STEVE MCQUEEN FILMS STEAMY NEW MR. BURBERRY CAMPAIGN

by Stephen Garner

Mr. Burberry

Burberry has enlisted Oscar winner and Turner Prize-winning British director Steve McQueen to shoot its latest film campaign for the brand’s newly launched men’s fragrance, Mr. Burberry.

McQueen’s first commercial campaign, the sultry film is set in London and features British actor and musician Josh Whitehouse and British model and actress Amber Anderson. The soundtrack, “I Won’t Complain,” is performed by Benjamin Clementine.

“The film was shot on 70mm film,” said McQueen. “As there are only roughly six of these cameras in existence in the world, this was a unique proposition. What I wanted to engage with was a special, sensual moment in time for these two lovers, which was intimate but in actuality was epic.”

Mr. BurberryInspired by both the iconic black trench coat and by London, Burberry is focusing on the sensual aspect of its new fragrance. Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, who developed the scent, describes it as “contemporary yet classically British in its structure, Mr. Burberry radiates modern and masculine sensuality.”

Top notes include grapefruit and cardamom which give way to a second layer of birch leaf and cedar wood notes. Layers of vetiver and guaiac wood lead to a smoky and earthy finish.

“Mr. Burberry is our most significant men’s fragrance to date,” said Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s CEO and chief creative. “Inspired by the iconic Burberry trench coat and by London, a city of great contrasts and contradictions, it is traditional yet irreverent, elegant without being pristine. It perfectly encapsulates a mood and an attitude that today’s Burberry man will recognize as his own.”

McQueen directed the Oscar-winning Best Picture 12 Years a Slave. His other directing credits include Shame and Hunger.