There’s nothing better than the 100% branding ad

I’ve been working on a couple of longer blog posts this week, but the truth is that the post-cottage-vacation re-entry is proving more difficult than usual (I’m assuming this is baby-related and will pass in, like, 12 years).  So today I’m giving you my current favourite tv commercial:

What’s so great about it, you ask?  Well, first of all, it’s hard to argue with any ad that uses Girls on Film (I don’t care how trendy they got later, I loved Duran Duran‘s first two albums).  But mostly I love high-end fragrance/fashion ads because they’re basically 100% branding.  No call to action, no benefit statements, no offers or fine print or comparisons – just hard-core art direction, beautiful people, and emotional resonance.  This Michael Kors ad is all that plus a whole early-80s Jerry Hall-Bryan Ferry vibe, to wit:

jerry hall bryan ferry

Is this ad going to drive incremental sales for Michael Kors?  Who knows?  (I suspect the answer is yes, because they’ve done a great job of positioning Michael Kors as a sort of higher-end brand while keeping the price points much lower than other luxury brands – Louboutins may cost you $800 a pair, but Michael Kors shoes can be had for $250.)  I don’t really care – sometimes I just like to enjoy ads for their own sake.