Prada Real Fantasies video still
Luxury marketers used social videos to show consumers different aspects of brand personality while promoting craftsmanship, collaborations and new collections during the third quarter of 2013.
The videos that educated consumers in a lighthearted manner proved to be the most compelling, and, as a whole, videos depicted brands in a playful manner. Promoting a specific product with in an educational light engages consumers while providing useful information that can drive sales.
Here are the top 10 luxury brand social videos of the third quarter of 2013, in alphabetical order:
Chanel founder Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel
Chanel’s Coco – Inside Chanel - French fashion house Chanel is showcasing its brand history through the latest edition of its social video series that takes consumers through the history of the founder’s life.
The fifth video of the series explores Chanel’s founder Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel’s early life, influences and motivations. Exploring the early life and influences of a brand’s founder via social content can personalize a brand while engaging consumers.
Chanel’s fifth chapter of its “Coco – Inside Chanel” video series takes a look at Coco Chanel’s life prior to founding her brand.
The video is entirely animated using black and white graphics and sketches inlaid with Chanel’s linked “C” logo.
Coco – Inside Chanel begins with an optical illusion that spirals to reveal a silhouette of a woman’s profile. As the image changes, the woman’s face is shaped like France with a mapped point of Saumur, where Ms. Chanel was born.
The narrator repeats the phrase “once upon a time” for different points in Ms. Chanel’s life. The 3-minute video discusses Ms. Chanel’s parents and how her mother died at 32 and her father left her and her siblings shortly there after.
Ms. Chanel lived in a convent orphanage for seven years which accounts for her sense of austerity and taste for black and white while the religious atmosphere sparked her interest in Baroque style.
In the video, viewers learn how Ms. Chanel earned her nickname “Coco” while singing in a cabaret at night. Viewers also learn how Ms. Chanel sewed during the day, dressed in masculine attire and redesigned hats as she began to revolutionize women’s fashions.
The final section of the video shows what aspects of women’s fashion that Ms. Chanel worked to change such as shortening skirts to reveal ankles, removing corsets and updating popular hairstyles to a short bob.
Coco – Inside Chanel, Chapter 5
Dior's Homme fragrance
Dior’s Dior Homme – The Film - French label Christian Dior increased the exposure of its new men’s fragrance Dior Homme through extensive social media content featuring brand ambassador and actor Robert Pattinson.
The announcement of Mr. Pattinson as the face of the brand’s fragrance has driven much attention to the campaign due to the anticipation arising from his own fan base. Brands are able to target specific consumer groups by selecting a brand ambassador with an eager following.
Dior officially launched its campaign for the new Homme fragrance on Sept. 1 after it had begun releasing sneak peeks on its social media platforms featuring Mr. Pattinson. The brand released campaign stills and teaser videos prior to the official launch to increase anticipation among consumers.
The official video, titled “The Film,” stars Mr. Pattinson and was directed by Romain Gavras. As the black-and-white video begins, the viewer sees Mr. Pattinson sitting on a roof while Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” plays.
The video concludes with a shot of the fragrance bottle and a prompt for viewers looking to discover more. By following the dedicated link to http://www.diorhommeparfum.com, viewers are brought to Dior’s beauty section of its Web site where a photo of Mr. Pattinson appears as the background.
Viewers can watch the extended version of The Film titled “1,000 Lives” on the Dior Web site along with exclusive scene extensions accessible through the side bar.
Dior Homme – The Film
Fendi's Harrods 2Jours handbag
Fendi’s Limited Edition 2Jours Bag - Italian fashion label Fendi publicized its participation in London department store Harrods’ Handbag Narrative exhibit by releasing a short video that showcases the craftsmanship behind its specifically designed handbag.
The video shows a Fendi craftsman creating the individual elements of the exclusive 2Jours handbag sold at Harrods. Through the video, Fendi is able to show off its craftsmanship while promoting the event at Harrods.
Harrods’s Handbag Narrative was created to boost foot traffic within the retailer’s newly expanded luxury accessories department through a museum-like exhibit featuring 20 luxury handbag designers such as Mulberry, Gucci, Prada and Fendi.The brand created five of the 2Jours handbags to be sold exclusively at Harrods’ Handbag Narrative exhibit. The exclusive 2Jours is made of “Harrods’ green” crocodile skin.
