Handbag got you down? Join the club.
Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 09:49AM 
I’ve never been a fan of depressing advertising imagery.
It makes me not want to buy the product. Take this recent ad from Bottega Veneta. What are they trying to tell us? Is the young couple on suicide watch? Is the handbag hoping that by looking crumpled and neglected someone will take pity and buy it? And more perplexingly, is the female model actually wearing a large bottle opener around her neck? In attempting to decipher the story, I uncovered 3 key points of communication - none of which I suspect Bottega Veneta intended.
1. Even models are depressed by the decline in luxury handbag sales.
2. There are only 2 places rich people (to whom this ad ostensibly appeals) can now safely be seen with a new $10,000 handbag during the recession.
a. The gated and electrified confines of their own homes.
b. The gated and electrified confines of a meth house, peeling paint included.
3. If your boyfriend is more mesmerized by your new handbag than you are (as he appears to be here) he’s your girlfriend.
What ever happened to the element of desire in fashion advertising -- that giddy-making factor that makes me (or more importantly women with deep pockets) want to leap onto the page, mug the models and flee the set with the bag? Apparently it's busy making the cash register ring in someone else’s ad.
Fashion, bottega veneta, luxury handbags in advertising
Reader Comments (3)
Mark - you are brilliant and hilarious as ever....Bottega has long been one of my favorite brands, appearing as it did to be somewhat "under the radar" or a bit of a dog whistle brand compared to the Dior's or Dolce & Gabbana's of this world. But your review of their ad is spot on and hilarious...they deserve a good slagging. Time for an end to the It bag madness? I don't think I'll ever stop lusting over their beautifully crafted products but nice to see 'em skewered all the same!
Susan dear, forgive my tardy reply to your kind response but I just now figured out how to access comments. Duh! Can't wait to get cracking on OMHU. Cheers.
Good article. It's refreshing to see an article where a girl admits that a) girls control the dating scene and b) girls often pick guys who "know how they love bags" rather than choose quality bags. I can't tell you how many of my girl-friends say something to the effect of "I don't know what I saw in that jerk!" Stuff like "The Pickup Artist" works...but its because it relies on psychology and manipulation. Not something to emulate, in my opinion.
Girls, give that cute, if not shy and awkward, guy a chance! He might be the one you're looking for!