For a man who drives race cars for a living, Lewis Hamilton has more going for him than a turbocharged V6. Since joining the Formula 1 circuit in 2007, the British sportsman has racked up 105 Grand Prix wins, made a cameo in Disney’s Cars 2, bought a stake in the Denver Broncos, sung on a Christina Aguilera record, and been knighted by the Prince of Wales.
You’d think the dude could afford some new luggage.
He can, of course. But in the latest installment of Rimowa’s “Never Still” campaign, the 40-year-old competitor appears with an anodized aluminum pilot case marked by scratches, scuffs and dents, along with a collage of stickers including his racing number (44) and his bulldog Roscoe.
Luxury fashion marketing proved long ago that a pretty face can sell almost anything, so if showing a $1,550 case that looks like it’s tumbled around the baggage carousel seems like an unorthodox approach, well, it is.
It’s also one that Rimowa has pioneered in the luxury segment for two years now.
In 2023, the 127-year-old luggage maker (part of the LVMH stable since 2016) debuted a campaign called “A Lifetime of Memories,” which portrayed perfect-looking people traveling with less-than-perfect valises. Scrapes, nicks and dents in the aluminum bore testimony to years of travel. The message was that, like rings on a tree or a rip in blue jeans, wear equates to character.
Rimowa’s latest marketing effort takes that idea a step further with stills and videos featuring similarly well-worn cases, but ones belonging to celebrities: K-pop breakout star Rosé and singer-songwriter Jay Chou, along with Hamilton, who’s arguably Formula 1’s highest profile driver.
The new ads are technically the fifth chapter of Rimowa’s “Never Still” campaign, introduced in 2018, and the first to shift the spotlight from the brand’s products to its ambassadors. But both “Never Still” and “A Lifetime of Memories” are essentially variations of the same theme—that travel experiences are the building blocks of individualism, and that wear and tear are badges to be worn proudly.