Still from a Levi's advert showing Beyoncé with blonde hair and wearing a raw denim cowboy hat standing in front of a washing machine in a laundrette

Beyoncé and Levi’s reinterpret classic Laundrette ad

The brand’s new campaign film by TBWA\Chiat\Day nods to the 1985 spot starring Nick Kamen

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When Beyoncé dropped her country album Cowboy Carter earlier this year, it seems unlikely she or Levi’s – which gets a nod in the song Levii’s Jeans – knew they would be launching a brand partnership six months later.

The partnership has kicked off with a new campaign by TBWA\Chiat\Day called Reiimagine, which, as the name suggests, involves looking to the brand’s heritage and transforming it into something new.

It’s started with an integral part of the brand’s history and one of the most iconic pieces of advertising ever by most accounts: the 1985 Laundrette ad created by BBH London and starring the late Nick Kamen.

For 2024, Beyoncé takes on the starring role as she undresses in a laundrette as per the original, but besides the overall premise, some key details have changed.

Here, she’s wearing a cowboy hat reworked from a pair of 501s and, after placing her jeans in the machine, reveals a pair of briefs. Kamen was famously banned from wearing briefs back in the original ad so he sported a pair of comparatively uncool boxers shorts instead, leading to an unexpected spike in boxer short sales. And while 1985’s Laundrette put I Heard It Through the Grapevine back in the music charts, the new ad is of course set to Levii’s Jeans by Beyoncé.

Still from a Levi's ad showing Beyoncé in a cowboy hat, white t-shirt, socks and briefs sat at the back of a laundrette near two younger people

The ad is directed by filmmaker Melina Matsoukas, who has previously worked with both Levi’s – she directed a 2023 spot for the brand’s 150th anniversary campaign – and Beyoncé, including on her Grammy-winning video for Formation off the 2016 visual album Lemonade.

While the work might not be as unconventional as the original, it does feel like a rare example of an organic partnership given its genesis in music.

The campaign extends to OOH and print created with photographer Mason Poole, as well as brand activations and a line of exclusive products. Further ads, or ‘chapters’, that reimagine memorable Levi’s spots are expected to follow.

Credits:
Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day
Production Companies: De la revolućion, Prettybird
Director: Melina Matsoukas
DoP: Marcell Rév
Photographer: Mason Poole

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