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Levi's Unbuttoned - and Undone?
Posted by Patrick Burgoyne, 24 September 2008, 9:46 Permalink Comments (14)
Is the new Levi's campaign fit to button the flies of its illustrious predecessors?
BBH’s classic ads for Levi’s 501 jeans were rooted in aspects of the product itself – whether rivets in the crotch, twisted seams or pockets that made a neat hiding place for condoms. Playing on Levi’s unique heritage, in an era of nebulous, ‘emotional’ selling points they at least seemed to be rooted in an actual product benefit.
However, despite winning countless awards and securing a place in popular culture, the 501 formula has largely been abandoned. According to BBH creative Jim Hilson the old ‘product point’ approach “was no longer engaging the young global audience Levi’s sought. Instead of simply talking about the product, Levi’s needed to make it relevant, with a point of view on what it meant to be young and free-spirited,” he says.
Hence Unbuttoned, the latest global campaign for the brand:four films that attempt to engineera link between Levi’s jeans and the unrestrained freedom of youth. In Unbreakable (above), we see a young man in a street, his top trouser button daringly undone. The camera rushes towards him and he goes flying – but lands on his feet. Repeat with various good-looking 501-wearers. So, apparently, if you live unbuttoned, you’re invincible.
Meanwhile, in Secrets & Lies (below), we find a young couple in a hallway in a passionate clinch. “I’m not really in a band,” he says as she starts running up the stairs. “I don’t work for a label,” she replies. He chases her. More snogging. “I’m not really from LA,” says he at the top of the stairs. “And I’ve never been to New York,” she responds. Jeans are unbuttoned. “I’ve been living in my car,” he says as they practically fall into a flat, shirts somehow removed in the process. “This isn’t my apartment,” she says as they both throw themselves at each other.
Guitar (below) sees a young man getting up in a girl’s apartment and putting his clothes on while a blues guitarist, seemingly in the same apartment (presumably representing the young guy’s ‘inner voice’) asks if he’s going to wake the girl up and tell her he loves her. The guy gets dressed, seemingly unmoved by the suggestion. He notably doesn’t do up the top button of his jeans, picks up his guitar and leaves without saying a word. “Some things are better left undone,” the blues singer croons as a kind of musical strapline.
Finally, in First Time (below), an apparently virginal young couple remove shirts, unbutton jeans and reassure each other that what they’re doing is mutually consensual and that their “first time” will be alright. Then, the camera pulls back to reveal they’re actually standing on the end of a pier. They both hold hands and jump into the water.
Hilson makes the point that, like the best Levi’s ads, all four films do make reference to the product – in this case the 501 button fly, the top button of which is pointedly left undone in each spot. But there are many jeans with buttons these days. There’s nothing uniquely Levi’s about leaving your top button undone, something that reminds us more of the after effects of a particularly big dinner more than a spirit of unfettered devilment.
Nevertheless, the films are undeniably entertaining, sweet (in the case of First Time) and, in the case of Secrets & Lies, sexy. Levi’s has long struggled to distance itself from the middle-aged jeans-wearer. This campaign is working hard to deliver that longed-for youth audience and maintain some of the highly-charged eroticism of last year’s Dangerous Liaisons spot, even if the new films seem unlikely to impinge upon popular cultural in the manner of their illustrious predecessors.
Advertising agency: BBH
Creatives: Toby Allen and Jim Hilson (Guitar
and Unbreakable); Rik Brown and Jon Fox
(Secrets & Lies); Kris Wixom and Alisa
Wixom (First Time)
Production company: Sonny
Directors: Jeff Labbé (Secrets & Lies); Fredrik
Bond (Unbreakable and First Time); Emil
Möller (Guitar)
14 Comments
As a young student myself I think these adverts will be very well received by the target demographic. 'Guitar' is something everyone can relate to and to connect a one night stand, the struggle confessing your love with a pair of jeans is class.
Levi have such a strong brand that although these series of adverts are not overly Western they do seem in keeping with the companies progression over the years.
2008-09-24 15:29:52
Boring. REALLY BORING.
2008-09-24 15:45:10
I mean. Sorry but I really think this is really below average quality for such a product and client. No?
I mean we're talking about 501's here!
I find these ads quite insulting.
2008-09-24 18:10:30
How sad. Levi's used to be pop culture leaders. Now they're just wannabes, struggling to remain relevant. If Levi's really want to speak to the new generation of cool kids, producing a load of glossy but meaningless tv ads aint going to cut it...
2008-09-24 18:47:56
These new adds are attractive, glossy and have excellent music, but, um, you can't connect to it. It's doesn't tell you anything. Levi used to have taste, style, but here, they were just trying to get the "young people" to look at their product in a new light. The lighting must suck in here, because I, for one don't exactly want to buy that senseless piece of...I wouldn't say it was boring, though. It took viewers into new (suck-ish) Live world. Were you all live UNBUTTONED.
2008-09-25 01:29:57
So passe, I've been leaving my jeans undone for years... due to my web designers paunch
2008-09-25 10:23:39
Totally miss the point about the 501 - almost as if they have a duff brand they need to align with a non-existent sub culture.
Maybe that's actually the point, the 'yoot' doesn't care about the heritage of Levis. For my money that's what they should have shown - the roots, the heritage and why they should be considered a brand to cherish.
The ads are decent enough regards art direction etc but they could just as well be selling Pepe jeans at £20 a shot.
I'll stick to wearing the raw (don't dare wash them for 6 months) vintage line that does hark back to what made the 501 great - they don't run ads for those anyway. Maybe they should. Show the denimology aficionado subculture.
2008-09-26 12:11:28
Actually - I've just watched the last ad. That one isn't as bad as the others and sits better with previously well received ads. Only fair I add that!
2008-09-26 12:22:25
Completely pointless and irrelevant. Oh well. After looking at these terrible adverts, I can't help but wonder what ideas were rejected in favour of this dross.
Talk about scraping the barrel.... unbuttoned.... wow. That's really connecting to the youth demographic. It's so aligned to current events too. In fact, I can't think of a more pressing and urgent issue for these modern times than whether or not you've got your top button done up.
What really made the Levi brand a success was the MADE IN THE USA tag that used to hang off your ass, and all the glorious James Dean connotations that you could take in your stride when you wore them.
Now they're just another company making garments in sweatshops, and adverts for morons.
2008-09-26 14:10:07
gloss and safe... not the leap forward we recently saw in f&f's wrangler ads
2008-09-26 14:31:13
Drugstore? Swimmer? Even Dangerous Liasons just last year. These most recent ones aren't even in the same league. Anodyne, lacking an idea and fake.
I've always thought that the US work was a poor cousin to the UK stuff, and my impression is that this being the first global 501 campaign the creative was neutered for the broader audience.
Totally agree with the last comment. Fred & Farid's Wrangler "Humans" was exactly the kind of genre defying stuff that Levi's was famous for.
2008-09-26 16:02:53
It's so bad, it makes me wonder if it's a joke - like a Zoolander ad.
2008-09-29 16:17:08
I did love Levi's but about 4years now that i dont where them its to much of a country style that it got,so since then i realy dont get along with them,wish they would have a different style not just the country feeling in them!!
2008-11-10 17:55:24
Well, I think Nick Kamen still beats all of these hands down (at the time at least) - or am I just showing my age?
2010-02-08 16:18:01
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