Using the story lines in these two adverts appeals in particular to the teenage target audience. They can relate themselves to the situations and the jeans; they can almost imagine themselves as the characters in the two adverts.
The captions play quite an immense part in the Levi’s adverts especially in ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up’. In some cases they explain the story and in others they contain hidden details. In ‘The Laundrette’ the caption at the end of the advert explains the story line,
‘Now available stone washed.’
This explains why the man washed his clothes with stones, as he wants a stone washed effect. The message behind the advert then is Levi’s stone wash your jeans so you do not have to.
In ‘The Pick-up’ the caption used has a different effect than ‘The Laundrette’s’ caption as it conveys a hidden message,
‘Separates the men from the boys’
The advert is implying that the attractive character is a man, where as the other character is a boy. Also the jeans are tied between the two vehicles; they are literally separating the men from the boys. The catch phrase indicates you are more of a man if you choose to wear the jeans.
The adverts feature good looking, young males as their main characters to encourage the target audience of 15-19 year old males to connect with the image Levi’s jeans portray. Using young people in the adverts allows the target audience to relate themselves to the character; they can see themselves wearing the jeans in those roles. The greater the similarities are between the character and the target audience the more effect the adverts have on them. The Levi’s adverts tend to be long so the viewers can project themselves into the advert and identify with a character more than a shorter length advert. This happens in both ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up’. The target audience can relate to both young good-looking characters in the adverts. By doing this the target audience sees themselves in the situations of the characters, seeing themselves having the same qualities as the main characters. The adverts do not only contain young good-looking people but other character to make the features of the attractive man stand out. In ‘The Laundrette’ a large older man can be seen giving a disapproving look to the good-looking man. This man is also dressed in plain dull colours so he does not stand out. This indicates the jeans are only for the younger generation, appealing to it target audience. This also brings back Levi’s youthful, rebellious image. Also in this advert the characters of two young women are seen admiring the main character; this makes him look more attractive and have sex appeal. This is how a conventional teenager would like to be so not only relates the character to themselves but also the jeans. ‘The Pick-up’ also features the same typed good-looking character as ‘The Laundrette’ who is also being looked upon disapprovingly and admired by a woman. The main character in ‘The Pick-up’ gets a disapproving look from a less attractive, strait-laced man when he takes off his clothes, which again identifies the target audience and portrays the youthful, rebellious image for Levi’s. The young attractive woman in the advert also admires the character, this again is more appealing to its target audience. Both main characters get their disapproving looks when they remove their clothes but also get admired by the women when they do this.
A range of different types of music is used in the adverts to highlight the story line. Music plays a very important part in the Levi’s adverts; it is used to back-up the story line, as the adverts contain no verbal language. The music also has the ability to captivate the viewer as the words of the song stay in the minds, relating them back to the jeans whenever they hear the song; this can have the same effect as a slogan.
Throughout the advert ‘The Laundrette’ the 1960’s song ‘I Heard it Through The Grapevine’ by Marvin Gaye is played. The inclusion of a tune in the advert such as ‘I Heard it Through The Grapevine’, which is already well known, can help to get the attention of the viewer as well as set the appropriate mood and act as a memory jogger. Associating the brand with a popular piece of music increases the awareness of the brand in the viewers’ minds and makes it more likely that they will think of that brand whenever they hear the music. The song is sweet soul music, very easy to the ear, creating a laid back atmosphere. The words ‘I heard it through the grapevine’ are repeated a number of times throughout the advert, ensuring they will stay in the viewers’ minds. The words also refer to how gossip is spread around, suggesting that the man wearing the jeans is something to gossip about, ‘Spreading the word about the jeans’. The boys and young women in the Laundrette highlight this as they talk and stare at the man wearing the jeans. The line ‘It took me by surprise’ also backs up the action in the advert strongly; when the man strips in the laundrette he takes everyone by surprise. This can be seen on the face of the large man, as he looks very shocked.
