Artist of Note: Karimah Hassan

CLIENT

Molton Brown

A culture-led fragrance campaign pairing contemporary artistry with scent to reframe Mesmerising Oudh Accord & Gold for a younger, creatively engaged audience.

WHERE IT WAS FEATURED

Global · Social · E-Commerce · CRM · Third Party Partners · Retail · Concessions · OOH · PR · Eventing

DELIVERABLES

Film · Stills

ROLE

Art Direction, Creative Team & On Shoot Leadership, Content & Social Systems

Mesmerising Oudh Accord & Gold fragrance bottle photographed for Molton Brown Artist of Note campaign.

Challenge

Mesmerising Oudh Accord & Gold is one of Molton Brown's most iconic fragrances — but its visual world had become disconnected from a younger, culturally engaged audience. The brief was to reintroduce the collection through the Artists of Note platform: finding a way to honour the fragrance's heritage while giving it a contemporary cultural lens that felt genuinely earned rather than cosmetic.

Artist Karimah Hassan in her studio during Molton Brown Artist of Note campaign shoot.
A woman with dark hair and light skin looking through several colorful brushstrokes, with a neutral background, wearing a white top, gold earrings, and a delicate gold necklace.
Original painting by Karimah Hassan created for Molton Brown Artist of Note campaign.

Creative Approach

  • Worked closely with Karimah Hassan to translate her painting language into the campaign world — bold brushwork, gilded detailing and layered colour used as visual cues for the fragrance's depth and warmth.

  • Brought the artist's process directly into the sets, integrating tools, gestures and in-progress work to create a sense of intimacy and authenticity rather than a polished, distanced portrait.

  • Designed a studio-led environment that felt immersive, cultural and modern while remaining unmistakably Molton Brown.

  • Built an art-led visual system across stills, film and social so the campaign translated consistently across every format and touchpoint.

Impact

The campaign was independently benchmark-tested against UK advertising norms and showed strong-to-exceptional engagement across formats — with the artwork-led storytelling and clear product linkage driving the strongest response. Digital and out-of-home assets both performed above UK averages, and the "happiness" response across formats rated above average, a metric that directly reflects emotional connection with the creative.

Engagement improved on the previous year and the campaign supported a 20% uplift in collection re-support during the campaign window.

Close-up of paint palette used by Karimah Hassan for Molton Brown Artist of Note campaign.
Paint brushes used by Karimah Hassan during Molton Brown Artist of Note collaboration.
Detail of brushstroke on canvas from Karimah Hassan artwork for Molton Brown campaign.

Campaign Rollout

Social · Ecommerce · CRM ·

OOH · Retail

Outdoor poster in London for Molton Brown Artist of Note campaign featuring Karimah Hassan.
Molton Brown store window featuring Artist of Note campaign artwork and Mesmerising Oudh Accord & Gold.
In-store merchandising for Molton Brown Artist of Note fragrance campaign.
In-store merchandising for Molton Brown Artist of Note fragrance campaign.

PR · Eventing

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