inspiring social & environmental excellence in high-end brands
Implications of In-Authentic Authenticity by Ogilvy & Mather for Louis Vuitton
Marketers and advertisers get it... people want a return to real worth, great craftsmanship, a return to soul.
What happens when the marketers and advertisers get the shifts in consumer sentiment, but the organisation, like a huge ship, takes a long time to turn?
Fake attempts at authenticity, and eventually, a nasty grounding on the rocks of reality.
"Louis Vuitton ordered to pull advert for handbags:
Fashion house Louis Vuitton has been ordered to drop an advert that misleadingly implied its bags were made by hand."
...reports the Daily Telegraph.
Why did they risk such an obviously misleading campaign? FT fashion supremo Vanessa Friedman noted how ""Heritage” and “hand-crafted” have become catchphrases for the luxury industry since the recession hit, as old names that had embraced fashion during the consumption bubble attempt to shore up their
credentials as investment-worthy brands. No campaign has made the
connection quite so obvious, however, as that of Louis Vuitton"
The warning signs of were already there in December, reported in Business Week, but the campaign continued brazenly.
My message to Ogilvy and Mather? It is great you recognise the shifts in society, and want to celebrate true artisans. You have enough clout to have a dialogue with your clients, and so spend more time on that, bringing in sustainable organisational development consultants to the conversation, rather than giving your clients apparent quick fixes. You cant spray paint craftsmanship onto an industrial process; either develop something else in the manufacture of your products to be authentically proud of, or begin supporting real artisans.
My message to LV? The first step on the road to transformation is to recognise its the path you need to tread. This ad campaign smacked of hubris, disrespect for your customers, and ultimately yourselves. What is it you really stand for? Explore that first, reconnect with your core values, and then connect with your customers on that basis.
The implications are much wider... people will now start looking quizzically at other campaigns, like Gucci's Forever Now adverts, which emphasise artisanship. Fortunately for the risk managers in Gucci Group, the adverts focus on what's past, not what's present in the Gucci supply chain. But that reconnection with the past tells us what's important in the future. Authenticity is the future of luxury, and is what Mark Tungate concludes in his new book, Luxury World, which mentions this initiative, The Authentic Luxury Network, and our proposed Association, in its conclusion as a step on the way to the future of luxury.
See the images at http://bagaholicboy.com/2010/02/louis-vuitton-malletier-ad-campaign/
(I havent uploaded them here because I know LV ;-)
What do you think?
What happens when the marketers and advertisers get the shifts in consumer sentiment, but the organisation, like a huge ship, takes a long time to turn?
Fake attempts at authenticity, and eventually, a nasty grounding on the rocks of reality.
"Louis Vuitton ordered to pull advert for handbags:
Fashion house Louis Vuitton has been ordered to drop an advert that misleadingly implied its bags were made by hand."
...reports the Daily Telegraph.
Why did they risk such an obviously misleading campaign? FT fashion supremo Vanessa Friedman noted how ""Heritage” and “hand-crafted” have become catchphrases for the luxury industry since the recession hit, as old names that had embraced fashion during the consumption bubble attempt to shore up their
credentials as investment-worthy brands. No campaign has made the
connection quite so obvious, however, as that of Louis Vuitton"
The warning signs of were already there in December, reported in Business Week, but the campaign continued brazenly.
My message to Ogilvy and Mather? It is great you recognise the shifts in society, and want to celebrate true artisans. You have enough clout to have a dialogue with your clients, and so spend more time on that, bringing in sustainable organisational development consultants to the conversation, rather than giving your clients apparent quick fixes. You cant spray paint craftsmanship onto an industrial process; either develop something else in the manufacture of your products to be authentically proud of, or begin supporting real artisans.
My message to LV? The first step on the road to transformation is to recognise its the path you need to tread. This ad campaign smacked of hubris, disrespect for your customers, and ultimately yourselves. What is it you really stand for? Explore that first, reconnect with your core values, and then connect with your customers on that basis.
