David Corenswet, Eiza González Star in New Boss the Scent Advertising

PARIS – Actors David Corenswet and Eiza González are starring in the new Boss the Scent campaign as the fragrance brand turns 10 this year.

Corenswet is also poised to play the lead role in “Superman,” the upcoming movie directed by James Gunn. He has featured in the series “Hollywood” and “The Politician.”

González most recently starred in the sci-fi series “3 Body Problem.” She was in Oscar-nominated “Baby Driver,” while upcoming are roles in Apple and Skydance’s “Fountain of Youth” and Flying Lotus’ “Ash.”

Daniel Sannwald directed the new advertisment for the Boss fragrances, which breaks Sunday, Jan. 26.

What drew the talents to this campaign?

“I did it because Eiza was going to do it,” said Corenswet, with a laugh.

“Me too,” said González. “David really took that out of my mouth. I only did it because David did it.”

She added that it was hard to shake a musical earworm that embedded during the campaign’s filming. The pair was played a song to match the beat of the spot’s choreography.

During the interview, she told Corenswet: “Funny enough David, the other day I was walking down the street and I heard that song – remember that song? – you remember that scene from ‘Zoolander,’ when they brainwashed people with a song? That’s how I felt.”

González added that the campaign was shot over a few days, “so you’re listening to the same song over and over and over again,” she said. “There was this point where David and I had lost it, and dancing as silly as could be. We didn’t even know what to do. But it was really fun, actually. It turned out great.

“But, man, did I dream with that song for years on end,” continued González. “I don’t even know the name of [it].”

Corenswet sang three notes of the song’s tune, with no understandable words. “That’s all I remember,” he said. (The song was “Ooh La La” from Goldfrapp.)

“We did a little bit of rehearsal on the first day to get some basic steps that we wanted to have,” said Corenswet. “But then, luckily, we’re both kind of happy to go with the flow. While we were shooting it, we did plenty where it was just alright, go freestyle – do your thing.”

“It does help that David is an incredible, good dancer,” said González. “It was like: Ok, I have to step it up. I would consider myself more of a ‘Happy Feet’ dancer.” (She was making reference to the animated movie featuring penguins.)

“You’re more like a real dancer,” she said. “But we did have an amazing choreographer that walked us through, and they had such a very specific vision of what they wanted. It was just capturing the freeness of the concept of the perfume. And we had a great time.”

They enjoyed doing crosswords together during waits on set.

“Being an avid crossworder in my free time I felt like ‘oh, I should probably let Eiza come in and participate’,” said Corenswet. “Then it turns out that she’s completely fire. She can do it without looking at the clues. I just read them to her and she got them. It’s impressive.”

She said: “I feel proud. Thank you, David. I appreciate that as English is my second language. I will take it. I’ll run with that.”

Corenswet considers himself to be a fragrance “novice.” Boss is his introduction to regular scent use. “Which is a great way to start, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

González has always liked men’s cologne. “Since I was little, I gravitated to more masculine smells,” she said. “So what I like about this campaign is that – weirdly – it embodies a lot of how I am, because it’s a his and hers campaign. I like both scents a lot.”

She recalled growing up with the Boss ads, saying: “I just always admired Boss being a brand that represented women in such a bold, strong way, from top to bottom.

“But what I really like about this campaign specifically is it’s focused on the strength of both male and female in an equal way,” said González, adding it also embodies a more contemporary woman.

“The thing that sticks with me is the idea confidence doesn’t necessarily have to come from within,” said Corenswet. “You can steal it from other things, whether it’s your dance partner or the scent that you’re wearing.”

In the Boss fragrance universe, Hugo Boss Bottled is the first-ranking franchise, while Boss the Scent remains a strong pillar for the brand and places in the top 10 in Europe. 

“So for the 10th anniversary it was quite logical that we wanted to refresh globally the line,” said Jean Holtzmann, chief brand officer of Coty Prestige, which holds the Boss fragrance license.

He described Corenswet and González as “a new duo to encapsulate this idea of the power couple, very sensual, very empowering. Boss the Scent has always been a story of seduction.”

Boss the Scent’s juices were boosted intensity-wise and new bottles are refillable.

“The idea was to reinforce the premium-ness of both, so the glass weight and cut, which has been made sharper for both designs,” said Holtzmann.