Why are so many new members fascinated by Creed? - Page 2

If you want to call it shallow, trendy, over priced, "not worth the money," pretentious- I'll take that. Even over hyped. Pop culture it ain't. Far too pricey and unknown for that. It may be "pop culture" in the context of Basenotes, but in the real world I doubt one person in 25 in your life has ever heard of it. Or mine.

AdG, Cool Water, Fierce, Armani Code- THAT'S Pop Culture.

How about: good stuff, lots in the range to choose from, good distribution network, good marketing. That all adds up to "lots of people will buy it." Congrats to Creed -- it's a very successful operation.

It's actually a lot more palatable than Reading about lutens dark and mysterious panic attacks in morocco and how Malle slaps around his commoner maid in his faux art galleries in his NYC penthouse dwellings

Maybe and maybe not. I would place a number of houses ahead of Creed in the arena of perfumery but they have absolutely no equal in terms marketing writing and chutzpah and that can be even more important than the quality of the product. Creed has an extraordinarily seductive marketing strategy ("Smell like a king/Pope/President! Generations of unbroken quality!") but their master stroke is in setting the price so high. Some advertising theorist call it a "rationalization trap" in which we align our thinking to match our past actions to reduce cognitive dissonance. If you have made up your mind to shell out $250 for a bottle of Imperial Millesime and you open the bottle only to discover a perfume of middling quality well . . .you would feel foolish. But you might re-evaluate your opinion, rationalizing that if you like the perfume not only will you have the same excellent taste as Hammurabi/JFK/whomever but you will also not be a fool.

That's not to say that all Creed fans are delusional puppets of advertising (we all are :P ) and that the perfumes have no merit, just a caveat. They do make some nice fragrances but the real Creed product is the feeling of exclusivity and that, I think, is what generates so much buzz.

And all of their marketing, heritage, famous customers, etc. appears to be, at best, unsupported and outright lies at worst. Personally, I merrily despise them for their shameless deception and contempt of their customers while admiring their viperous ingenuity.

I've yet to see any Creed marketing that's oft mentioned here - nor do I wish to. For me, Creed just represents a smell that's more refined than designer fragrances and that's basically something that a lot of people have in common. Most have started or have been introduced to designer fragrances first.

From there, they're not as esoteric as some other houses in terms of most scents. Funny part, I didn't even know about Cool Water; I was introduced to GIT first.

Sorry for the double post, but these Creed claims are just too hilarious not to list. They seem to steer away from celebrity name dropping in their current ads but some of the older ones yield comic gems.

-Imperial Millesime was created for King Faisal of Saudi Arabia in 1995. Sadly, the king could never smell the final product as he had been assassinated in 1975).
-Tâbarome 1875 is claimed to have been both a) commissioned by George IV who unfortunately died in 1830 or b) commissioned by Winston Churchill who had just been born the year before
-Fleurissimo was commissioned by the Prince of Monaco on or for his wedding to Grace Kelly in 1956. In an extremely fashionably late entrance the perfume was not released until 1972.
-Creed did have a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria but only as tailors and hat makers
-Citrus Bigarrade was created in 1901 to celebrate the love story of Edward the Eighth abdicating his throne to marry Wallis Simpson and for the happy couple, predating the event by 35 years
-CREED Selection Verte "worn by the greatest name in the field of psychoanalysis" and created in 1971, leading to speculation about which psychoanalyst the Creed family believes is greater than Freud or Jung

+1. Perfect. I sampled several in my newbie days, liked Himalaya for about five minutes but lost interest in the drydown. Rarefied niche prices for Axe quality* and duration.

*some smell good and will get you compliments from girls

To me, it seems as if Creed and Bond No. 9 are just some of the safer niche scents. It's as if the designer concepts are just blended better with higher quality ingredients. That's my impression. I haven't purchased a single niche fragrance, but I'm pretty sure Creed isn't he first place I'd look to be "different" (scent wise, not popularity, most people won't even spend this kind of money on smell good juice in the first place).

I think it`s the whole pack. -The elegant bottles, the big assortment, the history, the Creed family, the celebrity-clients, and the classic, luxurious, sophisticated feelig of wearing a elegant high quality fragrance like Creed. All the hype is well deserved!

I entered the niche world through Penhaligons, then Creed, then others due mainly to BN and your good selves. My wardrobe has increased accordingly, but personally I still have more of a general liking for my Creeds than those from other houses.

