Analysis of an Advert: A Short Film For Lacoste — “Timeless”
How & Why Lacoste Made a Film about a love story that exists across time
Directed by Seb Edwards, Timeless tells the tale of a love story across time. However, this love story manages to share many parallels with the story of the Lacoste brand. Timeless uses a time-traveling love story as a framework to illustrate the longevity and classic nature of the Lacoste fashion brand. The film is filled with interesting parallels between its narrative and the history of Lacoste.
A man and woman rush across a train platform. She is moving towards the train, and he’s moving away. The two accidentally bump into each other as they rush. And for a moment, as the rest of the crowd move around them, they share eye contact before continuing on their way. They each steal a glance back as they leave. The man, deep in thought, is about to leave the train station. But the woman is still on his mind. In a moment of spontaneity, he turns and runs back to the train. He strides across the platform catching the train just as it’s leaving.
To understand the significance of this aspect of the story you need to know a bit about the history of Lacoste. Lacoste was started in 1933 by René Lacoste. He had never set out to be the head of a fashion brand. He was a successful professional tennis player. Towards the end of the 1920s, Rene Lacoste was ranked as the number one tennis player in the world. He had won multiple Grand Slam tournaments, Wimbledon multiple times and even won a medal at the Olympics. But he didn’t like the clothing that he and many other tennis players would wear, or tennis whites as they were known
Tennis Whites were made up of long sleeve button downs and pants, both of which were usually white. Sometimes they would even wear ties. He found playing in tennis whites uncomfortable and restrictive. So Lacoste set out to solve the problem himself. He wanted something that was classy while remaining breathable and easy to move in. Before the creation of the Lacoste brand, initially called La Chemise Lacoste(The Lacoste Shirt), Rene Lacoste had a shirt made for himself to play in. It would be the first of what would be the brand’s signature polo shirts. And with this Rene Lacoste made the significant career shift from world-class tennis player, to the founder of a world-class fashion brand.
Within the film’s opening moments this part of the Lacoste brands story is told. We see a man rushing across a train platform moving away from a train. And by accident, he brushes against a woman who catches his eye. Within the framework of the typical love story, this is the classic ‘love-at-first-sight’ moment. This reflects the story of how Rene Lacoste first came to love the simple design of the polo.
In an interview, Rene Lacoste spoke about having seen a friend of his wear a polo shirt at a tennis court. Seeing his friend wearing the shirt, inspired Lacoste to make some for himself, suitable for playing tennis, in both cotton and wool. This is the love-at-first-sight moment in the story of the Lacoste brand.
Within Timeless this moment also serves as the story of the beginning of Lacoste. We see a man headed in one direction and then upon accidentally running into someone he completely changes direction. This again reflects the early story of the Lacoste brand. Rene Lacoste was moving in the direction of being a tennis player and though he would eventually have to retire, fashion is a significant change in direction. Even more so given the lack of personal brands at the time of Lacoste’s founding. However after a brush with fashion Lacoste’s life changed direction.
The man is aboard the train. He looks into the cars nearby. He doesn’t see her. He moves further, entering the next car. As he enters, he sees her again. The woman in blue. She sees him and begins moving forward, further into the train and into the next car. The man follows after her, pushing past all who are in his way. As the man moves forward from car to car he moves through time. With every car comes a new age.
The core of the film is what happens after the man changes direction. Production designer Richard Bridgland does a fantastic job capturing the aesthetics of the time period within each train car and costume designer Madeline Fontaine immediately transports you with. The film moves across eight decades before arriving in the present.
Once on the train, the man shifts from representing solely Rene Lacoste to a symbol of the whole Lacoste brand. The man is constantly obstructed by others who don the fashion which is popular in the age they represent. Nonetheless, he pushes past them, leaving them behind.
The man wears a Lacoste polo as he pushes past all others. This emphasizes the classic nature of Lacoste. The Lacoste brand has managed to push past other brands and fashions that have fallen to the wayside. Despite the challenges a brand might face the Lacoste polo has adapted and managed to remain a mainstay of popular fashion.
The man has made it far but as he reaches the end of a car she is already in the next. The car breaks away. The distance is too far for him to jump. He watches as the red train pulls away. But he hasn’t yet given up. The woman is sitting on the red train as a cargo train passes by. Suddenly the man appears running from atop the cargo train. He makes a running start as he leaps from the cargo train to the passenger train the woman sits within.
The challenge of the train car separating is a challenge unlike any of the previous challenges within the film. Initially, the man only has to push past people which is an obstacle, but it much less difficult than surmounting the challenge of the woman being on a different train. The man has to use a cargo train to get back to her.
Initially, Lacoste was exclusively a European brand, worn primarily by those who lived in Europe. This was until, with some help from the American brand Izod, Lacoste leaped across the pond becoming a brand sold in America.
An eye-catching aspect of the train car that separates is the color of the train. It’s red. Previously to this point, we were presented with the train being made of only darker colors and neutrals. This is the first bright color we see as part of the set decoration. Interestingly, this red in combination with the white jacket and blue shirt the woman wears could potentially reference the United States. The cargo train could represent the help Izod gave Lacoste with its American distribution (which is what cargo trains are used for). And the leap the man takes could represent Lacoste crossing the pond.
The man runs on top of the train and the woman runs within the train. The move from one car to the next, decade to decade. As they move into the future the train grows more and more recognizable, like something of the modern day. As we reach the modern day the train transforms a final time. The woman looks up. Standing across from her is the man. They exit the train ending the chase with a kiss.
The film presents the success of Lacoste as something that was destined to happen. The final kiss feels like something that was fated. And if Lacoste is represented by the man, timelessness is represented by the woman. Lacoste has had to push past fads and surmount challenges to become a global brand that has and will stand the test of time. And in the 85 years of their existence, they managed to establish a brand and product that truly is Timeless .
You can take a look at an analysis of another Lacoste advert here.
