“This is civet!” Guichard announced. Civet is a fundamental French perfume material, a historic girder of the industry and the quintessential scent of France. It happens to come, Guichard said pleasantly, “from the anal gland of the civet cat.”

The consultant stared at him. “What?” she said.

“Well, a sexual gland,” said an amused Guichard, who then hit a button on his computer. The large plasma screen behind him showed us a picture of civets. They look like house cats who’ve been painted to look like zebras. He explained that the perfume material from the anal gland is found in both males and females. And it smells — quite simply — like anus.

“This is in perfume?” asked the marketer doubtfully.

“Absolutely,” said Guichard. “My father was testing it. They were using small blotters, and they were scooping out the cream —”

“It’s a cream?”