Читать книгу Luxury Brand Management in Digital and Sustainable Times - Michel Chevalier - Страница 29

In opposition to Zara's positioning—mass affordable latest fashion—we can evoke the watchmaker Patek Philippe's 2018 advertising campaign for its men's collection: a video in black and white, a timeless tone, a father with his young son, a mother with her daughter in luxury contexts around the world; a watch model shown at the end of the video after the legendary slogan: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.” The slogan has been used for more than 10 years, and that makes it one with the most longevity. The advertising highlights tradition and heritage values, permanence, and uniqueness of the product, all in opposition to the logic of volume. The key ingredients of true luxury are gathered in this communication, cleverly removing any culpability for the buyer. The economic and utilitarian dimensions are fully occulted in favor of the transmission of values: the watch is no longer a luxury in the sense of an expensive whim; it becomes a pure symbol of tradition, and a wise investment.

We have used the term true luxury to distinguish it from intermediate luxury, because the question of authenticity is decisive. True luxury never lies or pretends to be what it is not. Patek Philippe promotes its authenticity through the transparency between its brand identity and its communication. The watchmaker shows itself as a family business whose roots date back to the nineteenth century, defending a lasting legacy of excellence and innovation and intending to promote its watches through its brand values. The brand comments its own campaigns in terms that clearly refer to the existential values of the top right vertex of the semiotic square of consumption values: “our visuals show a father introducing his son to the idealized world of Patek Philippe—a world where our customers can belong and share the perennial values of our family business.”