens it 's serious sh!t, a 25 yr old collaboration with Shiseido as art director, a cultural world, a "visionaire" and concept that was developped in 1992 well before anyone thought niche was profitable.

Bois Et Musc, there have been quite a few Serge Lutens print PR images in many exclusive european magazines (the popular perfume blog sites have collections of them).

Personally I dont think Creed have the marketing budget or the muscle to match the might of Chanel, Guerlain or even Serge Lutens. They have a lot of great fragrances, but its only a few like GIT, MI and maybe SMW that have been keeping them afloat (lets face it, hardly anyone ever buys greats like Acier Aluminium etc.). That, and the bespoke service of personalized fragrances.

In an article that I read a while ago, it was Laurice Rahme (of Bond no. 9) who, when she was the president of Creed USA, requested Olivier Creed to launch Creed body products (the smart businesswoman that she is). Olivier Creed wanted Creed to remain small and was hesitant in expanding the product line for fears of maintaining a large product line.

I'll be one to stick up for The_Giraffe, who I know to know a lot about perfume. His post that you quote, Bois et Musc, is a good example.

Basenotes rule #8: Be respectful
"If someone doesn't have the same views as you, it does not make them a moron."

If someone doesn't have the same views as you, it doesn't mean he or she doesn't know much about perfume.

Please talk about the subject and avoid attacks on fellow members. Thank you.
--Chris

Oh no I know that of course, usually Serge Lutens Les Salons Shiseido invite once or twice a year (I dont remember) journalists to present their new fragrances, a couple of Serge Lutens interviews every now and then and that 's it.
It 's amazing that with no mainstream access Serge Lutens fragrances are sold at most Sephora stores in France.
He was in a documentary on french TV about le Palais Royal, not a single word on his perfumes except that he loved the idea back then to open a boutique in that remote uncommercial part of Paris (everybody talked him against it) because he wanted people to make effort to come and see him and not just come inside as they would pass by.
It s philosophy...

Rhamee s a carreer business woman and her "I wanted to give sth back to New York" 911 exploitation BS thing doesn t work for me but I m sure it does for a lot of people.

some people have susbtance others are fake.

For my part, I think I'm both plus and minus in my attitudes toward Creed. First, I do think their scents are indeed all that. I incline strongly to the older ones. Vintage Tabarome, Cuir de Russie, Santal Imperial, Vetiver 1948, a bunch more up to Acier Aluminium are in my collection, and I don't want them ever to run out. I have Royal English Leather, and I hanker for Royal Scotish Lavender. Ambre Canelle will be in my collection before my headstone is carved too.

But the recent ones I really don't like, with the exception of the magnificent Bois du Portugal.

So I think the house pretty much is "all that." People can't go wrong getting, wearing, and loving any of these beauties that I like.

But on the minus side, I hate the Creed PR and ad campaigns. Those make me not want to like the smells they make. So the house is that good, not just marketing hype, but doggone it I hate their marketing hype.

I understand anyone who says the product of the house costs more than the scents are worth. I also understand anyone who says he or she is happy to pay the costs for bottles of scents this good.
--Chris

I'm not convinced there's much point to threads like this one. Oolong, it's easy enough for you to stop by Parfumerie Nasreen in Seattle and smell all kinds of Creeds, including many of the vintage ones. Then you can decide for yourself what you think. I have yet to meet (or "meet" virtually here) anyone who likes every offering of any niche line. So I think it's seldom useful to talk about entire lines (past a certain quality threshold) as being "good" or "hype".

Creed does seem to occupy a position that often exists in the market for a given type of luxury goods: the product line that relatively causal observers think of as "the best" but which hard-core people have less respect for. Obvious examples in other areas are Rolex watches and Montblanc fountain pens. Those who appreciate A. Lange & Sohne or Patek Philippe or OMAS or Namiki or whatever can't help but get bent out of shape when those other brands successfully position themselves in the popular mind as "the best". Creed's marketing focus on what royalty and entertainment celebrities are said to have chosen just makes it all the more galling to the cognoscenti, because nothing about what these people are known for qualifies them to have noteworthy opinions about fragrance.

Anyway, some Creeds are great, others not so much. Like Chris, I tend to prefer the less-recent ones (REL, 1948, Vintage Tabarome, BdG, Epicea) over most of the recent ones.

I am intrigued by your ideas, and would like to subscribe to your newsletter. Seriously, that was a great post.

Can you imagine Kiton (another brand whose cost gets people's attention) coming out and saying, "oh yes, such and so person has us make his suits!" That would make most people lose respect for Kiton. I know I would.

