If you recall, in July, Louis Vuitton a campaign around the idea of iconic luggage featuring Mikhail Gorbachev, Andre Agassi and Catherine Deneuve. It was high brow. Sophisticated and a bit dry save for Mikhail, which was a beautifully crafted and subversive print ad. Then, a few weeks ago, they aired their first ever broadcast spot. Now, Keith Richards is the new face of Louis Vuitton.
What’s going on here? The spread of luxury, naturally. Luxury is getting redefined this year and it needs to. Take a look at Berlin Cameron’s version for Belvedere Vodka, which we liked, by the way. Meanwhile, the concern about the recession effecting luxury good sales is rampant since Tiffany’s posted lower than stellar results recently. Louis Vuitton has so far weathered the storm with strong sales in Japan and a price increase in the U.S., but y’know… this is the beginning of the recession. We got a long way to go.
A Louis Vuitton exec told the Washington Post that:
“Keith Richards is timeless and ageless. He’s lived his life on the edge, but he’s not a sleazebag. He’s lean and mean and he’s still current.”
What he meant to say is that Keith is a bad boy. He’s not sophisticated. He’s rock royalty. Richards is rich, but also out of bounds, on the edge. The word staid does not apple. The Baby Boomers who are sitting on some cash, who may start traveling more as their kids age out and their retirement looms ever closer, remember his wild ways during their own youth. Got it. This is their new idea of luxury. It’s got a slight tweak and they’re being proactive against the recession. Who is their CMO? Nice work.
Ps. Be proud of us. We resisted making a leather face joke. It was so hard.