Ad Musings: Louis Vuitton

Angelina Jolie in Cambodia.

My Mom was so cranky when she saw Angelina Jolie's new Louis Vuitton full-page ad in the New York Times. Mommy feels that it's in poor taste to sit in the middle of an impoverished country with a several thousand dollar handbag. I agree.  It is in poor taste, and feels very post-colonial. Especially since it's half-French woman with a bag from a French company in former French Indochina.

However, Jolie,  photographed by Annie Leibovitz, gave her fees to charity. Ironically, the specific bag she is posing with is discontinued.  That doesn't really matter, since they're advertising the brand and an idea, not a particular item.  You can read a bit more about Jolie's photo over at Huff Po.  Apparently this is the most recent in a campaign that I've mostly missed, or just didn't connect to one another. Here's Bono and his wife:

Read about Bono and Ali Hewson's spread in South Africa here.

After the jump, lots more about this campaign, including Sally Ride, Pelé, Gorby and more.

Ad Musings: Disney Dreams

Famed photographer Annie Leibovitz reprises her work with Disney with another installment in her enchanted ad campaign for Disney Parks. The ads feature celebrities posed as our favorite Disney characters. Because what are celebrities if not our modern day princesses, heroes and villains?  Here are a few of my favorite new images, plus a couple from past seasons as well. If you're itching for more, head on over to Huff Po for their slideshow. Also check out the behind the scenes video from the shoot over at Disney.

This first one is my favorite from the new campaign and features Jeff Bridges as The Prince and Penelope Cruz as Belle.  It combines elements from two of my all time favorite movies, The Big Lebowski and Beauty and the Beast. Make sure to click on the pics for more detail.

Julianne Moore as Ariel & Michael Phelps as a merman

Alec Baldwin as the Spirit in the Mirror, Olivia Wilde as the Evil Queen

Click through for more great photos featuring David Beckham, Roger Federer and Scarlett Johansson and more!