Brainstorming About Perfume Design On The Apprentice {The 5th Sense in the News}

Fake, so-called "reality TV shows" which should be renamed "voyeuristic" or "peeping TV shows" to be closer to the truth can be counted on for offering carefully edited sound-bites; the dumber the better, the most outrageous, the better too.

In the UK, the British version of The Apprentice saw a tug of war over perfume designing last night. Who won hardly matters, it's all about giving some good low-brow time to an audience which feels reassured by the carefully orchestrated and cultivated exhibition of human flaws. Our society is so competitive, we all need a rest.

So how do reality actors make perfume designing sound compelling and dramatic? A good dose of emotion (panic), none too bright ideas mixed with a really accessible dialog. You will not need to know what "sillage" means to follow the conversation...... 

"On the other team, Claire and Lee were brainstorming blokey, post-metrosexual names. "Psst!" suggested Lee. "Primal," countered Claire doubtfully. In the end they settled for Roulette. The ball skittered and jumped and then lodged squarely in the zero slot. Still, at least Lee had an unnervingly clear vision of their prospective purchaser's grooming habits. "He definitely shaves his balls," he told Claire, helpfully.

Alex and Helene were having a lot more trouble coming up with a concept. "Strong?" said Helene helplessly, "Girth?"

Alex sensibly suggested Enigma instead but, by the time he reached the design company to work on the bottle, they were still no nearer a workable concept. Fortunately, the designer suggested a plausible one – a bottle of perfume that spawned another smaller bottle for the man who wants to have a spritz at all times. They called it Dual and felt sufficiently reassured to spare some time for bickering about who was panicking more."

Read more in The Independent