A Jeans to Remember: How did this brand capture the hearts of multi-generations worldwide?

From the desk of Miles Everson:

Hello, everyone! We’re once again gearing towards the weekend.

I hope you’re having a Thursday so far.

I’m excited to talk about another awesome guerrilla marketing topic today. Personally, I’m fond of this strategy because it reminds me that we can never run out of creative ways and ideas to get our target audience’s attention.

Ready for today’s feature?

Continue reading below to learn how one clothing brand celebrated its major milestone in 2023.

A Jeans to Remember: How did this brand capture the hearts of multi-generations worldwide?

“How could a simple pair of blue jeans become soooooo phenomenal?”

The  Levi’s  501 jeans is one of the most iconic pieces of clothing ever made. It’s been lived in and worn the world over, transcending borders, cultures, languages and generations.

In 2023, it celebrated a MASSIVE milestone:  Its 150th anniversary.

For Levi’s largest brand initiative ever, the campaign team thought they needed to honor the billions of devoted wearers worldwide and inspire the next generation to fasten up a pair.

In short,  the team needed to tell the legend and lore of the original blue jeans.

… and what’s their solution?

“The Greatest Story Ever Worn,”  a year-long global anthology based on the true exploits of Levi’s 501 wearers from the past 150 years.

When the Truth is Stranger than Fiction

Levi’s 150th anniversary campaign began by uncovering a 150-year-old prevailing truth… because when it comes to the Levi’s 501,  fact is undoubtedly stranger than fiction.

After digging through the depths of the Internet and the Levi’s archives, the campaign team uncovered source material almost too unbelievable to believe.

Are you starting to get curious?

As a result of that, the team set out to tell these true stories in a way the world couldn’t ignore!

Partnering with advertising agency  Droga5, Levi’s produced three short films directed by Martin de Thurah and Melina Matsoukas. These videos explore stories about the pioneering jean style and debuted on February 5, 2023 during the  Grammy Awards.

Let’s talk about these films briefly…

• Fair Exchange

  The story follows a boy born on a farm in 1982. He spots a pair of 501s while perusing a magazine, which prompts him to trade his family cow for his neighbor’s pair of jeans.

  A jangly ‘80s song reverberates throughout the spot, helping to invoke the spirit of the time.

  

  If you’re to choose which is more important, what would you choose: The family cow (which can help you and your family in countless ways) or the Levi’s 501 jeans (which can only make you feel good about yourself)?

  It’s up to you to choose which is which and assess how stranger than fiction this story is!

• Legends Never Die

  The story immortalizes a man who passed away and requested that his loved ones all wear their 501s to his funeral.

  Then, the camera pans across different shades of denim while Cliff Richards’s 1961 country tear-jerker,  “My Blue Heaven”  is heard in the background.

  

  What a unique twist to a funeral, indeed! It just goes to show how devoted the “legend” is to his branded jeans

  What do you think—how stranger than fiction is this story?

• Precious Cargo

  The story shows how the 501 jeans made its way to Jamaica’s capital city of Kingston in the 1970s and how people on the Caribbean island made the pair uniquely their own.

  Young Jamaicans are seen donning the jeans while dancing to Toots & The Maytals’ 1973 hit,  “54-46 Was My Number.”

  

  How could a simple pair of jeans make such a HUGE wave and become a “celebratory exploration of an island that’s distinct style, rhythm and soul has reverberated across the globe”?

  That in itself is stranger than fiction, indeed!

Aside from film, print, social, OHH, 3-DOOH, radio and in-store displays, the pages of  “The Greatest Story Ever Worn”  began to unfold across print, social media, out-of-home (OOH), 3D-out-of-home (3DOOH), radio, and in-store displays.

In an expansive year-long celebration of the 501 jeans and its wearers, these collaterals told stories of devotion for the 501 jeans.

Such a devotion was so deep that it bordered on the irrational!

Was Levi’s  “The Greatest Story Ever Worn”  campaign effective?

Every piece of the campaign was inspired by a true story. Going beyond the icons and into the exploits of everyday wearers, Levi’s gave the next generation a glimpse into the unbelievable experiences, characters, and events the 501 jeans have been present for, with hopes to inspire these individuals to add their own story to the legacy.

Additionally:

• The campaign spread worldwide with an orchestrated rollout across 37 global markets, 19 languages, and 6,000 unique assets via Song Studios.
• Levi’s garnered a 61% increase in positive sentiment, 534% spike in site visits at the campaign launch, and 332 million social media impressions all throughout 2023.
• The campaign won a Wood Pencil and 4 Shortlists at the D&AD Awards 2023.

These figures are ENORMOUS!

Kudos to Levi’s and Droga5’s campaign team! Clearly, this is an awesome and powerful way to celebrate a major milestone.

*Applause*

More than an anniversary campaign, the team authored a worldwide celebration of a product that’s been intertwined with soooooo many people’s lives throughout the decades.

… and not only that!

Levi’s and Droga5 also offered an invitation to the next generation to add their own page to the ever-expanding narrative.

After all, 150 years on,  “The Greatest Story Ever Worn”  is still being written.

How can you apply that to marketing your own brand?

Like what Levi’s did,  timeliness  is an important factor in conducting your campaigns. It would also be helpful to take note of  major milestones  that you would like your brand to be part of.

What’s more?

When executing campaigns like that of Levi’s, don’t just focus on the past and present; take note of the future also. This is one way to show your target audience that you have a vision and that you’re thinking about the countless possibilities and people who could encounter your brand in the “not yet.”

Besides, wouldn’t you want  what’s-in-it-for-me  askers to feel that they truly matter to your brand?

If so, get them thinking of the  what-could-be’s  with your brand!

Make them want to be part of your story. You can do that by making them part of a history that they will never ever forget.

Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.

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Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing!

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