Michael Phelps for Louis Vuitton

HobbitGirl

Thank you for this on a Monday.

Jill_3

Indeed. I love an awkwardly lanky but muscled dude in a Speedo. Bless.
- https://twitter.com/Gayer_Than_Thou Gayer Than Thou
  
  It’s a very flattering picture of him. And based on this very flattering picture of him, I would hit it.
  
  Or were we supposed to be discussing the bag? I can’t remember what it looks like. May have to look again.

Arin McGraw

Seriously…is there a gas bubble?

Sobaika

OH MY WORD.

Can’t unsee that.
Scarlet39

Oh my goodness! Did they not notice that um, awkardly situated bubble??
- http://profile.yahoo.com/FEP56YB4DUIXBWSLIMSSSGQHWY jimmack
  
  Turn the photo upside down. Look at the light reflection to see the word “SEX”.
  Did you see it? Try again.
  Go ahead, no one is looking.
  
  Got cha. You people are so easy.
  - http://twitter.com/urban_gypsy Tess Danesi
    
    OMG, I see it. It’s really there. Now to get gather all my vinyl and play them backwards to see what else emerges today.
    
    And the bubble/drain in an unfortunate location. With all the photoshop in the world going on every day, they couldn’t remove that bubble/drain from between his gorgeous, delicious, lickable…oops, got carried away for a bit, thighs?
http://mama2aidan.wordpress.com/ Tara

Ewww…for reals.
Kristina Toma

I wish he or Annie were being that deliciously subversive in a high-end product ad, however, it appears to be just a reflection of some lighting in the water.

Still, we can hope it’s an Olympian’s toot bubble.
http://www.epilonicast.net/theydontknow epilonious

I think that’s the tub drain…
- tereliz
  
  Yes, I have a freestanding tub that has a drain in the center. My godparents in Germany have a cast-iron tub with a drain in the center, too. Haven’t been to Europe since I was a kid, though. Maybe it’s more common over there? Presuming that this LV ad was shot in some swanky Parisian flat/hotel.
  
  Just noticed the artfully arranged “accidentally” dropped change. Funny!
crash1212

SO glad I wasn’t the only one with just this thought. What IS that? Seems a really good candidate for photo shop skills.
- TheDivineMissAnn
  
  Me too. I thought to myself “Whadda you, a 10 year old?”
LaylaSV

Jesus. Were I Mr.Phelps’ agent, I’d be super pissed. That is ridiculously unflattering and just weird.
Fordzo

Why wasn’t that photoshopped out? I don’t understand. It’s all I can see in that photo – if this were an ad for antique tubs that need to be reglazed, I’d have to say “Bravo!”, but it’s not an ad that would make me covet that bag.
Vickiefantastico

That’s one of the first things I noticed! Very unfortunate.
Rand Ortega

All the instances they use Photoshop to death, here they chose not to????
Little_Olive

OMG I have been trying to figure out that skit mark all this while. WTF?

BeeBeauNYC

I always sit in the bathtub with my Speedo on.

http://CallMeJane.com/ CallMeJane

and goggles
YourBaloneyDontGotNoSecondName

prove it. :-D
http://joyouslifesf.wordpress.com Kiltdntiltd

Thought as much.
hac51

That’s what’s killing this for me. “Why is he wearing a swimsuit in the bath?”
- Judih1
  
  Agree – makes no sense. Swimsuit and bathtub. WHy not have him in the locker room? Or coming out of a swimming pool? I guess they thought any old pool of water would work.

Evy Colón

He does nothing for me… Ryan Lochte(despite the amazing douche factor) is my guy

Sobaika

Really? The douche factor is really hard for me to ignore. If we’re sticking with swimmers, I like Nathan Adrian (even though he’s a baby) and Cullen Jones.
- Evy Colón
  
  Nathan Adrian is not age appropriate and he looks like a teddy bear (meaning I just want to hug him soooooo much). There’s something about Lochte knowing and acknowledging he’s a douche that takes down that douchey factor
  - HobbitGirl
    
    I’ve always thought Phelps was sort of dorky-cute. This reinforces that. It’s definitely an awkward-pretty.
    - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_K7VOQSAYZ7H2OBX6LOJNNIBSSE Amanda
      
      I’m with you on that…HobbitGirl. Thank you for this TLo…Happy Monday indeed!!
- BazoDee
  
  Totally with Sobaika on this one. I can’t not see the douche in Lochte.
  - Sobaika
    
    Right? It oooozes off of him. I could maybe excuse it due to being a wayward youth but he’s older than I am!
    