Fendi begins the 108-second video by showing the details of the crocodile skin that will be crafted into one of the brand’s standout products.A work station is shown as a craftsman places a large sections of crocodile skin onto the table.
Using a template and exacto blade the craftsman carefully cuts out the panels of skin that will later become the exterior sides of a 2Jours handbag. By focusing on on the small details involved in created Fendi’s handbag, the viewer learns how the handbag’s tassel is constructed and how the skin is glued to other pieces to create the signature 2Jours shape.
Limited Edition 2Jours Bag video
Gucci's Lady Lock handbag with bamboo handle
Gucci’s Bamboo Confidential - Italian fashion house Gucci is using two different advertising campaigns to simultaneously promote specific aspects of its handbag collection in order to appeal to a wider audience of consumers.
Both the “Bamboo Confidential” ad campaign and the fourth and final “Forever Now” effort feature handbags with Gucci’s iconic bamboo handles. Gucci likely increased advertising for its bamboo-handle handbags to associate its brand image with these traditional products.
Daily Facebook posts promoted the Bamboo Confidential campaign stills and included a video. The short 70-second video was shot in Fairmont Hotel and Resort’s Savoy Hotel in London and features suspenseful music.
The film begins as a woman steps out of a taxi outside the hotel where a man is waiting. The camera then focuses on her boots and navy blue handbag as she enters the hotel and camera flashes appear behind her.
The man remains outside and viewers see that he is holding a camera. The scene returns to the woman, who places her handbag on a baggage cart, as “starring the Lady Lock” appears in text. After the women is passed a second bag and the text “and the Bamboo Shopper” appears, she steps into the elevator.
Bamboo Confidential
Hermès silver jewelry
Hermès’ The Sound of Hermès Silver - French leather goods and scarves maker Hermès captivated fans in a digital campaign with a symphonic video inspired by the brand’s new silver jewelry collection.
Although the brand has ventured into the digital arena before, ”The Sound of Hermès Silver” campaign is designed to reach a global audience. The campaign draws on the expertise of various artists to deliver an artful video that aligns with the brand’s commitment to innovation and craftsmanship.
United Visual Artists, a London-based art and design practice, created an installation to display the 16 pieces of jewelry on metallic turntables powered by cogs. Lasers scan the turntables and produce a sound.
The sound for each piece seeks to reflect its dimensions and was invented by the musician YoggyOne. Director Caswell Coggins shot and directed the artistic performance.
The video begins with alternately broad and close-up shots of the mysterious arrangement of turntables and cogs. Lasers move over the different jewelry pieces to elicit new sounds. As the lasers pick up speed, the sounds layer over one another creating a symphonic-like ambience.
The Sound of Hermès Silver
IWC timepiece featured in video
IWC Schaffhausen celebrating Swiss National Day - Swiss watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen showed its playful side by honoring Swiss National Day Aug. 1 with a social video that celebrates Switzerland’s national holiday with music.
The short video displays the precision used to create IWC timepieces in a whimsical way. IWC’s two-minute video opens with its logo and fades to a second screen with the words “How IWC Schaffhausen celebrates Swiss National Day, August 1.”
As the background comes into focus the viewer is given a peek inside IWC’s Schaffhausen workshop. The workshop is lined with craftsmen tables equipped with tools needed to build timepieces. At each station sits an IWC watchmaker busy at work.
Next, Mr. Klaus is walking past the craftsman tables. As he walks, the video zooms in shots of what a few individual watchmakers are working on. When Mr. Klaus gets to the head of the workshop he raises a baton, tapping it on a table as a way to signal the other watchmakers to attention. Mr. Klaus becomes the conductor of an IWC watchmaker orchestra made of miniature horns and percussion instruments.
The IWC watchmakers play their instruments using the tools they would otherwise use to create IWC timepieces. Miniature instruments played include cymbals, a kick drum, xylophone, tuba, trombone and a traditional Swiss alphorn.
