Of the new casting, the brand says that it is seeking to cast people who embody 'the individual personality of each fragrance.'
- Jul 26, 2018
AceShowbiz - Ansel Elgort has been tapped to front Ralph Lauren's latest fragrance campaign.
The actor has previously starred in the "Divergent" film series and teen drama "The Fault in Our Stars", but his profile skyrocketed last year after he landed the title role in Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver", for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination.
Now, the U.S. brand has appointed Ansel as its newest global ambassador and invited him to tap back into his getaway driver character for Ralph Lauren's Polo Red Rush fragrance ad.
The move marks a shift in brand strategy, with global deputy manager Ginny Wright explaining that Ralph Lauren is seeking to cast people who embody "the individual personality of each fragrance," and hopes that the 24-year-old will help to target the "hardest to reach" audience demographic: millennial men.
"They have different values and interests. We're looking at those music lovers, people who are car enthusiasts, as well as female gift givers 'cause that's a huge part of the men's fragrance business, too," she explained to WWD.
The campaign in question features Ansel and model Alanna Arrington as his love interest. The stars are depicted meeting in a club, before embarking on a race to the desert and jumping off of a cliff.
Ansel, who is also a singer and DJ under the name of Ansolo, co-collaborated on the storyline and decided that Alanna's character would make the jump first as his own girlfriend, ballerina Violetta Komyshan, would also be "the first one" to jump off the cliff. His single Home Alone also serves as the soundtrack to the ad.
And though Ansel has yet to meet Ralph Lauren's eponymous designer, who possesses an impressive collection of vintage racing cars, he "would like to go driving with him."
