Penhaligon’s WYWH

Penhaligon’s is a British perfume house. Founded in the late 1860s by Cornish barber William Henry Penhaligon, who moved to London to become Court Barber and Perfumer to Queen Victoria.

With aromatic perfumes, refreshing aftershaves and theatrical gift sets for both men and women, Penhaligon’s is a heritage brand that utilises a distinctive style and a whimsically British tone of voice to stand out in the luxury market.

We were tasked by the perfume house to develop a new Wish You Were Here campaign inspired by the British seaside.

At a time when trips to the coast (or anywhere, for that matter) were few and far between, we were commissioned to bring the nostalgic joy of British seaside holidays to the people locked down at home.

The aim of the campaign was to celebrate six of Penhaligon’s scents, each one representing a different quintessential seaside town. The idea was to create a sense of gentle escapism to the people at home.

To promote Penhaligon’s classic range of fragrances, we chose six of Britain’s most iconic seaside towns to represent them – Blackpool, Brighton, Whitstable, Scarborough, Cornwall and Margate.

We collaborated with a brilliant model maker to recreate the six beaches in miniature. Creating beautifully detailed, hand-painted pieces really brought the campaign to life, featuring all the timeless seaside classics such as promenades, amusement arcades, ice cream vans and donkey rides.

As well as the campaign imagery, we developed custom postcards and stamps for each fragrance and destination.

Penhaligon’s vision was to broaden our horizons with a mist of scent, and to reach people through this idea of an emotive shared experience.

We had to really embrace the character and charisma of each destination to achieve this, but as such, we were able to create a campaign that really spoke directly to the collective memories of the seaside that we have as a nation.

With everyone stuck in lockdown together and unable to get away for a summer break, we think we achieved a nostalgic and joyful campaign that could give everyone a taste of the seaside from the comfort of their homes.