pitch unfairly

Cheat Codes · Launches and keynotes

Chanel No. 5, 1921. Pitched unfairly, 2026.

Sample five, launched on the fifth. Same story, same numbers. Rebuilt the way we'd pitch it today.

Template: Brand launch

  • Sample No. 5
  • 5 May 1921
  • Aldehydes
Play the 2026 deck Read the real story Steal the structure
1921 Brand launch

Chanel No. 5

Sample five, launched on the fifth.

Legend
Original craft
Unfair

The story→12 slides

It's a live deck. Press start, then scroll or use the arrow keys, or play it full screen.

Play the 2026 deck

Chanel No. 5's brand launch, slide by slide

Every slide opens the live deck right where it is.

  1. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 1: A woman's perfume, with the scent of a woman. 01A woman's perfume, with the scent of a woman.
  2. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 2: Most perfumes copy a flower. Ours copies nothing. 02Most perfumes copy a flower. Ours copies nothing.
  3. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 3: For the woman who already wears our clothes. 03For the woman who already wears our clothes.
  4. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 4: Beaux brought a tray of samples. We chose number five. 04Beaux brought a tray of samples. We chose number five.
  5. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 5: The difference is a lab molecule, in a dose nobody used. 05The difference is a lab molecule, in a dose nobody used.
  6. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 6: Everyone sells a poem in crystal. We sell a number in a lab vial. 06Everyone sells a poem in crystal. We sell a number in a lab vial.
  7. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 7: Fifth month, fifth day, sample five: 5 May 1921. 07Fifth month, fifth day, sample five: 5 May 1921.
  8. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 8: Nobody can buy it yet. The right people have smelled it. 08Nobody can buy it yet. The right people have smelled it.
  9. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 9: One shop proves it. Partners with a factory take it everywhere. 09One shop proves it. Partners with a factory take it everywhere.
  10. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 10: It's working when clients ask before we offer. 10It's working when clients ask before we offer.
  11. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 11: Three things could sink it. One of them is the point. 11Three things could sink it. One of them is the point.
  12. Chanel No. 5 deck, slide 12: Spray it on everyone. Sell it on the fifth. 12Spray it on everyone. Sell it on the fifth.

Then · 1921

How it really went

Read the real storythe story, via Wikipedia
  1. Gabrielle Chanel asks for "a woman's perfume, with the scent of a woman"
  2. Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich introduces her to perfumer Ernest Beaux
  3. At his lab near Grasse, Beaux presents samples numbered 1 to 5 and 20 to 24
  4. She chooses sample five, built on an unusually heavy dose of aldehydes
  5. It keeps its number as its name and goes into a plain bottle
  6. She sprays friends with it at a dinner in Grasse
  7. Launched 5 May 1921 at Rue Cambon: scented fitting rooms, gift bottles to a select few
  8. Galeries Lafayette becomes the first Paris retailer
  9. 1924: Parfums Chanel is formed; the Wertheimers own 70%, Théophile Bader 20%, Chanel 10%
  10. For the record: in 1941, under the German occupation, Chanel tried to use anti-Jewish laws to take the company from the Wertheimers; it failed
  11. 1952: Marilyn Monroe tells Life she wears "Chanel No. 5" to bed

Now · 2026 · 12 slides

What we changed

  • Pick the sample yourselfFive lab vials on a tray. Tap through "Not it", "Also not it" and "Almost" until number five gets the stamp.
  • Turn up the aldehydesDrag the dose and watch rose, jasmine and orris blur into something nobody can name, while the nose's verdict goes from "Definitely rose" to "I want it".
  • Squint at the 1921 shelfCrystal flowers and gilt spires next to one plain vial. Hit the squint test: the ornate bottles go to mush, the number still reads.
  • A seeding map, ring by ringThe Grasse dinner table, the Rue Cambon fitting rooms, the gift list, then Paris asking where to buy it.

Steal the structure

Build your brand launch like Chanel No. 5 did.

  1. 01 Brand idea The whole brand in one line, set against what the category does.
  2. 02 Who it's for The first customer, specific enough to picture: what they already buy and what they refuse.
  3. 03 The product Show the choice you made and the options you turned down.
  4. 04 What makes it different The one ingredient or decision competitors don't have, made tangible.
  5. 05 Name and identity Your name and look next to the shelf it will sit on.
  6. 06 Launch moment A date with a reason, tied to something the audience already shows up for.
  7. 07 Seeding Who gets it first, in order, and why each ring spreads it to the next.
  8. 08 Distribution The channel path from one door to everywhere, and who you partner with.
  9. 09 How we'll know Leading signals with a time frame, plus the long-run signal you're aiming at.
  10. 10 Risks The real risks with a mitigation and a status, including the one that is the point.
  11. 11 Launch Close on the line items and the date.

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