pace knows no bounds, and no man has yet travelled beyond the Moon. In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of man's conquest of the Moon, the Louis Vuitton corporate advertising campaign pushes back the very limits of travel. 

Travel as a personal journey, featured in earlier Core Values campaigns, now becomes a historical expedition, an event that has the power to change the destiny of all mankind. 

Reaffirming its special links with the greatest, Louis Vuitton has brought together Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon, Jim Lovell, the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, and Sally Ride, the first American woman to venture into space.

© Louis Vuitton / Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz, the famous photographer, has photographed these three remarkable people, who have led extraordinary personal careers, in a pick-up truck on the high plateaux of the Californian desert.

The Louis Vuitton Icare travel bag in Monogram canvas - Icare being an allusion to the hero of Greek mythology - is illuminated by the almost supernatural intensity of moonlight. Icarus dreamt of flying to the Sun, and Louis Vuitton and the three astronauts share this desire to travel ever further.

In conjunction with the advertising campaign, Louis Vuitton is launching a dedicated website on which the three astronauts share their experience of space. 

Offering as it does an unprecedented level of interactivity, this website allows internet users to become film directors themselves by controlling the cameras to create their own version of the film.

The company also shows its commitment to the environment by introducing Al Gore's association, The Climate Project, to which it is making a donation on behalf of the three astronauts.

A remarkable campaign that commemorates the greatest of journeys, and takes us on a journey that knows no bounds.  

www.louisvuittonjourneys.com

(Published on July 17, 2009)