Enchanté Introduces Kristen Bell to Her Calmer Self

Folks meeting idealized versions of themselves to illustrate the benefits of products or services is a tried-and-true commercial sub-genre. Last year, Jennifer Aniston appealingly worked such a storyline for insomnia remedy Indorsia.

Now, Kristen Bell takes her turn in “Smell the Roses,” a dreamy short film from production house Miniac and director Michael Spiccia. The video drops this week across social, touting Enchanté, a clothing line launched by F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.

Given his adventures in the fast lane, he presumably understands the importance of slowing down from time to time. And indeed, that theme plays out over the spot’s nearly three-minute runtime.

At first, Bell writhes with stress as she bops between two phone conversations in a Paris bistro. Soon enough, though, a more serene, Enchanté-clad version of Kristen makes the scene to deliver some brand-boosting life lessons.

Wait, we thought CBD-infused cosmetics helped KB reach her happy place? Well, Enchanté’s approach is pretty trippy, too. And dig those cute clothes. Make the logo bigger! You’ll feel better faster that way.

Kidding aside, Bell’s performances ring true. She’s relatable and amusing as both versions of herself, and the spot’s polished pacing really lets her shine.

Ricciardo shows up as a waiter. And we’re treated to visual touches that seemingly send up fashion ad tropes. (Oh so many peaches and rose petals!) Such bits keep eyeballs engaged, adding pizazz to a familiar (albeit well-realized) formula.

“I don’t know that the ad was intended to be a spoof,” Miniac executive producer Stephen Roesler tells Muse. “But the tone that Daniel Ricciardo likes to infuse in the brand is light and casual, and he says the brand was actually started as a joke that eventually caught on.”

“Playing up the absurd was really creatively liberating and something I think sometimes goes missed in advertising,” says Spiccia. “We originally built out a lot of our background details around peach landslides and as we were finalizing production details we learned peaches were totally out of season, so the most we could dredge up were 12 artificial ones,” he recalls. “Fortunately, thanks to the [VFX] team at Framestore, we were able fulfill our big peach debut.”

And Bell engineered a key visual all on her own.

“We initially planned on visual effects to showcase a rose coming out of Kristen’s mouth,” he says. “But she surprised us all by choreographing an optical illusion to achieving it in-camera. Bit of a magician’s move really!”