Advertising: 'The Shoemaker and the Stars' (Christian Louboutin)

'Tis the season where luxury brands try to woo shoppers with promises of embedded magic in their products... It also makes for some very pretty ad campaigns this time of year. Released Monday December 5th, this commercial for the current Louboutin campaign, is worth a look for fairy tale folk.

“The Tale of the Shoemaker and the Stolen Stars” tells the story of a young cobbler, who is seduced by fame and fortune into breaking a promise. Told in the format of cartoon fairy tale films, this short video plays on consumers' nostalgia. (luxurydaily)

Shoes often get the holiday magic treatment and Louboutin seems to be forming a tradition of fantasy and fairy tale-esque storytelling with regard to their products. Shoes have a long history of fairy tale involvement and it's no surprise shoe companies use this to their advantage. We think it's pretty smart marketing.

From Louboutin's Facebook page:

The Queen of the land planned a magnificent ball to celebrate the birth of her twin daughters. She would invite the most distinguished and elegant people in the land. Beautiful, yet vain, she vowed, “I shall be the finest and the most radiant. I shall shine like the stars. I shall glisten and glitter. Everyone shall call me heaven, for I will be just as wondrous and celestial.” 

Our artisan went to work to make Her Majesty the most beautiful shoes in all the land. He implored the sky to lend him its stars for what would surely be a creative masterpiece. Feeling affection for its unlikely friend, the sky generously agreed, but as midnight struck, it gave the shoemaker a solemn warning to return the stars to the sky or the land would be plunged into darkness. He gave his word to the sky and the stars began to float and then soar towards him, one by one, and then in droves. 

From the precision with which he wielded his knife to carve the elegant wooden forms, to each single star he secured, the shoemaker did it all with consummate care. Turning a completed shoe in his hand, he was astonished by the light it radiated. He admired the graceful silhouette of each shoe. The night was dull without the stars, but as the shoes smoldered, the artisan felt certain they would enchant the Queen. Adding the finishing touches, he dipped his paintbrush in a glossy red lacquer and licked it across the soles. 

When his work was done, the artisan sped to the royal residence. On the steps of the palace, he laid a box bearing only his name, Christian Louboutin. The shoes, snug inside, emitted an incandescent glow. Needless to say, the hard-to-please Queen was delighted with the work of the young shoemaker! And surely enough, her celestial beauty mesmerized guests at the ball, all eyes drawn to her feet as they twinkled across the palace floor. 

The artisan’s reward for his work was a chest filled with exquisite materials and fine tools, the finest he had ever laid eyes on. He imagined instantly all he could create, and the riches these creations would bring him. But the offering from Her Majesty came with a catch. He could only have the chest in exchange for the shoes and the stars...forever. The artisan gazed into the night sky, musing wishfully. Surely the moon and sun would never truly deprive the land of their light? 

Years later, the land was still shadowed in darkness and the princesses had grown into bold, beautiful women. The artisan got word that the sisters were quarreling, so he created a lustrous clutch to captivate them. They thanked him for his wisdom and skill but before he let them keep his creation, they had to grant him just one wish… 

The full fairy tale is revealed below:

Pretty nice work! Props to the artists, writers and filmmakers who did a lovely job of continuing the tradition of the lure of magic shoes.

(Why does this remind us of Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge?)