Quality Fantasies

Sahar just sent me this astonishing Louis Vuitton ad.  Take a look:

There are a few things to note here, that make up the tone and persuasiveness of the ad.  First is the muted, dark color of the ad:  the bags themselves are black, and it seems as though the ad itself has become a kind of extension of the product--frilly, delicate, refined, dark, exotic.  Next is the gorgeous models, and that we get to hear their voices (models are usually mute: how many of you know the voices of the most recognized faces in our media?).  The voices are heavily accented, and lend a sense of globalism and worldliness to the product.

The most important thing to note here, though, is what they're saying--and this is why Sahar sent the video.  The women are "fantasizing" about where they would like to be with their new Louis Vuitton bag, all the while stroking the bag in a most seductive manner.  Their fantasies are varied, and interesting, and because the women are beautiful and alluring you want to go there with them.  One model is translated as saying that fantasies do not seem "evanescent" to her--that they are "actually the origin of success."  This is a complicated rationalization story, that even Seth Godin would admire: the argument is that you should fantasize about owning luxury goods, because you will be driven to become successful enough to be able to afford them.  The ad is so utterly seductive that you're forced to forget all you know about the failures of meritocracy: that we live in a global economy where fewer and fewer people, no matter how driven they are, have enough money to eat, let alone buy $3,100 handbags (I looked it up!).  Instead, you dream with these women, you imagine yourself with their clothes and their hair and that handbag, speeding off on a scooter in London, or sitting "on the roof of the world."

But...the handbags are actually kind of hideous.  And if you think about it, none of the fantasies the women describe requires a handbag at all: they're pretty much all about escape and solitude and simplicity, which are more easily found without expensive designer goods.