In the eight years since he last released a full-length film, David Lynch has amassed a list of projects almost as bizarre as his signature directorial style.
His efforts in the world of marketing have been especially notable: In the past few years, Lynch has launched his own line of coffee (and made a couple of suitably Lynch-ian spots to sell the stuff), written and directed a video for Dior, designed limited-edition labels for Dom Perignon, and earlier this month lent his name to a capsule collection of women's workout apparel. (David Lynch Leggings, anyone?)
Lynch's latest work is this minute-long spot for Christian Louboutin's brand-new $50 nail polish, Rouge Louboutin.
What could possibly make this bottle of nail polish worth $50, you ask? According to the brand, this "true objet d'art" has a "tall slender cap, inspired by calligraphy" that "turns the application into a luxurious experience." The "highly pigmented, super glossy formula delivers in just two coats the effect of 20 layers of traditional lacquer."
And, of course, it's the same exact shade of red as Louboutin's famous crimson soles, the earliest versions of which were actually painted with nail polish (which presumably didn't cost $50).
Now that we have that sorted out, let's return to Lynch's ad. It is, to no one's surprise, very strange. The spot opens on a 3-D outer-space cityscape that appears to have been rendered on a computer running Windows 95. Cut to the image of a frighteningly fetishistic Louboutin ballet pump, which gives way to a fleet of Rouge Louboutin bottles, looking quite menacing with their black, spiked lids.
After some camera shots of a woman's red-lacquered nails (which would look very much at home framed on the wall of a tacky beauty salon) and a brief return to Mykonos-by-way-of-a-far-away-galaxy, the spot ends on a close-up of the woman's hand delicately clutching a bottle of Rouge Louboutin in a shiny protective case.
After watching the spot several times, one begins to wonder whether Lynch, sensing that Louboutin must be trolling its customers by attempting to sell them $50 bottles of nail polish, is simply perpetuating the scam with this dreadful mishmash of New Age-y music and terrible computer graphics that was probably called "transcendent" by a team of marketing executives.
Otherwise, let's hope Lynch sticks to coffee.
