Louis Vuitton emphasizes importance of journey over destination for cruise ads
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Michelle Williams and Alicia Vikander for Louis Vuitton
French apparel and accessories brand Louis Vuitton is hitting the desert highway on a quest for “freedom and adventure” in its cruise 2016 campaign.
The latest “Spirit of Travel” effort sees actresses Michelle Williams and Alicia Vikander traveling separately and as a pair to a joint destination described in the first vignette as being a destiny rather than a location. For the Spirit of Travel efforts, Louis Vuitton incorporates its heritage as a luggage maker to draw inspiration for its cruise collection communications.
“The consumer journey is good to highlight because marketers often ignore this fact,” said Romey Louangvilay, chief curator and director of digital marketing at Curate Directive, New York. “Often when campaigns are conceptualized, marketers think of the beginning of the campaign and how it would attract consumers and then they go straight to the end goal, which is the purchase.
“That may have worked in the past, but in today’s world, there are so many steps in between those two destinations that influence the end result,” he said. “The video shows examples of this in a more real-world setting outside of shopping to demonstrate that there are smaller steps in between two destination points.
“This is a good example of how Louis Vuitton understands their consumers.”
Mr. Louangvilay is not affiliated with Louis Vuitton, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Louis Vuitton did not respond by press deadline.
Destination nowhere
Filmed by Patrick Demarchelier, the two-minute film for the cruise 2016 Spirit of Travel effort begins with Ms. Williams driving on a desert highway dotted with palm trees in a vintage automobile. As she drives along and looks out the window at the nearby mountains, Ms. Williams says, “I have no destination, but I have a destiny,” setting the tone for the remainder of the film.
In the next scene, Ms. Vikander is shown standing in the desert as she states, “I don’t walk behind, I find new paths.” After, she begins walking toward the horizon where mountains are seen in the distance, but is soon distracted by a striped snake that she picks up and lets wrap around her arms before the scene fades to Ms. Williams as she continues to drive.
Michelle Williams for Louis Vuitton’s Spirit of Travel, print ad
Next, Ms. Williams abruptly pulls off the road and the pace of the electronic music picks up to exude suspense. As she leans out the car’s window Ms. Williams pulls out a pair of binoculars to get a closer look at the mountain range just as the run is rising above its peaks.
Presumably on the other side of the mountain range, Ms. Vikander approaches a stack of vintage Louis Vuitton luggage cases in various sizes and materials. In each Spirit of Travel, Louis Vuitton includes vintage pieces as a link between its past and presence.
Alicia Vikander for Louis Vuitton’s Spirit of Travel, print ad
In the next scene, the clouds quickly pick up pace and the music strengthens in intensity before the viewer is shown a grove of tall palm trees from the ground up. Ms. Vikander is seen walking around the trees with a surprised look on her face, as if the desert has suddenly became an oasis.
After this scene, the women are shown side by side outside the vintage car near the mountains. It is here that the narrator says, “Inspired by the past, we make the future” before the women are seen approaching a cement and glass architectural structure in the desert and surrounded by the palm trees.
The women explore the building and its grounds separately before coming together and jointly saying, “We are passengers on different roads part of the same journey. The spirit of travel.” When the camera pans out the women, meant to represent the different paths of the same journey, are standing side by side looking out at greenery on the edge of desert.
The Spirit of Travel from Louis Vuitton
Tabs found next to the video player on Louis Vuitton’s Web site allow the consumer to learn more about Mr. Demarchelier and the two handbags styles seen in the film, The Steamer and The Capucines bags. A click on the handbag tabs loads segments of the Spirit of Travel video where the styles are shown.
On a separate tab, Louis Vuitton encourages consumers to discover the campaign. Under this section, Louis Vuitton displays the print campaign images for cruise 2016 that show both women in scenes from the film and staged stills on location.
Here, consumers can continue on to explore the collection itself. When a print image is selected for view the consumer can click “discover the collection” which generates a pop-up displaying the pieces worn in the image. While Louis Vuitton does not offer ecommerce for the items shown, the product number is included.
Traveler’s guide to Louis Vuitton
For the last two years, under the direction of Nicolas Ghesquière, the Spirit of Travel campaign has brought consumers on a safari and to the Caribbean. A serialized approach to campaigns have become Mr. Ghesquière’s signature, whether it is Spirit of Travel or the ongoing “Series” for women’s ready-to-wear.
Louis Vuitton Cruise 2014 saw the release of a safari-themed video and print advertising campaign to further explain its ideology.
Shot on location in South Africa, Louis Vuitton’s The Spirit of Travel film showed models strolling alongside leopards and feeding giraffes. This 90-second video acted as both a campaign film and travel brochure, giving the viewer an idea of where to take Louis Vuitton’s luggage while reminding consumers of the brand’s travel heritage (see story).
The following year, Louis Vuitton took consumers to warmer climates with its Spirit of Travel campaign for cruise 2015.
Louis Vuitton’s effort shows its handbags and trunks against the vivid backdrop of the Caribbean, with photographer Patrick Demarchelier capturing models beachside. This campaign enables Louis Vuitton to celebrate travel’s place within its DNA (see story).
The Spirit of Travel concept allows Louis Vuitton to explore its heritage in subtle way.
“I believe it does an excellent job at portraying the brand’s heritage with travel,” Mr. Louangvilay said.
“With the first monologue and through to the end, the journey that the characters experience is emphasized heavily,” he said. “A good point of this video is that they do not overtly discuss travel but instead, have the viewers see it so viewers themselves can join in the journey.
“It’s a good strategy to emphasize travel without being too commercial.”
Final Take
Jen King, lead reporter on Luxury Daily, New York
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Tags: Advertising, Apparel and accessories, cruise 2016, Curate Directive, Louis Vuitton, luxury, luxury daily, luxury marketing, Marketing, Romey Louangvilay, Spirit of travel
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