    And really though, he wore GRILLS. At the OLYMPICS. And while having sex probably screams out “Jeah” or whatever the hell his catchphrase is. Ickk I just can’t.
    - BazoDee
      
      LOL!!! The grills were nail in the coffin for me. Have you seen that article on Lochte – America’s sexiest douchebag? When you see it all together -yikes.
      
      I really do prefer Phelps’ leaner frame.
    - mshesterp
      
      And now I’m picturing Lochte’s O-face. Yikes. You’re so right–you just know he yells out “Jeah!”
    - Evy Colón
      
      I’m hispanic; that’s exactly how I say yeah!
    - Sobaika
      
      Except Lochte’s doing some sort of bad Young Jeezy or Lil’ Wayne impression.
    - DeborahJozayt
      
      Have you seen his gold shaving razors? Or the various youtube meme with his interviews? He certainly gives plenty of things to talk about!
    - RebeccaKW
      
      I think RL’s body is hot, but not so much his face. And then you hear him talk. Good grief. I am all about Phelps, Cullen Jones, Ricky Berens, Brendan Hansen and MATT GREVERS. Woo.
  - http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelsey-Albrecht/100001647200441 Kelsey Albrecht
    
    Just because someone has different taste in clothes/accessories/shtick than one, it doesn’t make them a douche. You never hear a bad word about Lochte from people who meet him, they all love him. Phelps? Exact opposite.
    
    Sometimes the clothes do not make the man, as George Michael says.
    - BazoDee
      
      Really? Wow! Way off base here. I don’t mean to say Lochte IS a douche -I don’t know him from Adam. He just seems like one to me.
      The douche-factor wasn’t really referring to his clothes. The grills I don’t like but have nothing to do with my assessment. I don’t know either man so I really can’t say either way if one IS actually a douche or not -I can only go off of the things they say in interviews about one night stands and how big of a mistake it was to be in a relationship and “tied down” last Olympics. You may well be right – maybe Lochte and he’s a sweetheart that just needs better PR coaching.
- lilibetp
  
  He’s just a few years younger than Phelps and Lochte, and he’s over 21, so have at it. Cullen Jones I like because he’s bringing attention to the fact that African American kids are MUCH less likely to know how to swim, and are therefore much more likely to drown than white kids.
  - Sobaika
    
    And his smile. Don’t forget Cullen’s smile. *swoon*
  - Rand Ortega
    
    Cullen Jones is delish. Everything about him is…golden.
  - http://www.facebook.com/meg.burgess.50 Meg Burgess
    
    Lochte is actually almost a year older than Phelps. And Cullen totally has the best smile. So freaking cute.
- http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie
  
  Cullen Jones is ADORABLE!
- Fordzo
  
  Every time he opens his mouth, I just laugh and laugh. No matter what he’s trying to say.
  - RebeccaKW
    
    I can’t listen to him. Terrible.
- http://twitter.com/almcafee Alison McAfee
  
  Cullen Jones. Yes x 10000000000
- http://twitter.com/stellaphone Stella Zawistowski
  
  Yeah, I can’t deal with the grille and all the douchiness that goes with it either. Bring back Aaron Peirsol, please.
nosniveling

+1 here, Phelps has more of a douche factor than Lochte does IMHO.
Agreed on Cullen & Nathan!

why.the.goggles?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelsey-Albrecht/100001647200441 Kelsey Albrecht

Totally agree… was scrolling down to say this.

Ryan Lochte or GTFO

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1000916089 Emily Brungo

He just doesn’t do it for me. And his head looks way too small for his body.

http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie

That’s actually one of those weird physical characteristics that makes swimmer so good at what they do. I think he’s hot from the neck down.

