What is significant about this ad from fashion and luxury goods purveyor Hermes?
It’s not that there’s nothing the least bit vulgar or titillating about it. Or that it occupied the back cover of a speciality magazine (Opera News) with advertising focused almost exclusively on its specialty.
No, what makes the ad, and another from the same campaign that appeared the month before (above), significant is that little bit of copy on the left edge.
It says “Publicis EtNous.” This ad is signed by the ad agency. Publicis EtNous is based in Paris and specializes in luxury advertising.
Blogs are about opinion, but after thinking and thinking about this bit of vanity, I don’t know what to think. Maybe Schifino Lee should do it too (will clients want rebates in return?) Advertising has always been an anonymous craft—our talent is put to the service of others. Our reward is job satisfaction and some occasional peer recognition. Is “such things are not done” enough reason to stay anonymous? Perhaps, if we ever get the time, Ben, Roxie, Nordin, Eric and I will sit down and hash it out.
One more thing: These are exquisite ads. The photography is just gorgeous and they have a very dramatic, almost operatic feel to them, as if a there is a lush romantic story being told (among the rooftops of Paris) that we only get tiny glimpses of. I don’t know if I want to buy some Hermes, but I do want to listen to La Boheme.
