Recently Dior partnered with David Lynch (the often misunderstood, but yet revered director of such films as Blue Velvet [1986] and Mulholland Drive [1999]) to create a 16-minute short film about the Sapphire Patent Lady Dior bag.  In Lynch’s words, the partnership was formed based on this agreement:  “[Dior] called me up and said, ‘Would you like to make a short film for the internet?  You can do anything you want, you just need to show the handbag, the Pearl Tower and some of old Shanghai.”

Just the type of vague prompt that I suspect our Twin Peaks auteur dreams of.

It’s the third installment in their Lady Dior short film series and there are a few things that I really like about it:

• They’ve created a story and a feeling to associate with a handbag.  In Lady Blue Shanghai that handbag becomes the manifestation of the main character’s love for the lost man.  I think, on the product side of things, it does show that the Dior handbag seems more valuable.  More emotional.  And, for the right audience, more justifiable from a cost perspective.
• I don’t think the piece, overall, feels “luxury,” however, there are some nice upscale touches (the description of the sound the pearls make in the tower when they hit the jade, the casting/continued partnership with Marion Cotillard).  Perhaps this was intentional.  Handbags – even luxury handbags – are now meant for everyday use.  Dior seems to want to bridge that gap – bringing luxury to women on a daily basis.  Perhaps a smart move – in a recession, many customers might need a stronger incentive to spend $1k+ on a handbag, even those in the target audience who have the means.  If they can use the bag every day, perhaps that is the nudge they need to push them to purchase.
• It makes me like Dior a bit more knowing that they aren’t just saying they’re an upscale, design-driven brand but that they are in fact creating art.

Similarly, I like this longer format piecethat Nike created as a promo for the upcoming World Cup.  Much like Dior, the work was produced with the intent always being to release it online.  This is happening with more and more frequency.  And something my company, Uppercut Motion and Sound, likes to recommend to our clients. In the case of Nike, that debut occurred on Facebook – which seems to be where Nike plans to feature all of their World Cup work (according to several blogs).  That decision to decentralize their content is an interesting one.  Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.