Sobaika

Hmmm. I don’t really get hot and bothered by Phelps and he looks pretty awkward in this. I’ve preferred some of their previous campaigns, like the one with Muhammad Ali from a while back. At least they showed off the bags a little better.

HengRu

For a second I was trying to think what “bags” was a euphemism for. Then I realized it actually meant bags, as in handbags.
- Sobaika
  
  Hahaha yes. Handbags. The product Louis Vuitton is hawking.
- http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie
  
  I actually laughed out loud at this, while sitting in my favorite coffee shop. I’m sure people are looking at me like I’m a crazy lady.
- TheDivineMissAnn
  
  *snicker* my mind is in the gutter. When I read “bags”, accessories were not the first thing I thought of….

gabbilevy

This is weird, but somehow, I don’t mind.

Eva_baby

I am sorry but that is an amazingly unflattering photo. The pose looks awkward, he looks like he’s trying to do sexy-face but doesn’t quite get there. If it wasn’t Michael Phelps it would just look like some random, albeit fit, guy in a tub.

DeborahJozayt

They needed a bigger bathtub for him. I don’t know why they couldn’t doing something with swimming instead of sitting awkwardly in a bathtub.
H3ff

I think the awkward posing and bad face are inherent qualities, unfortunately. This shoot was a terrible idea.

afabulous50

Out of curiousity – how much is that bag?

http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo

$2,300.
- http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie
  
  That’s all? I think I’ll get two!
  
  /sarcasm/

SpcilK

Akward.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1183772509 Jen Hughes

“because reasons” is going into my lexicon.

CozyCat

I’d prefer any of the male divers.

Vlasta Bubinka

Except for the whiny British twink.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=795138743 Melody McFarland

no way. This just does not work. Not even a little.

lilibetp

My question is, what is that on the bottom of the bathtub, just below his backside? Do I want to know? And if this is supposed to make me want whatever he’s selling, it’s a big fail.

MarinaCat

I think AL lost her touch on this one.

TaurusKW

The very idea that Phelps would touch that bag, let alone purchase it and use it, is ABSURD. Come on Vuitton; give us a modicum of plausibility.

bitchybitchybitchy

Can’t you imagine the people behind this ad pitching the hoped for synergy of a luxury brand and a solid gold Olympic athlete?

crash1212

I don’t understand the bathtub placement in relation to the other bathroom furnishings. Seems like you’d always be tripping over it to get to the sink. Oh..swimmer boy isn’t bad – awkward pose and not entirely sure what the “shadow” is near his behind, but pretty sure it should’ve been photo shopped out. Also…is that soap scum? OK…Olympics must be officially over for me!

BazoDee

I simply adore Michael Phelps – his body is my idea of perfection and those dimples!! But this is just not a great shot -although his arms and shoulders do look yummy.

homespunner

Camille Lacourt. French backstroker. It is he I want to see in the tub.

http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie

I used to be a competitive swimmer (and rower), and male swimmers’ (and rowers’) were always a bit of a distraction to us ladies. And the guys I used to swim/row with never looked THIS good.

kjthorp

Oh TLo, how do I love you, let me count the ways…
XOXO

SapphoPoet

I dunno–this just looks really strange.

SewingSiren

Tacos, burritos . What’s coming out of your Speedos?

http://twitter.com/watchinginkdry Krysta

If I were Phelpsy I’d be pissed. He could be uniquely attractive in a very SJP kinda way, and this ad just didn’t bother to try anything like that. Look! He’s a swimmer! In water! Bah.

Spicytomato1

“Look! He’s a swimmer! In water! Bah.”
My thoughts exactly. The goggles infuriate me for some reason. It’s like they can’t see him in any other garb and are forcing a concept.
formerlyAnon

The thing I like about him is that I don’t get the impression that he cares that much – if the money was right and he didn’t have to do anything that crossed whatever lines for taste that he has – he’d be down, do the shoot, and not worry about it.

