I don’t think that this ad belongs on TV either – its shamlessly rich. With people losing jobs and their retirement/ education funds, I doubt any of us are concerned about self-discovery and the journey of life. Right now, both look pretty shitty.

Speaking of, an ad that I really enjoyed was from an insurance company. I cannot think of the name – but the message was about how they’ve been through several recessions and every recession: its about going back to the basics. family dinners, enjoying the the simpler pleasures in life etc. I wish I could remember the brand name though.

i must say, however, it seems there wasn’t a single member of lv’s target audience in the theater then. and if that’s the case, they probably should have tried to get a bit more bang from that media plan. (i honestly had probably the most tame rxn given i sat in silent embarrassment as a member of the industry that created such a thing.)

i read an interview with an lv exec who said, they picked 90-second format to take the time to convey their essence; that “time is the ultimate luxury.” maybe 90 seconds of interesting (bordering on cinematic) plays better on TV – a medium that we’ve accepted the “interruption.” at this point, people still don’t seem comfortable with advertisers on the big screen, especially AFTER the previews.

above i made the point that just because you think your ad is cinematic, doesn’t mean it belongs in the cinema. in fact, it makes the distinction between art and ad more clear and makes lv seem like a poser.

and from your description of the target, i truly wonder if the audience for Desperate Housewives: The Movie would have responded much differently, more favorably. mass and luxury may not be at odds but i have to believe the current climate will not be nearly as tolerant of unnecessary excess (acting as a guide or philosopher).

I guess what I’m saying is, you probably weren’t the target audience.

The thing I wonder every time I see an LV spot is this: why are they advertising? After having read about how they were trying to scale back their distribution to seem premium again, it seems like mass advertising contradicts that strategy. Just like mass distribution, mass advertising just makes it a mass brand. Expensive is no longer an indicator of being luxury (though if credit disappears forever it might be).

And really, I’d argue that appearing mass is their biggest problem right now. There are probably 15 stores in any shopping mall where you can buy LV products. Walking down the street, its hard to not to run into someone carrying an LV bag. LV is ubiquitous. At this rate, they might as well get into Walmart.