Kiton's selling point has always been "the guy who made this suit has been making suits for 50 years, and we bought the entire run of this fabric--which we had made to our spec by sheep that we own shares in" I think that Creed should follow, if they want that kind of respect, rather than name-dropping. I seriously don't give a shit what fragrance sean puffy combs wears.

I wish someone would take one of the great noses of the industry and say, "hey: I'll supply you with whatever you need and you can make whatever you want, and I'll handle the marketing. You can have a small cut of the profits, but don't let concern for sales influence your decisions (I'll worry about that)"

Maybe that's what Hermes is doing with Ellena, and that's why we have the TdH home run.

Or maybe I'm just idealistic.

Ah but people forget that those are Creed's perfume origins - that they started as a "bespoke service" i.e., personalized perfume.

creed, I have much respect for creed. not cause of the scents mainly but mainly cause they been in it for sooo long. now is creed over hyped? I have to say yes and from the ones most talked about ,I would spend my money on just one and that's mi which is one of my favs. creeds not everybodys taste.

I don't think Creed is over-hyped in the strictest sense of the word; it's not as if you see Creed adverts on the telly and hoardings everywhere and Jnr/Snr making numerous appearances on chat shows.

They are in fact quite subtle about their marketing; cleverly, they rely on the likes of you and I talking amongst ourselves and mingling with the unwashed masses, spreading olfactory joy.

For the 'are they really that good' bit.. Well, that's totally subjective, so we could take about that until Doomsday. For what it's worth, IMHO they do indeed have some very nice scents, but then they have some not so nice ones. I tested a bunch a few months back, and the only standout ones were BdP and Selection Verte - I found SMW, Himalaya and Acier Aluminium incredibly average to say the least (although admittedly a great deal more distinctive than a normal 'average' scent - there's no denying that they do use tip-top ingredients). It all comes down to your own taste - thus making a question that can never be truly answered! Egads!

agree 100%

Maybe it's overhyped, but: some years ago my brother-in-law entered each and every perfume shop in the inner city of Dublin, along Grafton Street, the very centre of it. He didn't find one single salesperson in the abot 20 shops who ever had heard the name of Creed. He was laughed at when mentioned the name "Green Irish Tweed". There were some thinking it's some 'irish' joke.
So there is at least one country in the world, Ireland, where the hype is not so big.

Oh no! Not another "Creed over-hyped/overrated/not worth the money" thread!

I'm not going to read the entire thread, so I appologize in advance for ANY infraction of etiquet.

There is NO objective truth about fragrence! Just like any other art form. Everything said about any fragrence (or house) is pure opinion and nothing more. 90% of the people here may agree that Fragrence "X" is the best in the world, but that means nothing to those that disagree. The people that disagree aren't "missing" anything, nor are the people that like it over-hyping it or overrating it. Its all subjective!

I'm one of those that feel that Creed is one of the best houses in the world. Not because of their history, hype, perceived exclusivity, etc but because there is something about some of their fragrences that agree with my sensibilities. I felt this way the first time I ever tested them without knowing anything about them or the price.

Do I feel the same way about other houses? Yes. Do I think every Creed is great? No. I'm not a Creed fanboy.

As controversial as this house is, it seems to be a consistent topic of discussion. I happen to own a lot of Creeds; I consider them to be very versatile but by no means pushing the envelope. I also bought them all for a fraction of the retail price.

Creed's marketing approach is no different for a old school British company; aristocratic snobbish prestige. Look at the old Jaguar marketing.

NO scent is worth $200, in my opinion.

TNMA

there's one thing that I noticed sampling Creeds fragrances and that is that they seem to have mastered the sillage and logevity issues of scent. I'll try to sample them all, I'm 55 and I think I still have it in me. But some of them are still drying down 24 hrs later? Yes I'd pay extra for that. I'd buy it by the case if I was a successful European race car driver.
I find the Creeds quite limo worthy. I also wouldn't spritz Chergui on before going into the Palm in NYC. Creed has found it's niche. It's a niche I wouldn't mind being in now. House on the water in Weston next to my old pal Keith Richards.

I think Creed is one of the best houses, for sure.

1. Ingredients: they use ingredients of a higher quality than most other houses, this is just a fact. You could argue that this explains (in small part, admittedly) why the cost of their frags are so expensive. Sometimes I feel this hurts their product too, though, because I think some of the natural oils they use are milder than their synthetic equivalents and therefore do not last as long. (of course they also 'manufacture' some of their notes too) For as much as you pay for, ALL of their scents should last long.

2. Tradition: No matter how you slice it, you have to ascribe at least some of Creed's duration over the centuries to quality. No business ever lasts that long without creating at least in part a superior product.