Besides, I’ve gotta believe that if Annie Leibovitz photographs you, even if it’s for somebody’s ad, after the check the most important thing is that you come away with a really nice print from the shoot to give your mom for Christmas. And if you (twenty-something guy) don’t think of that, one of your sisters or your mom is gonna prompt you.
H3ff

Poor SJP…

http://twitter.com/TheMaygoon Meghann

I’m sorry, I just can’t deal with the chest stubble. Gives me a rash just looking at it. Either clean-shaven or gloriously hairy, but nothing in between.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1594250515 Kim Brightman

Frog’s legs. That’s all…frog’s legs.

http://profile.yahoo.com/FEP56YB4DUIXBWSLIMSSSGQHWY jimmack

Please sell the 8 x 10″ , framed photos in the TLO gift shop.

EEKstl

This sort of non-chalant, purposefully non-glamorous photo (i.e. not a great pose, questionable lighting, etc.) really only works when the subject has model or movie-star good looks. You put a Clooney or Daniel Craig or Clive Owen in this shot and it would work (and yes, I realize Phelps is a swimmer, hence the bathtub and all that). A real golden-boy photo is where he would shine.

http://profile.yahoo.com/FEP56YB4DUIXBWSLIMSSSGQHWY jimmack

I’m up for Daniel Craig in the tub. Make it happen, PLEASE
- EEKstl
  
  From your lips to God’s ear!

http://aldonsusi.blogspot.com/ Susi R

The tub is not were it is supposed to be and that is bothering me. Not impressed.

http://www.facebook.com/aboutelle Ashleigh Boutelle

I LOVE how this is hot just to be hot…no other reason for any of it. and why not?!

http://www.facebook.com/aboutelle Ashleigh Boutelle

I would be curious to see him (and even other athletes) on the runway! Am I crazy??

MilaXX

I don’t know if he would look that good. His proportions are insane. His arms are extra long and like most swimmers he’s a bit top heavy. The track & field men’s team would make more interesting models imo.
- formerlyAnon
  
  He’s also not that graceful out of the water. ETA: He’s graceful like an athlete, not a model is maybe a better way to put it.
- http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie
  
  Yeah, he’d definitely need some custom tailoring. Broad shoulders, super-skinny waist, extra long arms and legs…
  
  I think I need to go back and look at the picture again.

SannyDee

Just hate the way his legs are splayed out – I know he’s in a tub and there’s no no room for them to lay any other way…but, ewwhh, seriously that’s gross. Congrats Michael on another stellar games

HomeOfficeGirl

Ewww… not responding well to this at all. It’s alot of thigh jammed into too small of a tub. If I was going to have MP “sexy”, he’d at least have to take his goggles off.

MilaXX

Total butter face but nice ad. Love the bag.

l3icest3r

I hate to be dismissive and use that term because I really think all kinds of faces are attractive and/or worth looking at, the same way I feel about body types. Not this guy, total butterface.

The bag looks hard-sided in the stand alone photo, but soft-sided in the ad. It *is* a nice bag, maybe another manufacturer will make one similarly styled within my price range, because it looks like the perfect size to haul around for an overnight trip. The first thing I’d do would be to darken the leather a little, I don’t like the pale stuff.

http://www.ellenciompi.com/ NurseEllen

I’d like to like this, but I just can’t. Too weird. It’s like when Phelps flaps his arms up and down when he’s on the block before a race, and his hands practically meet over his spine: I’d like to be impressed but I can’t because it’s too un-human. All I can think is pterodactyl. So, yeah, I don’t see this ad selling a lot of $2500 bags. I don’t even see it selling a lot of copies of the ad. I’ll take Mark Spitz and his expertly draped medallions even after all these years!

http://twitter.com/TheRealAndra Andra

I don’t care how many medals, he gives me the ick. Mush mouth!

http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo

A reminder to all the kittens that THE NO BODY-SNARKING RULE APPLIES TO EVERYONE FEATURED HERE.

BazoDee

Not much to snark about -his body is perfection IMHO.
- http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie
  
  Agreed – nothing to snark about there!

formerlyAnon

I hope he makes every penny he can before the glow of fame fades. Yes, he’ll always be a celebrated Olympian, but he hasn’t got the kind of looks that companies pay big bucks for once he’s no longer the toast of the year. And somehow, given that he doesn’t sound even a tiny bit conflicted about saying “this is my last Olympics” I wonder how long he’ll be putting in the hours to keep that primo body.