The implications are much wider... people will now start looking quizzically at other campaigns, like Gucci's Forever Now adverts, which emphasise artisanship. Fortunately for the risk managers in Gucci Group, the adverts focus on what's past, not what's present in the Gucci supply chain. But that reconnection with the past tells us what's important in the future. Authenticity is the future of luxury, and is what Mark Tungate concludes in his new book, Luxury World, which mentions this initiative, The Authentic Luxury Network, and our proposed Association, in its conclusion as a step on the way to the future of luxury.
See the images at http://bagaholicboy.com/2010/02/louis-vuitton-malletier-ad-campaign/
(I havent uploaded them here because I know LV ;-)
What do you think?
Comment
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Comment by Jem Bendell on May 26, 2010 at 1:21pm -
Exactly the right questions Phyllida.
Some brands will look to philanthropy to support crafts and then connect their advertising to that instead. Good for the crafts, but not dealing with the issue of what makes something authentically high quality in terms of its manufacture.
Answers start with excelling in social and environmental quality throughout the value chain, as a deeper notion of quality, and then finding ways to communicate that to consumers.
I am not a specialist in brand management or advertising, but I dont think that claims about great factory conditions will ever be that enticing; although the creative minds in advertising might find a way! Instead, I think excellence in supply chain ethics will simply be part of a new values orientation in an organisation that will flow through all its activities, including inspiring the designers and advertisers, to great new holistic ideas.
In addition, with social media, the opportunities to engage those customers and journalists and bloggers who do want more info on factories is there. I, for one, would be far more interested to read of a zero carbon machine made of non toxic materials that created my incredibly sturdy bag, rather than of some chap stuck in a factory for hours stitching it, no matter if he is skilled and good pay and conditions. Indeed, I rather read about the inventor of the machine! But thats just me.
There are many many answers yet to be found. Many innovations to come, some that will misfire. But we know these questions are not going to go away. And for the sake of the planet and millions of people in manufacturing, thank goodness for that.
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Comment by Phyllida Jay on May 26, 2010 at 1:00pm -
Its true that luxury is so synonymous with values of small-scale artisanal production that revelations of mass production and global out sourcing can cause untold damage to core brand identity. The narrative of consumer betrayal is satirised in wryly humorous manner by journalist Linda Grant, who expresses her dismay at the poor quality and revelations of mass production and global outsourcing regarding her newly purchased luxury brand jacket thus
“Not quite couture, but, I assumed, lovingly made in a Florentine atelier by a raven-haired beauty who took a 90-minute lunchbreak to eat a three-course meal followed by espresso and adultery, and carried her paypacket home across the Ponte Vecchio in a Fendi Spy bag”. *
It has of course been the aim of commentators such as Dana Thomas to expose the practices of out sourcing and mass production behind some of todays’ luxury brands. She contrasts these with brands such as Chanel and Hermès who she says have retained small scale artisanal processes. For example, it’s reputed that the technique of double stitching which guarantees the longevity of an Hermès Birkin, is a skill which takes four years for a craftsman to perfect in one of its Parisian ateliers. Yet for many other luxury brands, restructuring under the aegis of conglomerate economies of scale and diffuse brand licensing, means practices of small- scale artisanal production are no longer extant or indeed viable. As Thomas points out, how can artisanal production be possible when Louis Vuitton, for example, has 390 stores internationally, selling over $17 billion worth of luxury bags, suitcases and sunglasses annually?
So what is the answer?
The question of supporting real artisans is key, but may be unrealistic given today's economies of scale for many of the products made by conglomerate luxury brands. Not least what do you define as a "real artisan"?
Instituting labour and environmental standards and regulations which promote best practice along global supply chains would be a step forward, and a lot of the big luxury companies are already working towards this. But the language of CSR codes of conduct, certification etc will never hold the same associations and cachet as the idea of "artisanal hand-craftedness"? So how can luxury brands best communicate the changed nature of much of their production in an honest and positive way that builds a new set of values regarding luxury production methods?
*(see full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/jan/29/fashion.ethicall...)
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