It is true that Creed's marketing is shameless, but I don't really give a stuff, and I don't really get why people get so precious about it. I've been around long enough to recognize that marketing invariably amounts to lies.

The answer is simple : they made some excellent fragrances for men, and a few of these belong to the very best one can buy for money. In addition: wanna-be-gentlemen may easily become victim of their unsurpassed impudence in all marketing matters.

Well since the majority of us here do agree that new comers on this board are fascinated by Creed, I would like to make an inference from this fact.
It will not be wrong to assume therefore that this board gives a very positive outlook on Creed and that this does contribute favorably towards guiding the new entrants towards Creed.

Now this inference defies my belief that there are more Creed haters than Creed lovers on this board and that the overall sentiment about Creed is quite negative on Basenotes. Of course my belief is also a result of a general deduction on the basis of my experience on the interpretation of Creed discussions in various threads. Does that mean that this board, generally sends positive vibes about Creed?

That really sums it up perfectly.
I first learnd about Creed here on BN - there is no such thing as bad PR, and there's always^some Creed thread going on - and blind-bought Royal English Leather on ebay. My first niche. Happened to love it. Best perfume I'd ever smelled. Stll adore it. Next was Royal Water and Millesime Imperial - hated them both. Still do. Then Bois du Portugal - loved it. Baie de Genièvre - fabulous. And so forth...

A lot of bile and venom in this thread!! Hard to believe people can get so worked-up over a cologne.

StylinLA... okay then... Pretentious and overpriced will do. I guess my perception of pop culture is different... (but I don't really get out much... heh)

Royal English Leather, Private Collection Tabarome, Windsor, Green Irish Tweed are four of the best frags in my wardrobe. Nobody in my day to day life knows or cares about Creed. They don't care what they cost, or any of the history or non-history of these frags, but they know I smell great.

I only get my fix of Creed hatred in here. I quite enjoy it at this point.

Because of the perceptions triggered by premium price policies.

coming from someone who has only recently started getting heavy into colognes n actually owned more then 4 or so at a time ever. it comes down to the active marketing but also at least here is its more widely available then some other fragrances. ya if they carry creed they probably have tom ford private blends n the jo malone crap but there sales people are much better usually to getting your attention towards them if your somewhat of a higher end fragrance noob. at least that was the case when i spent time over a few days at the neimans here when i was planning on making my 1st niche purchase(which sadly i still havent made as i gotta take 1 more trip to saks to try n get a few other sniffs of some bonds).

My guess would be, at least partly, due to the massive exposure of Creed- leading, in turn, to a constantly increasing popularity

There comes a time when the brand name becomes bigger than what the company is actually selling. Look at Armani and what people will pay for anything with that brand name. Even fakes with the Armani label have a certain presitige and why?

Its all down to a cleverly marketing strategy where they have built up the company image through advertising and linking their products with celebrities and in Creeds case providing a false Royal and exclusive prestige to the products they are selling. And there is nothing better than the ROYAL link to any product that you are trying to sell.

And lastly I wonder how many people have purchased a item just for the power of the BRAND NAME and who may in other cases if the same product was under another name but exactly the same would not bother with the purchase. And that is good marketing.

Armani is a different matter, I would think, as the perfumes derive their prestige from the tailored clothes. I do not think I overestimate their position as the leader in classic continental men's wear, and that for decades now. I personally find their fragrances a little boring, but I know they are about as popular as their style is among the 25 to even 60 group. Many grew white hair together with Giorgio who may not only own half of Milano by now, but did a lot for the Italian economy as well.

Nail on head.

Like someone else said it's the exclusivity of Creed which so many people like too. I ask anyone to go out on the streets and ask people if they know of Creed fragrances; I think the chances of the average person knowing about Creed is pretty slim if I'm being honest and that's not snobbery, it's just a fact.

They don't know of the alternatives. It is extremely similar to the people who think Gucci, Prada, and Versace are the best high end clothing designers on earth, and they've never heard of Carol Christian Poell, Rick Owens, etc. But in the end some people after being educated still prefer Creeds, and Gucci, Versace, etc.

Exactly. Creed's marketing is mostly targeted to people who are already way into frags. Ask any ten people in your life who are not fume heads if they've ever heard of Creed and most will think you're talking about the music group.

