Binge-Worth Marketing: Emily in Paris

Hello once again, and for the last time (actually) this Fall semester. For the November feature of our Binge-Worth Marketing blog series, we are going to Paris! Yes… that Paris (I know you can guess what I’m talking about). In honor of Emily in Paris Season 5 dropping this December, we’re breaking down Season 1, Episode 5, “Faux Amis”.In this episode, one luxury bed brand manages to cause more tension than Emily’s entire dating life combined (no wonder Paris is called the City of Love).

It is a perfect example of the classic luxury-marketing dilemma: What are people truly buying, the product itself or the fantasy behind it? And what luxury brand is Agency Savoir chasing this time? Hästens, a Swedish luxury bed brand that costs as much as someone’s yearly salary (crazy…). 

In this episode, the Savoir team is pitching concepts to Hästens for a promotional campaign. Sylvie opens with a classic luxury \direction: cinematic, sensual, and mysterious. A high-end experiential marketing campaign placing a Hästens bed directly on the Champs Élysées with two models sleeping on it (a live public art installation). However, Hästens calls it unoriginal. For a moment let us reflect on Sylvie’s idea, she understands that the best way to call people’s attention is by creating something theatrical and mysterious. She also makes a century remark on how luxury is meant to be observed and not experienced if you can’t afford it. A classic approach for a luxury brand but nothing other brands haven't done already.

Emily, on the other hand, jumps in proposing something different. Emily, inspired by her immersive Van Gogh experience, reframes luxury sleep as something people want to personally step into not just admire. Her idea invites the public to participate, encouraging people and brand advocates  to post themselves in Hästens beds around iconic Parisian spots. She wants to capture the actual magic of dreaming in broad daylight, offering an authentic experience of Hästens’ luxury, not just a spectacle.

Hästens chose Emily’s direction that made sleep feel alive not just staged.

Emily’s idea taps perfectly into the current trend of experiential marketing, where luxury brands create immersive, participatory experiences to turn consumers into active participants of the brand’s story. Think Hermès’ “Mystery at the Grooms’”, a detective-style pop-up where visitors solved puzzles and hunted for hidden horses among the brand’s iconic leather and silk.

But let’s be real… a public bed? While the concept makes for great TV, in the real world it’s… a little gross. Hygiene, maintenance, and comfort are obvious concerns. No one wants to think about who was lying there before them. Plus, luxury thrives on exclusivity, if anyone can flop down in a €100,000 bed, does it still feel aspirational? And fun fact: Hästens is an actual luxury brand, but this campaign was purely an Emily in Paris invention (no public-bedding stunts IRL). 

So while Emily’s concept nails the essence of modern experiential marketing, combining engagement, storytelling, and shareability all in one, the idea of public beds is a fun, over-the-top twist that seems more fictional. It works brilliantly as a metaphor for immersive luxury, but in the real world, brands would probably take a more practical route to give people a taste of the fantasy, something that's a little less… icky. For a glimpse into Hästens’ real-world marketing style, explore one of their actual campaigns here.

Other than showcasing crazy love triangles (which, let’s be honest, is a big part of why we watch the show), Emily in Paris reminds us that marketing is about more than just the product, it’s about the story, the emotion, and the experience. Engagement, shareability, and creative storytelling are powerful tools for bringing a brand to life and making people feel like they’re part of something bigger. However, execution matters (sometimes the show loses track of this, lol). As marketers, the key takeaway is to strike the right balance between imagination and practicality to create immersive, memorable experiences that resonate with your audience, while keeping your brand’s values and real-world logistics in mind. 

And with that, we’ve reached the season finale of our Fall Binge-Worth Marketing blog series. Next semester’s series is already brewing, and while we’re keeping the theme under wraps, we guarantee it’ll be just as binge-worthy.

Ariana Tomé X Briana Pirolli