Music is also used quite extensively in a similar way to ‘The Laundrette’ in ‘The Pick-up’. The song played in ‘The Pick-up’ is ‘Be my Baby’ by ‘The Ronettes’, which keeps in with the theme of the man getting the woman. The song again is 1960’s sweet soul music, which is also famous so has the same effect as ‘I Heard it Through The Grapevine’ in ‘The Laundrette’. It is as if the attractive man and the woman are having a wordless conversation, with the song words backing the actions. He strips to attract the woman attention, she looks and he nods to her to get in the car,
‘ And if I had the chance I’d never let you go’
…So won’t you please say you’ll be my baby.’
These few lines back up the story line, his stripping is almost like he’s saying give me a chance. When he calls her he's saying come be my baby and she does. The song backs up the actions strongly.
By using these particular songs in the adverts the jeans become associated with the artist that perform the songs. ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up’ become associated with American legends, Marvin Gaye and The Ronettes. This may increase the chance that people will buy the jeans.
Ranges of different camera angles are used to portray the quality of the jeans and to create an atmosphere for the advert, forming an image for the adverts and the jeans. Near the beginning of each advert the shoes of both main characters can be seen. This is a good technique as you have not seen the characters faces yet, so there is expectation there; the audience wants to know who this man is and why he is there. In both ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up’ the man wearing the Levi’s jeans takes them off, the camera focuses on the bottom and crotch area, his body and a close up of him undoing his buttons and taking his belt off whilst he does this. These focuses are done throughout the adverts to portray the quality and originality of the jeans. The viewer can see from certain camera angles that the jeans are tough wearing and are of the highest quality. Also these focuses are used to make the advert a bit sexier. The way they are used, they almost make the man look like a stripper when he removes his clothes. This does not only give the advert a sexy image but the jeans as well. This sort of focus had never been used before, which gives the advert and the jeans a rebellious image. In other camera shots characters are made to look less important than others do. The attractive characters are the most important in the adverts. They show this in the adverts by making the good-looking character be in front of the less attractive character. This can be seen in ‘The Laundrette’ when the good-looking man can be seen in front of the large old man. This shows that the large man is less important than the good-looking character. This is also done in ‘The Pick-up’.
Both tone and style play a big part in the Levi’s adverts to intrigue the viewer. Both ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up’ seem to have quite a humorous tone. Due to the jeans target audience this is quite a good technique to use, as making the advert have a bit of a twist or be funnier will appeal to teenagers more. These types of adverts also make an impact on the viewer; it is more likely the advert will stay in their mind. ‘The Pick-up’ also has a romantic tone, as the man gets the girl. This adds more of a story line for the viewer to get into; it gives a happier ending satisfying the viewer. Levi’s has its own unique style of adverts; this means throughout all the adverts in campaign there are the same common features, common themes and similar connotations. If people see the certain common themes and common features used in many of the adverts they associate these with the jeans. The Levi’s particular advert style is known around the world if someone tries to use this style Levi’s might take legal action or they risk advertising for Levi’s.
