Bags of truthiness
I was to lunch on the controversial ban of ‘those’ Louis Vuitton ads.
Apparently, the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) in France has ruled they mislead customers because they imply L.V’s products are completely hand made.
Pffffttt…not sure about that…
The campaign is a series of what appears to be hand-painted, Medieval-style portraits of craftsmen, delicately crafting Louis Vuitton products with their clever, gentle hands – needle and thread, patience and that pious look of devotion you’ll never see on a factory worker.
The accompanying lines – “A needle, linen thread, beeswax and infinite patience protect each over-stitch from humidity and the passage of time” and “One could say that a Louis Vuitton bag is a collection of details. But with so much attention lavished on every one, should we only call them details?” – complete the picture of hand-maidens, hand-making.
A stretch – yes, misleading – I don’t think so.
Louis V’s defense that, ‘the ads ‘are only meant to pay homage to the craftsmanship of its employees, rather than be an accurate depiction of the manufacturing process’, makes sense to me. (Though I would’ve said craftsmanship of the ‘product’ not the ‘employees’ since they’re just following instructions and patterns – well-designed, thoughtful patterns, the blueprint for quality products.)
And anyway, there’s got to be a guzzilion other ads out there wobbling on the ‘truthiness’ line surely?!?
Here’s some craftsmanship claims that would never have passed Chaser’s ‘Ad Road-Test’ – but they haven’t made me want to punch marketing execs or call in the advertising ‘feds’;
- The loving ‘cook’ at KFC
- The Maccas coffee barista and his ‘slow-mo’ drip
- Fosters pure blonde ‘Brewtopia’
I reckon leave ol’ Louis alone, he’s no worse than anyone else out there!
