Jeff Schenck
Ode To Greatness
Cologne Campaign, Where Legacy Meets AI Storytelling
Genre: UGC Campaign · AI Persona Development · Men’s Lifestyle Content
Tools: ChatGPT · MidJourney · HeyGen · Kling 2.1 · Photoshop · Suno AI · Soundify AI
Ode to Greatness was designed as more than a fragrance: it’s a statement of identity. The campaign needed to channel strength, ambition, and timeless style without falling into cliché. Instead of a glossy fashion ad, I developed a UGC-driven concept where an AI persona embodies the confidence and ritual of applying cologne, framed as a daily affirmation of greatness.
The goal? Translate the gravitas of a high-end cologne campaign into approachable, authentic, and scroll-stopping short-form content that could live across Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts.
THE PROCESS
The vision for Ode to Greatness was rooted in power and intimacy: a man preparing for the day, not on a runway but in a real space that feels aspirational yet attainable. I engineered the campaign with:
-
Persona anchors: defined masculine features, tailored wardrobe, and urban loft settings
-
Lifestyle vignettes: early morning light through tall windows, sharp details of watches and cufflinks, the ritual of cologne application
-
Narrative tone: bold but reflective, positioning cologne as a marker of self-respect and drive
Creative Elements included:
-
AI Persona: designed as a strong, aspirational figure with grounded relatability
-
Scene Design: muted masculine color palette (deep blues, charcoals, warm amber light)
-
UGC Aesthetic: handheld reflections in mirrors, close-up product hero shots, natural imperfections that grounded the luxury
The scripting process focused on simple, resonant lines like “Greatness isn’t given, it’s chosen” or “Every day begins with intention.” From there, I generated photorealistic visuals with MidJourney and dynamic clips with Kling 2.1 and LTX Studio. Editing focused on balancing precision with natural imperfection, creating the sense of a self-recorded ritual rather than a staged production.
I used Suno to compose an atmospheric, cinematic music bed, giving Siren’s delivery a slow, hypnotic rhythm that matched the fragrance’s aura. To deepen immersion, I layered in Soundify AI ocean sound effects and ambient textures, echoing waves and subtle water resonance that tied into Onde Luxe’s name and identity.
Making Them Talk
To give the campaign its voice, I wrote scripts that leaned on brevity and weight, lines that sounded like affirmations rather than ad copy. Delivered with a firm, confident tone, the persona embodied ambition without arrogance.
I built a Suno-generated score with steady, low ambient tones and subtle cinematic rises to underline the gravitas of “greatness.” To enrich the environment, I added Soundify AI layers: faint city ambience, echo of footsteps on wood floors, and subtle atmospheric depth. Together, these audio elements transformed the campaign into something felt as much as seen.
Bottlenecks and
Breakthroughs
The main bottleneck was avoiding generic masculinity tropes. Early drafts leaned too heavily into stock fragrance clichés: over-polished models, cinematic perfection, and sterile luxury. That imagery lacked the authentic, UGC-style realism that makes campaigns relatable.
The breakthrough came by introducing rawness into the luxury: slightly unshaven morning looks, natural light falloff across skin, handheld mirror shots with reflections. By combining polished elements (wardrobe, set design) with imperfections (motion blur, uneven framing), the cologne ritual felt human, not staged. That blend gave Ode to Greatness both gravitas and credibility.
Why It Works
Ode to Greatness showed that men’s cologne campaigns don’t have to choose between cinematic polish and authentic relatability. With an AI persona, the ritual of fragrance application became a believable story of identity, ambition, and self-respect.
This project proved that AI Creative Direction can take the weight of a luxury product and deliver it through approachable formats optimized for social, making legacy-inspired branding accessible to modern audiences.