Luxury Daily –
Lanvin animated greeting card
Most luxury brands wish their followers a happy holiday season through social media by displaying a photo or writing their well wishes to remind loyal consumers that they are appreciated.
Some brands, including Chanel, Lanvin and Louis Vuitton, took a more whimsical approach, creating animated videos to spread holiday cheer and show that while they are luxury brands, they also have a fun side. By going a step further with their holiday greetings, these brands were able to communicate their individuality and further engage consumers.
“In my opinion, these videos don’t dilute brand equity or negatively affect brand perception,” said Michael Miraflor, vice president of strategy at , New York. “The holiday season is a time to let one’s guard down, and be festive and fun.
“The short lengths of these videos speak to the snackable short-media consumption of the ever more mobile consumer, and have not-so-subtle nods to the meme-driven type of imagery that dominates this type of irreverent content,” he said.
“At the end of the day, I think it’s important to remember that brands have personalities, and it’s okay for them to let loose at the holiday party as well.”
Fun with fashion
Chanel’s video was wintry white, with a pop-up book style of animation.
Chanel’s video begins with the image of a white Christmas tree, with glittering snow falling around it. The screen pans and white buildings begin to emerge from the ground, unfolding themselves.
Video still
Streetlights begin to turn on, and the light emanating travels in a serpentine pattern through the avenue, lighting the consecutive lamps. Viewers can now see the Chanel logo clearly on a building, designed to look like the brand’s Paris flagship store.
Video still
The light then reaches inside the building, and it glows from the inside. A tower rises out of the ground, with the Chanel double C logo atop.
The angle of the picture changes, and it is evident that the scene was on top of a Chanel No 5 bottle. The pop-ups collapse into the lid of the perfume, and the bottle becomes part of a Christmas card.
Chanel Holiday Wishes 2014
Lanvin’s video took its creative director Alber Elbaz’s style of fashion illustrations and turned it into a card. A woman in heels and a party dress stands on a ladder, stretching to reach the Christmas tree she is decorating.
A sketch of Mr. Elbaz wearing a Santa hat suddenly appears out of the tree, holding a dog and a gift.
Video still
Just as the designer hands her the box, the dog gets a hold of the ladder and knocks it over, sending the woman and the present flying. Mr. Elbaz catches her, and the box flies open, sending an oversize necklace into the air and onto the woman’s neck.
Lanvin Happy Holidays 2014 – The Animated Card
Louis Vuitton’s video is a continuation of the brand’s goose-themed gift guide. This time, the brand is showing the goose’s “outtakes” from the filming of the guide.
The screen shows the video camera status screen surrounding the footage of the goose. In one shot, the goose is wearing a handbag on its head, and topples over as it tries to shift the weight between its feet.
Video still
In another outtake, the goose is riding a bag with wheels, and ends up rolling backwards off the screen.
Louis Vuitton Presents The Goose’s Outtakes from the Holiday Collection
All three brands posted their videos to their Facebook pages, aiming to elicit shares from their followers. As of press time, Chanel’s video had been shared around 7,500 times and had close to 31,000 likes.
There were some opportunities to increase the views and reach of these videos, since the messaging is an important one.
“Cards of this nature serve as a ‘thank you’ to loyal customers to celebrate a good year, and remind consumers to consider their products as they complete their holiday shopping,” Mr. Miraflor said.
“I think all of the brands here can do a much better job at distributing this message, however, as none of them have stellar view counts,” he said. “Owned channels such as email lists and social platforms can be used to distribute these holiday cards very efficiently.
“There is also no reason why these cards shouldn’t be featured on the home page of their respective Web sites during key holiday ecommerce periods.”
Chic cartoons
Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana is showing the global appeal of its The One fragrance with a holiday-themed animated social video.
Following the Martin Scorcese-directed television advertisement for the same fragrance, the brand has taken a lighter tone with this video, which shows a The One bottle floating around the world on a parachute, bumping into the label’s creative directors in every location. This video serves as both a greeting card to its followers and an advertisement for Dolce & Gabbana beauty, specifically its the one fragrance ().
Animation may seem like an odd choice for a luxury brand, but when created in a way that represents the brand, it can delight viewers while maintaining luxury status.
Online menswear retailer Mr Porter released a short video based on beloved British children’s book and television series Mr Benn to appeal to consumer nostalgia during the holiday season.
Mr Porter enlisted the original writer of the Mr Benn book and BBC series, David McKee, who used a similar story line for the retailer, showing the title character going to his favorite costume shop, but then choosing to shop instead from the Mr Porter app. By using a familiar character in a holiday promotion, Mr Porter is able to both entertain consumers and promote its own services ().
These videos, because of their amusing nature, are likely to be shared by the brands’ followers across social media platforms.
“I think these videos are innately more shareable, not necessarily because they are cartoons but because they tell a good story,” said , New York-based content marketing consultant and social media marketer.
“We can assume that more videos and related content of this nature will appear online in the future, helping these brands tell their story,” he said.
Final Take
Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
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