Holmes The Suspected Star of Weird Viral Fashion Campaign

The identity of the mysterious brunette in a new "viral" marketing campaign, "What's in The Bag?," will be revealed on March 22 by Elle's creative director, Joe Zee.

The video, entitled "The Decision," opens with a German TV anchor announcing that a fictional actress, Joan Hudson, is missing in action. The viewer is then offered a few anxious glances of a glossy-haired woman—presumably the Joan character—who at one point murmurs the nonsensical line: "If the opposite of guilt-ridden is merciless, then I'd rather be guilty." The final shot is of a security guard unzipping her bag—a Valextra "Babila" tote—to inspect its contents. The screen goes dark as he asks, "What's in the bag, ma'am?" 

Nobody can say for certain who is responsible for the video (though presumably its the product of some kind of collaborative effort between Zee and Valextra), but someone is pushing it hard, with editors being offered secret "hints" as to the actress' identity and Facebook fans invited to join in the speculative non-frenzy. Stylelist suspects that the actress is Katie Holmes, while the campaign's Facebook page pegs Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie and Winona Ryder as top contenders. The Facebook page also offers daily clues for the contest itself, wherein a winner could receive a $20,000 grand prize.

Based on the voice alone, we'd throw our lot in with the Hathaway crew, though Stylelist says they were encouraged to believe the woman is "a famous actress who the tabloids are always saying is about to leave her partner, playing Joan Hudson, a famous actress who is leaving her partner." Not much to go on, considering that summarizes the majority of tabloid headlines since, well, forever.

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