Homme by David Beckham

Conception

It was announced on 19 May 2011 that David Beckham and his business partner, Simon Fuller, would be launching a men's bodywear line, a men's fragrance (with licensing partner Coty, Inc.), and a number of other projects to capitalize on Beckham's worldwide commercial appeal. The fragrance, entitled Homme by David Beckham, would join existing scents David Beckham Instinct (2005) and Intimately Beckham (2006), a his-and-hers collection with his wife Victoria Beckham. Steve Mormoris, senior vice president of global marketing for Coty Beauty, told Women's Wear Daily that the fragrance is a strategic launch for Coty that represents "a key new orientation for the David Beckham fragrance brand — getting back to the male roots of the brand, enhancing David as an athlete and an aspirational man and building a new pillar to the David Beckham franchise." Speaking of the new venture, Beckham said:

It's not my natural inclination to see myself as a brand, I'm just a person who has been fortunate to explore other interests and passions outside of the game I love. I will always be associated with my sport but I am now working across other areas that will continue long after my career has finished.

A new logo was created for all of Beckham's commercial ventures in order to create a "uniform visual identity" for the brand. The mark, which was created by Alasdhair Willis, features the David Beckham name in the Replica Pro font, with a circular hole "punched out of the script". The hole represents a football and a lens or viewfinder, which can "spotlight a product detail or visual flourish on various marketing materials". Willis stated that the major challenge when creating the brand identity for Beckham was: "How do you convey through a brand mark the sheer diversity of the David Beckham world?". He expanded his comment, stating that the identity needed to represent "the future of the man as well as being true to his core DNA as one of the world's most respected and talented sportsmen. The identity needed to deliver against all these elements and at the same time be cool, relevant, desirable, versatile and accessible". Fuller added that the brand should also be aspirational, optimistic and inclusive.

Development

For Homme by David Beckham, Beckham wanted to create a modern, masculine fragrance that reflected his own personal style. Additionally, he designed the scent with Victoria's preferences in mind, as the scent is something that she has to "put up with" being on him. He tested the fragrance out on his three sons, stating that: "That's the good thing about having three boys, they are so honest and they said it was amazing".

Homme by David Beckham features a "super masculine scent" that is based on wooden and spicy notes, while still giving off a fresh and clean smell. It includes top notes of citrus, ginger, pine and pepper; heart notes of cashmere wood, leather and rosemary and base notes of mahogany wood, patchouli and skin musk. Beckham has cited rosewood, pink grapefruit and pepper as being three of his favourite scents. According to Beckham, the scents "gives it a kind of leather, cashmere, woody feel"; something that he has liked in the scents he has worn "over the years".

According to Beckham, Homme by David Beckham is for a man who opts for a "cool, rugged look and one who prefers a clean-cut, sharp aesthetic." The scent is said to "encapsulate the spirit" of Beckham, which, according to Rebecca Twomey of Digital Spy, is a concept "sure to appeal as much to women as the men it is aimed at." The fragrance is intended to be a more manly fragrance than Beckham's previous releases. According to Twomey, the fragrance's bottle is "refreshingly different" to Beckham's previous six scents.

Marketing and reception

The print campaign for Homme by David Beckham was shot by fashion photographer Alasdair McLellan in March 2011. The photographs feature Beckham against a dark background, wearing a sleek charcoal gray suit. According to Erin Donnelly of Fashion Etc., the styling gives Don Draper "a run for his money". A behind-the-scenes video of the photo shoot was released in on 19 July by British GQ. In the video, he discusses the inspiration behind the scent, poses in a "razor-sharp" suit and "runs around with his shirt off".

The television advert for Homme by David Beckham, which was directed by Anthony Mandler, opens to see Beckham "showing off his physical prowess" as he runs topless along a platform. As he reaches the edge of the platform, Beckham dives into a vat of the fragrance. In the next scene he is fully dressed in one of his trademark tailored suits. Beckham appeared in a sketch on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to promote the fragrance. In the sketch he is "almost unrecognisable" as he stood in the cosmetics aisle at a Target store, offering passing customers a sample spray of the scent. Homme by David Beckham was included in Esquire's list of the best colognes for men in 2011. Digital Spy included the fragrance in their 2012 Christmas gift guide, commenting that: "The man in your life may not look like Mr Beckham – but at least he can smell like him".