The new Gaga vid - soft porn or Virgin Mobile ad?

Last night Lady Gaga's new video premiered. I'm not sure if the end goal was soft porn, bad hat showcase or product placement opportunity for Virgin Mobile.

Either way, I'm a little confused, a little impressed, and maybe a wee bit scared.

It's like a 10 minute long, live action David LaChapelle photograph. Enjoy.

Design Dish: Video killed the print ad. Dior goes viral with Marion Cotillard.

A few years back, Nicole Kidman starred in a dramatic short film that passed as Chanel No. 5's TV ad campaign. Pop star Britney Spears is hocking Candies' ugly mules on the side now. And Beyonce sang about upgrading to Direct TV service in a recent ad. These days, celebs are taking money for pretty much any and all endorsements. And brands are getting savvier with their ad dollars, employing big names to sell their stuff and taking their campaigns to the web where consumers can spread their gospel for them.

Dior is the latest brand to channel major Hollywood star power to move large leather bags. And the star is Marion Cotillard, the young actress who's been winning hearts and Oscars in Tinseltown lately. Cotillard is not a new ambassador for Dior. She has already appeared in shorts on ladydior.com, with an upcoming installment directed by David Lynch, and in print ads. But now the brand will take it next level with the making of a music video. Franz Ferdinand penned the music and lyrics, giving the project music cred.

The video will go public on January 14th. Watch for it floating around Cyberspace somewhere.

[via WWD]

I wanna smell like...Beyonce??

Beyonce is just the latest in a slew of celebrities who are lending their names to perfumes, colognes, (perhaps even scented room sprays by now? Who knows!).

Now, I understand wanting to dress like a star. Who doesn't want to feel like they belong on a red carpet? And I sort of (maybe--kind of?) get those folks who get a new hair cut to match each of Jennifer Aniston's new dos. But smelling like a celeb? I'm just not sure I understand.

Last time I was in CVS, I took note of each celeb spray in the key-protected, glass-enclosed fragrance case (don't worry, CVS--no chance I'm trying to steal any of these).

Below, the celebs who've made it to the fragrance aisle and what I imagine their scents smell of...

Celine - Canadian sausage + glitter (does glitter smell? I hope so.)
Usher - A little like Aqua Velvet
David Beckham - Dirt and sweat (I don't imagine I'd mind David's sweat)
Hillary Duff - A little bit sweet--a little bit stale
Antonio Banderas - Rawhide with a splash of chile
Tim McGraw - Gumbo
Shania Twain - Canadian gumbo
Paris Hilton - Bleach + wet dog
Sarah Jessica Parker - Cotton candy + hairspray
Kimora Simmons - Does 'bitch' stink?
J-Lo - The Bronx
Jennifer Lopez - Miami
Mariah Carey - Valium
Britney Spears - Slurpees
Sean John - Ciroc vodka and cran