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2 Minutes With ... Fabrice Brovelli, Vice President at BETC & President of General Pop
On YSL, Louis Vuitton and David Bowie
Fabrice Brovelli started his career in the ’80s by directing videos at the age of 20 for the punk underground music scene (La souris déglinguée – “Parti de la Jeunesse,” Causa Nostra – “Warum Joe”). He then produced credits for MTV in the early-’90s, as well as some clips of the Thugs—including the famous “Biking.” He started his career in advertising at Young & Rubicam and Devarieux & Villaret as an editor. He quickly reached the rank of TV producer and was tapped by BETC to run the TV production department in 1998.
His work includes “Les bébés nageurs”‘ by Evian in 1998. Fabrice helped craft the Evian commercial “Voices,” producing a remix of “We Will Rock You” by Queen, recorded with children’s voices. He is also behind several Lacoste campaigns, including “Crocodile Inside.” Among the most famous campaigns of the BETC agency are Air France by Michel Gondry, Hollywood Chewing Gum by Tim Burton and Louis Vuitton by Romain Gavras.
He now serves as vice president of BETC and president and founder of its General POP unit, leading all production services. Fabrice recently oversaw worldwide launches of YSL Perfumes: Black Opium with Zoé Kravitz, Libre with Dua Lipa and Y with Lenny Kravitz.
We spent two minutes with Fabrice to learn more about his background, creative inspirations and some recent work he’s admired.
Fabrice, tell us…
Where you grew up, and where you live now.
I grew up in Reims and I live in Paris.
How you first realized you were creative.
I just realized was different.
A person you idolized creatively early on.
The band The Clash that I saw live at 13 years old.
A moment from high school or college that changed your life.
When I got kicked out of high school.
A visual artist or band/musician you admire.
The cover of London Calling from The Clash.
A book, movie, TV show or podcast you recently found inspiring.
The book Feminin by Claire Touzard.
Your favorite fictional character.
Patrick Bateman from American Psycho
Someone or something worth following in social media.
@Berlinmusicvideoawards and @asvoff_official
How Covid-19 changed your life, personally or professionally.
Well, on a personal note, my mother passed because of it and it burned my lungs.
One of your favorite creative projects you’ve ever worked on.
David Bowie and Arizona Muse for Vuitton. What an honor it was to work with two incredible talents. The ad makes the viewer feel as though they’re time traveling with the classic mystique that is Louis Vuitton. Another huge bonus of this project was that I got to remix the audio track!
A recent project you’re proud of.
The next new masculine cologne for YSL, but that’s not released yet. Another one that I can share that I’m very proud of is this YSL commercial, “Mon Paris.” The power, the romance. The way you feel like you can taste the tension … it’s delicious, it’s YSL. Another bonus, I was also able to remix this Charles Aznavour track for the video!
Someone else’s work that inspired you years ago.
Someone else’s work you admired lately.
Julia Ducourneau
Your main strength as a creative person.
I’m never happy.
Your biggest weakness.
Once again, I’m never happy.
One thing that always makes you happy.
The unknown
One thing that always makes you sad.
Complacency
What you’d be doing if you weren’t in advertising.
Something that would change the world.
2 Minutes With is our regular interview series where we chat with creatives about their backgrounds, creative inspirations, work they admire and more. For more about 2 Minutes With, or to be considered for the series, please get in touch.
Jessica MacAulay is a contributor for Muse by Clio. She's also a recent graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder's College of Media, Communication, and Information.
