Levi’s new advertising campaign introduced a creative new idea, involving a man and a woman recreating the impression of 50s America. All the advertisements in this series revolved around this same idea of people finding the person wearing the jeans desirable. The scenarios ranged from launderettes to beaches, all featuring an emphasis on physical attraction and most of them set in a public place.
However Levis didn’t predict what sort of impact this commercial campaign would bring to the population of teenagers. The result was massive, the number of Button Fly 501’s sold in 1987 was over 20 times that of 1984, due to this break through in commercial advertising. Everyone wanted to get their hands on a pair of 501’s.
The adverts denote that wearing Levi’s is cool, sexy, stylish and, although being a casual fit, they are versatile in the sense that the jeans can be dressed up to impress but at the same time, can be worn every day for work. As well as being all of the above, Levi’s have managed to get the right balance between rebellion and style. Many of the advertisements in this series show the hero in a state of nudity, often topless; this increases the sex appeal of Levi Strauss’ revolutionary 501’s.
To manipulate the male’s mind Levi’s ad campaign exploited men’s desire to be in control and to be the leader of the situation. The advertisements make the audience want to empathise with the characters because they represent an ideal. They do this by using a stereotypical attractive male: tall, dark and handsome. In the advertisements there were traditional roles for the men and women. Back then women were expected to play along with what the men wanted and this is imitated in the advertisements. The men were the dominant sex, far superior to the females. The women were valued for their ability to enhance men’s status through looks and virtue, their ability to play out a subservient role. This atmosphere has been constantly focussed on through the entire campaign. Men want to wear these jeans so they can feel big, strong and sexy, like the man portrayed in the. They can feel proud of wearing them and more important than other people around them. It makes them believe that they are the centre of attention and all eyes are solely focussed on them.
An example of an advert in their successful campaign is the advert referred to as ‘The Beach’. In this advert the hero is represented as being the modern equivalent of a rebel, the man is conventionally good-looking. A picturesque beach which shows connotations of being in a country like Florida or California; where the sky is clear blue, the surf is good & the sand is golden. The style of buildings & road signs in the background denote the modernised and commercialised style of an American settlement.
The music is titled ‘Can’t Get Enough’ written by ‘The Bad Company’, this plays all the way through the commercial. The song particularly gives the whole atmosphere of American summer feel. The words fit perfectly with the advert to give the maximum impact.
The advert begins with a male wearing a Levis 501 jeans and his dog walking along a beach. The man takes off his jeans and leaves them in the care of his dog whilst we assume he goes surfing. A man who eyes up the jeans whilst eating an ice cream receives defensive and excessive barking from the dog, so the man carries on walking. The next cross cut action of the camera is a medium shot of an attractive young lady wearing a bright yellow bikini. She spots the jeans and begins to put the jeans on with the dog watching her every move. As the girl turns her back on the dog and attempts to walk away, the dog suddenly launches for her leg in an attempt to stop her. It almost seems as if the dog tries to take the jeans back off her. The camera then cross cuts into a long shot of the man returning with an embarrassed look on his face, he then praises the dog. Both the man and the girl look embarrassed for each other. They then become acquainted with one another. The final long shot is of the couple and the dog, walking off together, moving away from the camera. The slogan for this advert is ‘Originals have always been sought after,’ this is displayed with the logo at the same time at the end of the advert.
Another example of an advert in Levi’s successful campaign is the advert referred to as ‘The Deal.’ This advert starts off in a busy office, business people buzzing around with a generally hardworking atmosphere. The background song is called ‘The Joker,’ which was released in 1973 by ‘The Steve Miller Band, then re-released in 1990, and as a result of this successful commercial reached number one in the charts. The lyrics fit very closely with the action in the ad.
The hero enters via the lift on a motorbike looking like a stereotypical hell’s angel. He pulls up alongside the heroine looking very sophisticated and businesslike. He hands her a brown paper parcel, which she opens, revealing a pair of Levi’s 501’s and then proceeds to put them on. The heroine takes her hair out of a ponytail and leaves it loose and mounts the bike behind. Then the camera shows the couple riding off happily into the sunset. The slogan reads ‘The Original Work wear’ and the famous red logo is displayed once again.
The audience is influenced by the adverts, thinking that by buying these jeans that they will also be buying the looks, the lifestyle and becoming attractive to the opposite sex. The idea of perfect people (Levi’s man and woman) advertising these jeans would make the audience think that if they bought the jeans they could become perfect people too.
The women in the advertisements frequently come across handsome young man wearing the jeans, whether he’d be stripping in a launderette, or half naked in a café. These young men in those adverts always ended up with the pretty girls. This is an instant incentive for the audience to go out and buy Levis Jeans because Levis men are in control, sexy, laid back and always get what they what. In ‘The Beach’ advert, the girl actually put the jeans on; this is not the usual Levis style. At that time you rarely saw women wearing jeans which is why this advert is revolutionary. The message within the advert is that Levis are for every one regardless of their gender, occupation and age.
Almost all of the adverts in this commercial campaign have very sexy heroes & heroines. This series promoted Levi’s sales of 501’s quite dramatically, obviously having a large impact on the consuming public. They promoted Levi’s as being an intrinsic part of a great American tradition and embodied the American ideal of freedom & daring to be different.