Both ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up’ contain many common features that are used in many of the other Levi’s adverts. These features convey hidden messages. The colour red features strongly in both adverts, it is always associated with the jeans. It appears many times in ‘The Laundrette’; it is on the two little boys’ hats and their uniform, on a sign near the entrance of the laundrette, on a woman’s hat and finally on the Levi’s logo at the end of the advert. The colour red features a lot throughout ‘The Pick-up’ advert; it is on the scarf of the man wearing the jeans, sign on the road, lipstick the women is wearing and on the Levi’s logo at the end of the advert. The colour red is a very important colour as it is the colour of the Levi’s tag. It acts as a reminder to the viewer of what to look for when buying a pair of jeans, as this is the only thing that can distinguish Levi’s jeans from other jeans. The colour is also a hot, sexy and dangerous colour so these things are being associated with the jeans. This gives Levi’s a sexy image, which could encourage many people to buy the jeans. Using this colour so extensively in the adverts means that when anyone sees this colour they think of the adverts and Levi’s jeans. Sunglasses are another feature used in both adverts; they portray some qualities of the main character. In ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up’ the main character is seen wearing the sunglasses. This makes these particular characters look cool and more rebellious; these themes again become associated with Levi’s and gives the jeans a cool, rebellious image. In the adverts the use of underwear features strongly. The underwear is always coloured white, a neutral colour, so it does not standout, so it does not take attention off the jeans. The use of underwear in the advert allows the man to strip making the advert sexier. These themes again become associated with the jeans. The underwear is very tight fitting to make it even more sexy and revealing. Many people in the adverts wear belts; this includes both main characters. The significance of this is so the camera can focus on the crutch area more. Also with an aid of a belt the characters can remove his clothes more like a stripper making the adverts sexier. The use of steam or smoke features strongly in both adverts. It can be seen in ‘The Laundrette’ advert, when in the laundrette as it is full of steam from the machines. It is used in ‘The Pick-up’ when the good-looking man attempts to fix the car and steam is released from the engine. This is a good technique as it heats the advert up, making it more sexy and exciting, making the advert intrigue the viewer more so they will keep watching. The use of powerful vehicles in the adverts portray the power and strength of the jeans, the use of them also adds power to the advert. The cars are also 1950’s style, which keeps in with the theme of setting the adverts in that time to show the uniqueness and history of the jeans.
Throughout many of the Levi’s adverts there are many common themes that are featured. These common themes appear in ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up’. One common theme of the adverts is that they both have young good-looking men as their main characters. These men always wear the jeans and are portrayed as confident, rebellious, sexy individuals with freedom to do as they please. In ‘The Laundrette’ this can be seen by the way the man walks into the laundrette, strips and places his clothes into the washer. Again the same feature can be seen in ‘The Pick-up’ when he strips and use the jeans to tie the cars together. Both these situations convey to the viewer the rebellious, sexy, confident image the jeans portray and it also allows the viewers to put themselves in the place of the character. Also to emphasise this point the advertising company created an older less attractive character in both adverts. In both adverts these characters look disapprovingly at the men wearing the jeans; this suggests to the viewer that ‘if you do not wear the jeans this what you will look like’. The viewer does not want to look like that so it may convince them to buy the jeans. Also the characters looking disapprovingly at the attractive characters will help bring back Levi’s rebellious image. In many of the adverts including ‘The Laundrette and ‘The Pick-up’ a male removes his clothes, to show his muscular physique to attract the female. In these two adverts after the men have stripped the women admire them but in ‘The Pick-up it goes one step further with the man getting the woman. This happens in many of the Levi’s adverts and it has a hidden message behind it. Another common theme in ’The Laundrette’ is that the jeans are very fashionable, the advert also suggest that you must do anything to keep up with the fashion; if that means going into a laundrette and stripping that is what you have got to do. Another common theme in ‘The Laundrette is a feature of American way of life; this is the man reading a newspaper. This features in the advert to show that him stripping does not feel like anything out of the ordinary, indicating confidence and boldness; this again associates the jeans with these things. Using this theme also suggest that the jeans are becoming an American way of life. A common theme in ‘The Pick-up is that the jeans separate the men from the boys. This indicates that you are more of a man if you choose to wear the jeans; most people would prefer to be a man rather than a boy so this would be an incentive to them to buy the jeans. A common theme in both adverts is that they are set in the 1950’s. The adverts are set in this time as that period was when sales rocketed, so the adverts will not only capture the history of the brand but will also capture the time when the jeans were most famous.