3. Classic Scents: Some of their best scents have set the industry standard, at least for a time. BDP and GIT are prominent examples. And yeah, they are sometimes shamelessly copied for a reason (e.g. GIT and MI), mainly that they can sometimes be really good, and the copiers know it. To be fair, we all know that this trend has kind of flip-flopped with OS, OV, and maybe also Himalaya.

4. Cost: I agree with everyone else that in the final analysis the cost just can't be justified, though for a few of their scents i will pony up anyway. But for the Creed faithful (and I'll just speak for myself) at least the cost discourages just any old guy from picking up a bottle. Admit it, a lot of these scents are great but more relevantly EXTREMELY accessible, and if they cost 50-80 dollars each their would be A LOT more people wearing them, and as a result it would be a little less special to own one. This wouldn't be they same with any other house, not necessarily because Creed is better but because Creed has a knack for making accessible scents that a lot of people (esp. inexperienced smellers) can like with little effort or experience. This is a compliment and maybe a criticism also. Look how Sean John's Unforgivable became a best seller and Cool Water became the most widely recognized scent in every high school. (And how pissed off so many people got on this board). I don't think this is an accident, and I definitely think it would happen to most of the others in their line if someone tried. All I have to say is Thank God their tight on manufacturing costs. This is not to say that I don't want other people discovering Creed just like I did, but at the same time I wouldn't want everyone and their junior high school children sporting it either.

Man I'm just waiting for the news to come someday that someone finally put into action a mass-market version of my SMW. I'm trying really hard to get used to the idea now so I don't run out and give some unfortunate guy a Creed tattoo on his forehead with my 120 ml flacon(s). I don't know if i myself can handle another MI calamity. I know im off topic sorry just had to vent.

I think Simon Moon said it; It's like any other art form, different people apprectiate different art. It's like the Mona Lisa... Who in here can say it's worth the amount of air time it gets? I've seen paintings from 12 year olds (very talented ones, mind you), that capture my attention and imagination better than a portrait of a woman I never knew. Is it good? Yes. Is it the best? Depends on who you ask. I personally think that individual fragrances are more hyped than the entire line. The name dropping occurs on an individual fragrance basis. Example: "David Bowie wears SMW", as opposed to "David Bowie wears Creed". I cannot stand the smell of soapy Bois De Portugal, but if some Basenoters had the choice, it'd be their one bottle. The good think about the Creed line is that just about anyone can find a Creed they love. Some peoples black is other peoples white, so, no, Creed the line is not overhyped, individual Creed fragrances are (GIT, BdP, MI, etc). Sol mi dos pesentas Juay.
- Rich

PS - If anyone else speaks street spanish, don't tell them what it all means, I consider everyone on this board my homeboy, and I mean it in a good way (Haha! Get it! WAY)

I think there's a negative connotation to the word "hype" that hints at deception. I find no deception with Creed....their products are of high quality, in my experience. While some may not prefer Creed's offerings, I have yet to hear them referenced as "cheap" or "mass-market toilet water." Bois du Portugal is the only 5* fragrance in my admittedly limited wardrobe.

I am underwhelmed by some of their fragrances, and will not purchase others I appreciate due to their limited longevity. But overall, I believe Creed has rightly earned a spot in the top tier.



hype /haɪp/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[hahyp] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation verb, hyped, hyp·ing, noun Informal.
verb (used with object)
1. to stimulate, excite, or agitate (usually fol. by up): She was hyped up at the thought of owning her own car.
2. to create interest in by flamboyant or dramatic methods; promote or publicize showily: a promoter who knows how to hype a prizefight.
3. to intensify (advertising, promotion, or publicity) by ingenious or questionable claims, methods, etc. (usually fol. by up).
4. to trick; gull.
noun 5. exaggerated publicity; hoopla.
6. an ingenious or questionable claim, method, etc., used in advertising, promotion, or publicity to intensify the effect.
7. a swindle, deception, or trick.

Definitions 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 are all negative definitions. That's why some people might get sensitive when others say Creed is all hype.
- Rich

whose dictionary is this? I always thought that hype was a colloquialism used in lieu of hyperbole.

Nope, the New American Dictionary does say that it is slang though.
- Rich

The only PR I know of Creed performing is that of celebrity name dropping. As far as "hype" goes, I agree with the others who have stated that it's all created by people such as ourselves on the Web.
I wonder why people spend so much time discussing such things. Wouldn't it be easier to go out/order and smell some samples and make up your own mind?

