When Advertising Highlights the Binomial Identity Values of Luxury and CSR Principles: The Examples of Louis Vuitton and Hermès

Abstract

In a controversial context, luxury houses have followed the ancestral values of artisanal production, with respect for materials, the environment, and people, thereby facilitating their current application of the principles promoted by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). They used to publish their CSR results in their annual reports and via their websites but can also do it implicitly through their advertisements. For the first time, the advertising creation and decoding process together with a semiotic analysis of two Louis Vuitton and Hermès advertisements bring out the semiotic wealth of the discourse of the images and the identity narratives of each label, as well as listing the implicit identity values of luxury and linking them to the various principles of CSR. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

The impact of value perceptions on purchase intention of sustainable luxury brands in China and the UK

“…Scholarly research has begun documenting sustainability efforts of luxury brands (Athwal et al 2019 ; Anido Freire and Loussaïef 2018 ; Han et al 2017 ; Macchion et al 2018 ; Mititelu et al 2014 ), suggesting that incorporation of sustainability into luxury brands should not be ignored (Winston 2016 ). However, since the first mention of sustainable luxury as a separate construct by Bendell and Kleanthous’s ( 2007 ), there has been an ongoing debate on whether the concept of luxury is even compatible with sustainability (Kapferer and Michaut-Denizeau 2014 ; Achabou and Dekhili 2013 ).…”

“…Luxury brands are increasingly criticized for their unethical and unsustainable practices. This has led to some brands committing more to sustainable and socially responsible initiatives (Anido Freire and Loussaïef 2018 ; Mititelu et al 2014 ). While there is increasing scholarly attention given to sustainable luxury research, a recent systematic review of literature between 2007 and 2018 revealed that few studies have sought to understand sustainability within the luxury marketplace (Athwal et al 2019 ).…”

Luxury products for the circular economy? A case study of Bang & Olufsen

“…Quality is furthermore associated with a high level of safety and with the comfortability and usability of the luxury product (Heine & Phan, ). The durability of the luxury product is also part of the quality aspect (Anido Freire, ; Anido Freire & Loussaïef, ; Heine & Phan, ), and part of the durability of luxury products is that they are timeless and unique (Carcano, ). Furthermore, the level of service, both when purchasing the product and in after‐sales interactions, is part of the quality experience of a luxury product (Heine & Phan, ).…”

“…Both Kapferer () and Keller () suggest that this does not only apply to the luxury product itself but also to the services surrounding it, such as extended warranties and service schemes. Luxury products are also often associated with timeless design (Anido Freire & Loussaïef, ; Carcano, ; Hennigs, Klarmann, & Labenz, ; Joy, Sherry, Venkatesh, Wang, & Chan, ; Kapferer & Bastien, ) and, therefore, are less likely to be perceived as obsolete or out of fashion. This further increases the likelihood of a long service life of the product, of reuse, and of maintenance of the product.…”

Maximizing performance throughCSR: The mediator role of theCSRprinciples in the shipbuilding industry

“…Transparency also requires that companies disclose, inform, and publish their CSR behaviours. In this regard, some global companies have sought to highlight their CSR achievements by including such information in their advertising, which has favoured the improvement of its brand image (Anido Freire & Loussaïef, 2018).…”