In many of the Levi’s adverts connotations feature strongly. They manipulate the viewer into believing that these jeans would give them everything they wanted in life. Both ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up imply that if you wear these jeans you will look sexy; they do this by using extremely good-looking characters to wear the jeans. Many people would purchase the jeans believing they would make them as good-looking as the men in the two adverts. The adverts also imply that by wearing the jeans it will instantly make you have sex appeal. They do this by showing the good-looking man being admired by women or the man getting the girl. This can be seen in both ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up. Many impressionable audiences seeing this on television would presume that wearing the jeans would make them instantly attractive. Also seeing the man get the woman would be an incentive to many young people to buy the jeans, as they believe wearing them would get them any girl they want. The adverts also indicate that the jeans are only for young cool people; they do this by using young characters wearing the jeans and less attractive older character not wearing the jeans. This is done to show the advert is aimed at its target audience of 15-19 year old males, it also brings back Levi’s youthful image. Showing each man in both adverts stripping in front of people shows their confidence. Many people would assume it is the jeans that are giving them confidence so would buy the jeans in the hope that it would give them some confidence. Another connotation in ‘The Laundrette’ is that the wearer of the jeans will get attention and have style. Making people talk and stare at the man wearing the jeans, doing this makes the viewer believe that he is being talked about because of the jeans. This particular advert also implies that the jeans are very fashionable and the viewer must do anything to keep up with the fashion. This is shown in the advert when the man goes to the extreme and strips in front of a room full of people, just to keep up with the fashion. A connotation in ‘The Pick-up’ is that you are more of a man if you wear the jeans. Also in the advert the good-looking man leaves the jeans behind, this implies to the viewer that he is almost saying ‘give these jeans a try they got me my girl, they could get you the girl you want’. In the two adverts the two attractive men are like they are the centre of the universe so many people might think buying the jeans would make them centre of the universe.
In the two adverts different groups of people are represented differently. Men and women are represented differently, as so are the young and old. The men wearing the jeans in the two adverts are portrayed as being: exciting, confident, independent, dominate, young individuals and not afraid to shock. These men are seen as sex symbols. Many viewers are manipulated into believing wearing these jeans would make them have all these things. On the other hand women are depicted quite differently. They are show to be: weak, needing help, respondent to the man’s authority and influence, flirtatious and desires the attractive man. The women seem to be quite dependent on the men. Many people would presume that by wearing the jeans this is how women would act around them; they would have control over any women they want. The qualities of the good-looking men and the actions of the women all become associated with what the jeans can immediately give to the buyer.
The young and the old are again represented very differently. The young men in the adverts, who are wearing the jeans, seem to be free, rebellious, shocking and they always seem to be admired by women or get the women. Using young men in the two adverts to wear the jeans appeals to the target audience more and it gives Levi’s a youthful image. However the older generation are described quite differently. The viewer sees them as being dull and boring, always looking disapprovingly towards the younger men. Describing the young and old in this way gives the younger generation a rebellious image, resulting in the jeans becoming associated with it. Representation in the adverts results in giving Levi’s a new image to appeal to its target audience.
The advertising campaign was a great success, which can be seen by the sale increase. The adverts contain many techniques to sell the jeans. These include the use of a story line to intrigue the viewer; music to enforce the story line and act as a memory jogger; camera angles to portray the quality of the jeans; common features to create an atmosphere for the advert; common themes to produce an image for Levi’s and connotations to manipulate the viewer. Both ‘The Laundrette’ and ‘The Pick-up feature strongly in the campaign. ‘The Laundrette’ is one of Levi’s most famous adverts,
‘The Laundrette reached number 6 in a UK poll of ‘The 100 greatest TV ads’’
This shows the advert is very successful. Bartle, Bogle and Hegarty also have become very successful due to the campaign, with contracts with companies like ‘Golden Wonder crisps’, ‘Coca cola’ and ‘Heinekens beer’. The achievement of the adverts can be seen in the sales of boxer shorts and music used in the adverts,
‘… no other advertising campaign in the history of television can claim to
lead to as many #1 singles than Levi’s’
This shows the increase of sales of boxer shorts and music is due to the impact the adverts had on the viewers. The advertising campaign will remain in history forever due to its exceptional accomplishment,
‘Bartle, Bogle and Hegarty were responsible for the Levi’s campaign in 1985,
one of the worlds most creative and durable advertising campaign.’
By Stacey Hoyland