Earlier this year news about the $10 million Louis Vuitton x Angelina Jolie deal infected all media channels from national newspapers to social networks. In anticipation we’ve been waiting to see the outcome and naturally expected to be blown away with the result. Finally, the teaser and the print ad have been released for public’s admiration. The serene and barefoot actress, captured by Annie Leibovitz, aboard a traditional wooden boat, gazes off into the distance in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, where a few years ago she adopted her eldest son, Maddox.

Louis Vuitton Core Values campaigns revisit the brand’s heritage with a completely fresh interpretation of the concept of travel in an emotional sense, viewed as a personal journey, a process of self-discovery. The campaign debuted in September 2007 in major international titles featuring no other but the former Soviet statesman Mikhail Gorbachev, the French movie siren Catherine Deneuve and the tennis power couple Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.

Committed to promoting environmental responsibility and sustainable development, Louis Vuitton shared the convictions of the exceptional people in the campaign. It made donations to The Climate Project, spearheaded by Al Gore, on behalf of Catherine Deneuve, André Agassi and Steffi Graf.  For Mikhail Gorbachev, the donation will be made to Green Cross International, of which he is the founder and chairman. According to Arnault, the campaign have led to “good results on the products that are shown in the campaigns.”and was continued in 2008 with another set of living legends.

Photographed on a beach near his home in the Bahamas, the iconic actor is propped on a wooden dock next to a waterproof version of Vuitton’s Keepall bag. Such is Connery’s natural elegance, the photo Leibovitz submitted was actually a test, before he was handed over to the hair and makeup crews.

The founding member of The Rolling Stones was captured in a New York hotel room that he transformed by draping black scarves over the lamps and placing a skull on a bedside table.

Pietro Beccari, Senior VP of Communication explains this shot: “Not only does it capture the unique quality of a father-daughter relationship, in which both are enriched by a shared experience, but it also evokes the heritage of Louis Vuitton with its suggestion of know-how being passed from one generation to the next.”

Here celebrating the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11’s first steps on the Moon, the ad features legendary astronauts Sally Ride (first American woman in space), Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11, first steps on the Moon, 1969) and Jim Lovell (Apollo 13) looking up in the Californian desert night sky.

In 2010 Brazil’s Pelé, Argentina’s Diego Maradona and France’s Zinedine Zidane all won football’s ultimate prize, and all wore the emblematic N°10 shirt. They met up in the Café Maravillas, a typical bar in Madrid, and were tempted into a game of table football. The image leaves the suspense intact, but clearly captures the atmosphere of fun and friendly rivalry.

Given the photographer of all Core Value campaigns personal and financial troubles in 2010, Louis Vuitton wished to offer support in the most positive way and suggested that Annie Leibovitz become the next campaign’s hero. She accepted on the condition that she appears alongside for friend and one of the foremost dancers of the 20th century, Mikhail Baryshnikov.

This is the first time U2 frontman Bono has appeared in an ad sans his bandmates, but instead with his wife Ali Hewson. It’s also the first time that a label other than Louis Vuitton is getting a fashion credit – the pair are wearing their own clothing line Edun, a line of ethical fashion. Proceeds from the sales will go to TechnoServe, which supports sustainable farming in Africa.

As the pioneer of the art du voyage, Louis Vuitton is always on the look out for the exceptional people with extraordinary journeys. The question is who will be next?

by Olga Titarenko
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