showing workers using a needle and thread and other artisanal techniques. Wording emphasised the individual attention to detail lavished on each product.
While acknowledging the company's use of hand crafting, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that Louis Vuitton could not justify the message because it also used sewing machines and would not reveal how much work was done by hand.
The ruling is a setback for the 156-year-old French firm, which markets its monogrammed bags as elegant examples of workmanship in an age of mass production. They are popular with the wealthy and famous, selling for between £425 for a Speedy to £2,400 for L'Ingénieux.
The two adverts were highly stylised, redolent of Renaissance paintings, and featured models instead of real workers.