Not, mind, you, that I am dissing his looks AT ALL.

He has the kind of face (awkward, strong bones, not at all pretty) that [IF married to the right personality] the guys that are my “keepers” always have had, no matter what I might swoon over in theory. And I like that he’s lanky for a swimmer.

ETA: Oh, and thanks for the photo, fellas.

mjude

phelps & a fab louis bag. thank you i needed that.

Susan Crawford

That boy sure knows how to fill a bathtub, doesn’t he?

anotherkate

“Why? Because reasons; that’s why.” I’m stealing this. .

kimmeister

The bag looks considerably less structured when it’s open and lying on the floor.

frannyprof

Am I the only one who thinks this ad is just plain dumb? I know, dude in a speedo, etc. But, still… does nothing for me.

formerlyAnon

I think most ads are dumb, if I think about them. I’d rate this one above average just because I’m interested enough in MP to stop and look at it, despite how dumb it is.
jw_ny

I think it’s dumb too. Maybe I’ve seen too much tv because when I look at this I ask ‘what’s the story behind it?’…and the story makes no sense with him wearing a speedo and goggles in the bathtub… with the jeans and LV bag right next to him. Why and why? smh.

j_anson

Pretty! Although from a commercial standpoint, this ad has totally failed to convince me of any connection between Louis Vuitton and Michael Phelps. It just seems so out of place there. Maybe the implication is the bag belongs to the rich lady or fella who is, ahem, keeping Michael in the style in which he deserves to be kept?

PinkLemon

I love the change on the floor by the bag. My bedroom is CONSTANTLY covered in loose change thanks to my betrothed. Must be a guy thing.

Judy_J

I know! My husband leaves loose change around all the time, and I’ve noticed that his male friends do, too!
- http://twitter.com/PhDKnitter marlie
  
  In the washing machine. I don’t understand why my bf can’t empty his pocket before he puts stuff in the wash. My new rule is that if I find it, I get to keep it.
  - NCDFan
    
    I have five cigarette lighters on the washing machine courtesy of my daughter.
- PinkLemon
  
  haha! That’s hilarious. I’m amused by this.

Deedles

If I can’t say anything nice, I shan’t say anything at all.

kikisayshi

I’m sorry, but I always get the vibe from him that he thinks his sh!t don’t stink so it’s hard for me to like any of his photos.

jw_ny

Did Mikey sneak out a little gas bubble there…between his legs?

neadsie

I for one think it’s pretty darn hot. Thighs, good. Chest, good. Shoulder/arm situation, good. That may not sell too many bags but I think it’s a photo I’ll be, ahem, returning to.

AuntieAnonny

That’s quite a promotion from cereal, eh?

I’ll take two.

NICHOLAS PASQUALE

Michael Phelps, I’ve never looked at you like this before but AWOOGA.

Kimbolina

Looks like he’s getting ready for a water birth.

The bag is kind of ugly too.

http://asskickingadviser.com/ Ass Kicking Adviser

I get it. He’s not super-human, he’s a merman. He needs water or he’ll dry up and become a normal human like the rest of us.

Ezmartin

Holy crap. Usually Phelps does nothing for me, but man if this pic didn’t give me an instant boner!

VicksieDo

Such a strange pose! He seems too large for that tub too.

jmorino08

He looks like he’s about to murder the camera, and I hate how they positioned his legs. He’s a tall dude… maybe a tub wasn’t the best prop for his shoot.

http://profile.yahoo.com/BGZNXAOHW5DOOO7UOMWBXTYLK4 Sarah

It’s time to say it – Liebowitz has run out of ideas. She’s trying to reproduce the fantastic candid shots of rock stars she used to get, in which the dragging despair of drug abuse and long days on the road showed in their faces, but putting a gold medalist in an awkward and exploitive position and snapping the embarrassed look on his face isn’t going to do it and it cheapens who Phelps is and what he’s accomplished. All she’s got left is cheap porn poses.

