Armani Beauty is plunging into the metaverse for the first time, with a game in Fortnite, called “Rewrite the Code.” It is inspired by the brand’s new scent for men, Armani Code Parfum.
“Gaming is a new, very natural world to express the new Armani Code fragrance’s modern masculinity,” said Véronique Gautier, global president of Armani Beauty, at L’Oréal. “Fortnite is a perfect cultural match with our Armani Code [male] audiences — young, urban, modern — and [gives] the opportunity to tap into the Gen Z gamers, who spend three-times more time on Fortnite than on TikTok.
“This is also a way to reshape the rules of engagement with gamers as a core target, enriching the narrative around our new fragrance with a unique and immersive experience,” she continued.
British actor Regé-Jean Page stars in the Armani Code campaign that broke in September, in which everything moves backward. People walk the wrong way around and clock hands circle counterclockwise. Yet Page moves forward walking, then running, through streets, until he meets a woman. They gaze intently at each other, there’s a glimpse of the Armani Code Parfum bottle, then the world is set on the right course again.
“The concept of the game inside Fortnite Creative is a natural extension of the Armani Code communication platform. Gamers are invited to ‘rewrite the code,’” said Gautier. “The codes of a new, forward-facing future, the codes of modern men and women in progress. Imagine a world where everything goes wrong, goes in reverse. What if you have the power to put the world back in order, to rewrite the codes? Players are taken on exciting speed runs through a backward urban world before using the Armani Code fragrance to unlock a forward-facing future.”
Players collect code numbers to do the unlocking. Each speed run is its own mini game, which features a different setting and olfactive ingredient found in the Armani Code Parfum, such as iris, cedarwood and sage.
The game launches on Sept. 26 and is to be backed by livestream activations with gamers on YouTube, TikTok and Twitch in the U.S., U.K., France, Spain and Germany.
