The LVMH group is in turmoil, the fault of an investigation by YouTuber G Milgram, who was interested in a new product branded Guerlain. A cream ? No, better: “a new way of cosmetic rejuvenation for the skin born from quantum science”. Watch out for your eyes.
What wouldn’t we do to keep baby’s skin? Apparently, not much, and the luxury brand Guerlain (LVMH) did not hesitate to take advantage of this to market a cream which sparked a real uproar. Her “Imperial Orchid Gold Nobile” was so full of promise that the YouTuber specializing in “debunking” G Milgram, alerted by an employee, became interested in this treatment, which the brand assures can “restore the quantum light of a young cell on an infinitely small scale to amplify the visible rejuvenation of the skin”. An incomprehensible gibberish that rides on the fashion of the term “quantum” which comes out in all weathers and in all situations, without it having any meaning.
On the art of using scientific jargon for advertising
In his video which has gone viral, the videographer denounces a bunch of nonsense, supported by the testimony of numerous physicists, outraged that scientific knowledge is thus manipulated and transformed to serve as advertising for a product sold for the tidy sum of 650 euros. “The concept of cellular bioluminescence is a scientifically based area of study in quantum biology, which involves the study of very faint luminescence produced as a product of cellular metabolic and energetic processes”details with the service CheckNews of Release Margaret Ahmad, director of a CNRS laboratory specializing in photobiology. This type of faint bioluminescence occurs in many cell types and can be modulated by environmental stimulus, although to my knowledge there is no demonstration that this bioluminescence has a physiological effect. »
It was enough to provoke numerous reactions on the Guerlain site, which urgently closed the product’s comments area, multiplied the modifications of its communication campaign to remove all traces of the term “quantum” and assured of serious research.
A scientific basis, yes but…
Hence a second video from G Milgram who, still with the support of researchers, looked into the more than doubtful development of this “quantum cream”, based on a “poster” (i.e. a non-existent research proposal). peer reviewed) unveiled at a science conference in the United States on December 6, just one month before the release of the famous cream… If the poster is serious and based on scientific research carried out by the university of Palacky (Czech Republic), Guerlain on the other hand took advantage of its partnership and the reputation of the institution to legitimize a scientifically false discourse.
To the point that the dean of the faculty of science replied to G Milgram that a partnership with the brand was indeed in progress, but that “We no longer have any influence on the fact that the commercial name of the product has absolutely no meaning from a scientific point of view. This is a question that we will have to discuss with the commercial partner, because as a serious research institution we do not want this kind of publicity.” The scam revealed by the YouTuber did not fail to interest the Advertising Professional Regulation Authority (ARPP), which announced that it was launching its first investigation of the year on the subject.
For their part, Internet users (including the physicist Étienne Klein) did not hesitate to send a series of tweets, of which here, at the conclusion of this article, is a small anthology.
