Even Louis Vuitton, it appears, is not impervious to the power of commercial advertising. The French film director Bruno Aveillan was recently hired to take charge of LV’s first foray into television ads, a 90-second spot on the theme “Where will life take you?”

Why then, with the brand so ubiquitous, buy fake Louis Vuitton? Well, for more and more people the answer to that question is a simple “Why not?” When you can possess an item that passes for all the world as the original, when you can provide yourself or someone on your gift list with a remarkable simulation of the satisfaction that comes with owning the first-rate at a fraction of the first-rate’s price—well, come on, what’s not to love?

The mere existence of things like fake Louis Vuitton exposes a two-tiered social hierarchy. There are those who can and do spend the money for the genuine article, secure in the knowledge that what they’ve bought is an investment that will cement their status, and there are those content to save hundreds, if not thousands of dollars by buying fake designer purses and designer replica handbags that will give them an image of style and, at the very least, will not depreciate. Fake Louis Vuitton designer purses and replica handbags are here to stay.