Ad for Angelina Jolie for Louis Vuitton Premieres

Angelina Jolie is the latest star to endorse Louis Vuitton, in a campaign that aims to bring everything back to basics, by showing that the value of the LV bags lies with the person wearing them – Jolie, in this case. The first ad has just premiered.

As we also noted some time ago, the “Core Values” campaign sets out to show the actress in a light she’s never been seen before in a commercial, be it for a luxury brand or a more “regular” one.

It takes Jolie back to Cambodia, where she first traveled many years ago, a journey that would eventually change her life, as LV also says.

“In 2000, Angelina Jolie made her first trip to Cambodia… It was a journey that would change her life forever,” LV says.

The ad, showing Jolie walking in the sun and admiring the view, is as simple as it’s delicate and gorgeous. It doesn’t feature a well-known LV tote and doesn’t include any dialog from Angelina – but none is really needed, come to think of it.

Perhaps commercials from the same campaign to be released at a later date will do both.

“Vuitton introduced the advertising concept in 2007 as a way to trumpet its travel roots and showcase its perennial monogrammed leather goods as a balance to its fashion-driven marketing – and to reach a broader audience,” WWD wrote at the time the first print ad with Jolie came out, as we also informed you.

And, while Angelina was reportedly paid $10 million for the Louis Vuitton contract, the focus of the campaign will be on simplicity.

In fact, when she showed up to pose for the first official ad, she didn’t even want to have her hair and makeup done by a professional as is customary with stars, let alone one of her own caliber.

“People are not used to seeing Angelina in this situation. I like the fact that it’s a real moment. This travel message we give through personal journeys is a fundamental one for the brand,” Pietro Beccari, Vuitton’s executive vice president, said back then.

Jolie showed up in her own clothes, after doing her own makeup and hair, and, most importantly for LV, wearing her own, “weathered” Vuitton bag.