Live unbuttoned
September 3, 2008
Forever in blue jeans
“Everyone has something to reveal. They just need to be unbuttoned,” states Levi’s. Levi’s Live Unbuttoned campaign – its first integrated global campaign and the biggest marketing programme ever undertaken by the brand – aims to encapsulate the “unrestrained, free-spirited and self-expressive attitude” of its iconic jeans.
The campaign kick-started with a number of viral elements, which garnered plenty of column inches after scoring viral gold on YouTube. ‘Jeans Jump’, which saw a selection of underwear-clad individuals allegedly back-flipping into their Levis, drew in excess of 5M hits. Others followed a similar theme, including jeans filled with helium to the soundtrack of !!! (Chk Chk Chk) and even jeans that back-flipped all by themselves.
The next phase of the campaign draws on strong musical elements. New ad, ‘Unbreakable’, features music by Justice – using the track ‘Genesis’ (The Levi’s Unbuttoned remix 2008).
To further enhance the ‘unbuttoned’ aspect, Levi’s is now inviting users to literally unbutton a number of musical artists online and see what makes them tick inside, unveiling how they “contribute to the world’s cultural landscape in unique ways and represent the spirit of living an ‘unbuttoned’ life”. Estelle, Nikka Costa, and Wale are the artists in question who each appear dressed in Levi’s, offering up exclusive full motion videos, film content and a selection of exclusive music downloads from their forthcoming albums. “Levi’s is a brand that represents creativity, individuality and freedom of expression […] The emerging artists we partnered with unbutton themselves in their own unique and inspired way,” said Doug Sweeny, Director of Levi’s Brand Marketing.
So what?: Levi’s built its brand on music. From the moment Nick Kamen decided to enter ‘that’ launderette and get ‘unbuttoned’, music has been the driving force of the brand. Now the dawn of a new century has brought both increased competition and a global economic slump. With Levi’s revenue for the three month period ending May 2008 down 20% in the US (opposed to the same period in 2007), a unified campaign was essential to boost the iconic 501 brand.
This campaign is a clever build of both viral and standard media, handled by a number of agencies, with the aim of meeting the consumer in their habitual places. “The creative is more about inserting itself on sites where consumers are rather than getting them to come back to a major destination,” said Robert Cameron, VP of Marketing for Levi’s USA. The viral elements have drawn much attention, but the brand that pushed Babylon Zoo, Flat Eric, and even The Clash back to the top of the charts, is still putting music centre stage above all.
This new campaign, linking to Estelle and other urban artists, states it has “spoonfuls of swagger”. Marvin Gaye would be proud. Times and the method of distribution may have changed but Levi’s is still asking us to strip to the music. No ‘flies’ on them.
“The artist selection is strong, the content generated is credible, and the interactive design is sleek. The link to the ‘unbuttoned’ concept could perhaps be tighter and I would have liked to learn more about the artists’ muses and methods.”
Ant Swede, Creative Planner, FRUKT
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