Now if she’d put him in a fantastic suit or snapped him doing something out of the water, that would have been creative. Look at the expression on his face. I’ve seen the same look on those being sexually harassed – it’s not okay.

http://twitter.com/kerrymccombs Kerry McCombs

I just do not find a swimmer’s body attractive in the slightest.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_WKSM57KFWUGRMKPDUW4SPL3GDM Kathryn

He is mega-hot even though to me he’s a baby.

LesYeuxHiboux

Yes, because I’m totally taking an LV to the pool. All that nice chlorine. I also frequently wear a bathing suit (and goggles!) in the bath. Perhaps he’s a nevernude.

DaveUWSNYC

Man soup. It’s what’s for supper.

granddelusion

So done with this guy. Put a sack over your head and go about your business.

minnye

Even suspending logic for “art’s” sake, swim trunks in the tub just look silly. The thing is, if said subject were a female, even an Olympian, she would likely be naked with strategic hand placement (or tub edge or whatever) over the naughty parts. Why not do that with a dude?

PeaceBang

That’s a weird shot. He looks like some sort of jacked up spider, and the derp face isn’t helping.

snarkykitten

one of my college professors had a son who [allegedly I never googled to find out] won a ton of metals in the Olympics. and then Michael Phelps broke all his records. She never got over Phelps’ kicking her baby’s ass

I can hear her teeth gnashing from here.

DCSheehan

So he takes baths with his swimsuit on?

suzq

He would never get caught dead with that bag. A duffle, perhaps. This one, closed up, looks like a hair curler box.

CatherineRhodes

C’mon, did we need the bathing suit?

NCDFan

His face says ‘if I knew you were going to pose me in a tube with goggles and the stupid bag, I would have asked for more money.” His body says …. oh who cares.

Michelle Lucas

Hilarious!!! LOVE IT!!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1241487378 Lauren Lynch Fox

Like the ad. Bet he got his Mom a nice bag out of the deal…

elzatelzabelz

Your commentary is the best “Because reasons; that’s why.” I believe this is the “take that, Lochte shot”

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_RHLSUVX3NCPB4OSS5BM7GZIXUE P. Capet

lol

Thathoodwink

Charmed, I’m sure.

quiltrx

He looks hot, thanks guys. But does anyone else see a big fart-bubble coming our way?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Kelsey-Albrecht/100001647200441 Kelsey Albrecht

They all look between the ages of 12-16 though…..

ccm800

this somehow makes me want tea. And sex.

boweryboy

His bod is slammin’!

Too bad he has a face only a mother could love.

http://www.facebook.com/tiyuju Yuju Ti

Thanks to Ryan Lochte for his “all swimmers pee in the pool” statement. Now all I can think about is that if Michael Phelps peed and farted at the same time in that tub.

RzYoung

What’s with the random fart bubble?! This isn’t doing it for me I’m afraid.

Amy Ennis

Now I can’t unsee it! No, not for me either.

http://www.fatladysings.us/ TFLS

‘So just don’t lay there, honey. Swim something.’

Sheesh. Not my cuppa, I’m afraid.

Artis Diggins

that bag is amazing…

kaycem

i really can’t see phelps carrying that bag. which is, i guess, their main reason for showcasing it the way they did.

Cathy B.

I will be bookmarking this forever.

Valdri8

Isn’t that a fart bubble? WTF?

Melvis Velour

I was just thinking the same thing….
http://twitter.com/yessveee Sarah Veenstra

I can NOT un-see that now.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1294512334 Terri Griffith

I don’t think he is one bit attractive.

librarygrrl64

Mouth breather.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jennifer-Graham/1363331785 Jennifer Graham

Too bad the ad wasn’t for a different product. He could have been posed as Poseidon rising up out of the water. I’ve seen images of Poseidon with muscled chest, a half-toga wrapped around his waist. Think of Phelps like this, standing in the ocean/water with a laurel wreath around his head, holding a triton, wet toga clinging to his hips and legs – I would buy anything he was selling!

BigWhiteGrannyPanties

He pees in the pool. Now we all know.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GW2UOMQ4ZRECR6ID2RFQHGBAD4 brian

Does anyone notice the phallically-shaped bubble approaching his anal region?

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Michael Phelps for Louis Vuitton

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