I suppose Creed does some advertising, but I've never seen any.

When you pursue the frag lifestyle, you'll run into Creed because they've been around awhile and they do make some good juice.

I really wish that wearing/owning a Creed fragrance could give me the warm and fuzzy feeling it seems to give some people...

"After being educated"...?

Everyone can't be intellectual and moody and seek out the obscure. Some people just want to have fun and be glitzy and sexy and that's fine.

There's nothing wrong with loving Versace's design or thinking that 1 Million is a great fragrance. It's just a matter of taste and who you aspire to be, sort of. It may not be you, and it may not be me, but we all deserve to be treated with respect and to not be patronized because we don't live up to some arbitrary standard.

Hahahaha -- yes, I have had that happen, and it's pretty embarrassing. You have to say NOT THAT CREED really fast.

Otherwise, you might as well say, "Yes, Creed. I listen to them whenever I wear Axe Body Spray."

Oh my, so snobby. . .

Because they don't know any better yet!

Because Creed only uses 100% natural ingredients!

+1.

"Vetiver (Creed)* Not Vetiver $$$"
[from Perfumes The A-Z Guide]

But it's 100% natural not-vetiver!

Well, whatever the reason it couldn't possibly be because they make some really outstanding fragrances, that would be too obvious.

Nor the fact that we keep talking about them.

Then comes the traumatic experience--a rite of passage, really---when one is no longer a newbie and realizes that they've lied when they said that, to take one example, Fleurissimo was created for Grace Kelly-- I have it on good authority it was really for Norma Desmond

At which point the absurdity of creating a fragrance for The Pope drives hordes into the arms of atheism, or worse.
A belief their molecules are evil and they lie not only in marketing but in the very essence of their construction!
Their EDP is not a Millesime, or if it is it was invented by Axe, or whomever.

We talk about this incessantly as well

There's also a resentment towards the price, which can only be partially assuaged by entertaining the rumor that Creed has a salt water lake inhabited by whales from which they harvest their vomit (ambergris) guarded by mutant large civet felines.

Yes, Creeds are rather pricey. Are they worth it?

We talk about this incessantly as well

Again, the answer cannot be that they are, if you like their scent. As that too would be too obvious.

Perhaps the reason newbies are fascinated is that we talk--

Naw, that's too far-fetched.

Cheers,

Mario

This thread hasn't interested me in the least, I'm WAY past my Creed phase. But THIS, I have to take exception to. I've said it more times than I care to admit on these boards, and I guess I need to say it again. I could care less what your opinion on their fragrances, their history, their royal claims, their packaging, their pricing, etc. are. There is one thing, that is in no way debatable, their fragrances of are NOTICEABLE quality. The instant I smelled my very first Creed, Millesime Imperial (which might I add, is not in the top pantheon of Creed creations), I was blown away by just how much better the quality was compared to every single designer scent I had ever smelled. It was obvious, and I think what many people confuse with quality is the actual scent. If your basing your opinions off the Millesime line, the smell isn't going to be outrageously unique, they are meant to sell. But if you pay attention just how buttery smooth, and natural Millesime Imperial or Green Irish Tweed are in comparison to their shrill and chemical cousins in the designer market, there should be no argument. I'm not a Creed apologist, and I'm actually tired of sticking up for them, but IMO it's plain ignorance to claim them of anything but high quality.

That's why I said, in the end some people still prefer their Creeds etc. They seem to be the first niche or highend that people discover, and have most mainstream appeal. I didn't mean there's something inherently wrong with them. Hell I just bought some Acqua di Gio after owning all sorts of niche, obscure, etc. colognes.

No - literally.

I'm tired of the Creed battles on this forum but I have to chip in with my bit on this.

The uniqueness of even the most uninspiring Creed offerings is undeniable. Creed is a "safe" niche brand, with less abstract / esoteric offerings. Of all my niche frags it's the Creeds that are complimented most regurarly. I suspect that's because they've a lower entry barrier as far as appreciation goes.

If one has a gripe with the price, longevity, ambergris drydown or whatever else it may be, that's fine. Perfume appreciation is purely subjective. Claiming that Creed is low quality is the same as claiming that they are the best quality; nearly impossible for us enthusiasts to prove.

+1.

To answer the question, Oliver Creed looks good in a suit, maybe?