IWC Schaffhausen celebrating Swiss National Day
Lanvin 2013 winter campaign
Lanvin 2013 winter advertising video - French apparel and accessories brand Lanvin promoted its men’s and women’s winter collections through a short video that focuses on the models’ internal monologues about love, life and the pronunciation of the label’s name.
The 60-second video jumps between shots of men and women wearing the new collection with each model portraying different emotions. Since many apparel brands are now pushing fall/winter collections, brands need to create campaigns that help their collections stay top-of-mind to consumers.
The short video cuts between scenes of men and women wearing the new collection and having internal discussions about different topics. One woman wearing a black-and-white printed dress and holding a dark red bag discusses love. The video shows off her outfit as she says, “The worst kind of love is misdirected love. That’s a killer.”
In between talking about love and life, each of the models says their own pronunciation of Lanvin. One man, who has a British accent, says, “A lot of my English friends say ‘Lan-vin.’”
The Lanvin 2013 winter advertising video can be viewed here.
2014 IS Sport Sedan
Lexus’ #LexusInstaFilm - Toyota Corp.’s Lexus promoted the 2014 IS vehicle with a collaboratively created, stop-motion Instagram film that draws on the perspectives of 212 fans to show the vehicle in a range of angles and tones.
Under the orchestration of a directorial team during Instagram’s #WorldwideInstameet, car enthusiasts and Instagram users from a variety of background blended their personalities in a film that colorfully animates the IS. By leveraging Instagram in this unifying fashion, Lexus will likely grab the attention of a younger demographic and potentially trigger more collaborative, stop-motion films.
Jacob Rosenberg and the Bandito Brothers directed the film that features the song “Hefe” by The Hit House. A 2014 Lexus IS F Sport weaved throughout the lot to permit a wide range of views and so the vehicle appeared in a natural setting.
Marks were drawn on the grounds to instruct people on where to stand and at what angle to take shots of the vehicle. Directors facilitated this process with 3-D mapping technology, however, participants could edit the shots however they wanted. The directorial team then printed out each still, clipped them to a huge board and sequenced them to create a coherent film.
#LexusInstaFilm
Prada Real Fantasies
Prada Real Fantasies fall/winter 2013 - Italian fashion house Prada’s use of an abstract theme in the fall/winter collection video is helping the brand stand out from other fashion marketers’ promotions this season.
The “Prada Real Fantasies fall/winter 2013” short film shows off Prada’s creative side and is likely to capture the attention of consumers with its fast-pace, abstract action sequences. Although the video is attention grabbing, it fails to highlight the collection as much as other videos have.
The 128-second video starts out with a woman changing the stations on her TV. She wears a dress from the fall/winter collection. She changes the TV through a number of different stations until she stops on one that shows another woman making a phone call.
Then, the screen cuts to a man in his room making a phone call. The phone rings and a woman in another location walks over to pick it up. In the background of this woman’s room is a picture of the man who called her.
Lastly, a woman walks into a room while reading a book. She looks at the camera while walking forward when the background objects fade away and the credits appear. After the credits, two models are shown adjusting their apparel in what appears to be a bathroom until they walk away and it fades to black.
Real Fantasies fall/winter 2013
Valentino Tan-go shoes
Valentino Tan-go video - Italian label Valentino pushed the new Tan-go shoe collection in a “The Wizard of Oz”-themed video featuring its sparkling red heels.
Valentino’s “Sparkling Red Explosion” campaign for the Tan-go shoes was promoted on the brand’s digital platforms including social media, email and the homepage of its Web site. The label is likely to attract consumer attention by incorporating a well-known and playful theme into the campaign.
The 37-second video starts off with a curtain being drawn to reveal a pair of sparking red heels. The heels move about in a tap dance to show off their shimmering color, then move apart as a spiral made out of paper comes between them and spins through the screen.
The video cuts to another scene of the heels back to back as a white hand emerges from the ground and attempts to seize the shoes. Then, the heels spin around and click together as the background changes to yellow and a shimmery path emerges in front of them.
The path leads to a castle in the distance, which seems to be a play on The Wizard of Oz. The video ends as the shoes come together once again and are shown in the spotlight clicking heels together as the curtain closes.
Valentino’s video can be viewed on its Web site.
Final Take
Jen King, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York