Alot of it I feel is hype. Nothing they've put out recently has impressed me and if it has it lasts for 2 hours tops. It also helps that when people who are new to fragrance and wear cool water, unforgivable, etc. and they are told the fragrances are a creed rip off it is natural for them to go with creed. I just think they are living off the hype of their older fragrances. Maybe the more commercial scents of today have put a bitter taste in my mouth and the fact that on each page of basenotes there are 6+ threads about creed and whenever someone asks for recommendations it's always a creed scent even if it fragrance smells nothing like the inquirer was looking for.


Everyone is so focused on Bond No. 9's ripping off of creed that the fail to see how unoriginal some of creeds scents are. There most recent fragrances almost seem like a rip off of some designer fragrances (XS, Joop). However creed does have a long-standing reputation and it helps out that they say "Well we've had this scent complete for 40 years but just never released it to the public."

Creed's reputation for using quality, often natural, ingredients puts them way ahead of the crowd. Their prices are high, but probably justified considering the cheap chemicals that compose the lower priced designer fragrances. As the saying goes, choose your poison.

A majority of creeds bases wreak of synthetic to me. (ambergris?)

I'd say, It's really that good. I can't remember which one, but JFK also did where one of them. No marketing hype here.

I think Creed has hits and misses like any other house, but for my money, when they "hit" it's really that good. I have noticed there's an increasing amount of backlash around here due to the overall BN popularity of the line, as well as the frequency of discussion surrounding it. But it's somewhat offset by the incessant Creed-Only-One-Track-Mind type posting of certain other forum members. (no names please)

In the end, I love the Creeds I own, but I also love my Guerlains, Chanels, Hermes (et al).

And, not that it makes much difference to me, but it does appear that Creed fans are in good company...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed_%28perfume%29

Good point, Rentboy--when Creed is good, it IS among the best (even their misses are better than most). Sometimes I think that it is just a reaction to the high price that Creed scents go for that creates this backlash.

By the way, "marketing hype" may not really be the correct term, since Creed does virtually no marketing--no advertising, a little PR and product reviews, a marginal website at best, their most famous "endorsers" are mostly dead, limited retail outlets..... It is amazing that they have captured as much mind and market share as they have when you compare these marketing efforts to--say--Guerlain's, with their slick website, sophisticated advertising, celebrity "faces" and their costly loss/leader retail spaces. The truth is, the product is great and it sells itself.

To your "typical" fragrance enthusiast...it can be argued that hype does exist. But for your average person who only owns one bottle of cologne and base their next buy on a sample they rubbed on their skin from a magazine...then my answer is no. I say this based on my own personal experience as I never even heard of Creed until a couple of years ago. However, the first thing I learned when reading about Creed was that David Bowie, I believe, wears SWM.

I think this is a good topic because I actually thought about this question everytime when a new Creed cologne comes out and the majority of people love it. I know, for most of them, there are qualities in the Creed product that they enjoy, but for others, I often wonder if they are "too far in the forest to see the trees" or in this case, "if their nose is too far into the Creed fragrance to actually smell the scent". I mean no disrespect, it's just that I believe that the subconscious sometimes has a role in determining your taste with a given favorite in a category such as fragrances. For some, they hear the name Creed and before even smelling the fragrance for the first time, they may give the product "passing" points because of their love and respect for the house.

Off-the-record, I am still not getting the GIT and Cool Water reference.

Well, on the one hand the same fragrance is occasionally inconsistent in smell from bottle to bottle, and some of their fragrances (particularly their 18th century ones to my taste) are not all that interesting, plus they're extremely expensive, *but* that said in general they make some incredibly wonderful smelling stuff, and many of their fragrances are multilayered and complex, and you can enjoy them all day. They never get ugly, and you can usually appreciate the craftsmanship even of the ones you don't particularly like. Plus such nice bottles!

Sure they're hyped, and I find most fragrance advertizing and marketing obnoxious, but it is good stuff. And if Cary Grant and King Faisal had Creed make their signature scents - why not tout that?

The Hype: the house makes the best fragrances in the world/the best stuff you've ever smelled.

The Reality: 1.) the house makes a few fragrances that some consider above all others 2.) the fragrances may initially smell like the best thing ever, but like most things, the novelty wears off and they always fall short of scents found in nature i.e. the simple smell of honeysuckle and fresh cut grass can be far more beautiful than any Creed.

Couldn't have said it better myself, ditto for me.

Really good, at least in the case of masterpieces like REL or BDP

Well said. I enjoy some Creed scents immensely, but find all the advertising "history" laughable.

I went browsing through Saks 5th Ave today and came across the creed counter. These people put out way too many fragrances for me to take them seriously. I like GIT but after seeing where it came from it was a huge turn off.

In my opinion putting out too many fragrances lacks the responsibility of putting enough effort into one....not so interested in CREED brand anymore.