Levi’s had to change their advertising strategy. It was decided to improve their profits, and increase income. This meant lowering the age of their product ‘profile’, so targeting it at a modern youth society. It was also intended that the brand become a part of the student image, and to regain the company’s position as the core brand designed for fifteen too nineteen-year olds.
Levi’s re-exposed the idea that Levi’s 501s were unique and different in an attempt to make them stand out as a “classic” item (such as Harleys and Zippo lighters). A few of the trends that could be used to their advantage were built upon such as, “Cognoscenti’s” growing taste for “classic” clothes and objects, true brand names that provided durability, and insinuation’s of a better age, a golden age. This was turned into the desire of icons that come across as part of 50s America for instance the 57 Chevrolet and James Dean. This was the age of Jeans and heroes; the age of dreams.
Within this age of dreams were set eight similarly themed adverts: Ice Box; Pool Hall and standing at the forefront of the campaign was The Pawnbroker.
The Pawnbroker advert was one of the most important pieces of small screen sales media fashioned by ‘Bartle, Bogle and Hegarty’. The media language and 1950’s/1960’s ideology was the key too our most successful campaign; the re-direction of Levi’s plummeting sales.
From the opening we see significant image association with the “American dream”. A typical American car enters slowly from the right, setting the scene by creating a foundation for the lead role’s characterisation; by driving smoothly the viewer perceives our key actor as cool and unhurried, the image portrayed by the starring characters in all the colour adverts.
This advert was shot with an ochre/amber filter; giving the same warm semiotic reflection that links the whole campaign together (with the exception of the contrasting black and white “Russia” advert) with a warm semantic field of hope and freedom serves to build upon the idea that if you choose the American way (hence choosing Levi’s) then your life will be more enjoyable. The colouring alone aims to tell you that you will be free to do as you wish, as long as you buy Levi’s. This ideological outlook is strengthened with the interior shot of the car, showing us an obviously attractive woman; the main character’s partner. We then cast a hook to hold the audience’s attention through the extension of a simple plot. We show a close up of the fuel indicator, showing empty, and show the driver as concerned. This not only creates a story to grip the spectator, but also shows that this person is jus a normal person, that it could be you or me. We then inserted the recurrent image of the “hero” figure sweeping past all the ordinary people, putting him in a proxemically strengthened position. He passes an old woman, again an ugly figure intended to draw attention to the down points of old people whilst the next shot (a waist down medium shot) was chosen to show that Levi’s are the antithesis of the elderly haßlich generation.
“Classic” goods are used as a reference to the “Cognoscenti’s” current lust for quality products from the Golden American Era. This starts off with a high quality watch of American make, rejected after scrutiny by the pawnbroker, then the iconic James Dean shades are drawn from the rear pocket of the jeans, highlighting the core. This simple situation manages to express nostalgic visions of a hero trying his hardest to save the day, yet another rung on the ladder of strength that our star has been rocketed on to.
As the disconsolate driver turns to leave the shot lingers on his rear-end, intended to give a premonition that the jeans themselves are about to save the day. This premonition is a brought to a cadencialy perfect resolution as the shot switches to the pawnbroker calling the driver back and signals to the jeans. With no words said the whole affair seems surrealistically severe and reverential.
With the hesitant look from the driver we see how much he cares for the jeans, but his sacrifice again builds his character, as it tells that those who wear Levi’s are selfless heroes.
The whole story is brought to a joyful end as the driver returns with the money. However suspense is held right up until he opens the door, a suspense used to hold the TV audience captive until the signature ending of jeans and logo.
The fact that the woman is laughing both at the situation and the driver is designed to make the driver seem so much more selfless and caring, that he would do something so humiliating just to help someone. The fact that he is wearing ridiculously unfashionable trousers emphasises this and also that jeans are fashionable.
The end shot of the jeans being placed in safe storage with valuable items such as gold jewellery gives emphasis to the captions message; “Originals have always been sought after”.
The aim of the whole advert was to demonstrate to the world that Levi’s were THE originals, that these jeans were classic items that ranked alongside Zippo’s and Harley’s, Ray Ban and Bass Weejuns.
