Oscar de la Renta launches huge Facebook campaign for first fragrance in ten years

(Oscar de la Renta)

America's master of big-impact gowns Oscar de la Renta is readying the release of his first perfume in a decade, Esprit d'Oscar, via social media.

Thanks to his label's ingenious "Oscar PR Girl" (who also operates a very successful Tumblr blog), traditional media are almost entirely skipped in the promotional strategy, which instead is informing fans directly via Facebook and giving away free samples to everyone who "likes" the page in the runup to the launch mid-April.

In the past, social media approaches were taken to promote Yves Saint Laurent's Belle d'Opium or, famously, Old Spice, but de la Renta has taken prestige beauty democracy to another level with his generous freebies and relatable PR girl who users follow just like they would a personal fashion blogger. The campaign has attracted 120,000 fans so far.

http://www.facebook.com/oscardelarenta

http://oscarprgirl.tumblr.com