Monday, October 4, 2021

THE Charlie Cat

a closeup of Shelley
from a 1977 Charlie perfume ad
promoting the Charlie Cat ad

In 1976, Revlon creative director David Leddick commissioned Steen Svensson to shoot Shelley's first presentation for the Charlie by Revlon ad campaign. Shelley wowed him and the other Revlon bigwigs and became one of the first Supermodels to sign an exclusive contract with a giant cosmetics company. Her first commercial for the brand debuted and was an instant hit. Soon after, Charlie became the no.1 fragrance in the world - the first American-made fragrance brand to reach such worldwide success. Charlie was so phenomenally successful after Shelley began endorsing it that different contests were held around the world, giving away lots of different prizes to loyal patrons. In 1977, the giveaway was the Charlie Cat, an Arctic Cat Lynx 2000 which was a quiet and powerful snowmobile. Only 10 specially-decaled Charlie Cats were built. And of course, Shelley appeared on the promotional ads for the Charlie's luxurious winter gift to loyal customers.

Shelley in a 1977 Charlie perfume ad
promoting the Charlie Cat