Levi’s will launch an integrated marketing campaign next week to promote its fall work wear collection. The brand aims to inspire consumers to “re-imagine America” by taking a cue from its “Go Forth” brand positioning.
The campaign includes a microsite, e-mail, social media, banner ads, search, online video, in-cinema ads, TV, print and out-of-home. Wieden & Kennedy developed the campaign’s creative and traditional elements, while Razorfish will handle its digital executions. In-cinema ads will debut July 2, while the rest of the campaign will launch July 4.
“We’re turning the energy of ‘Go Forth’ into something tangible by engaging in meaningful conversations around real work and celebrating the individuals who are leading the way for a better tomorrow,” said Doug Sweeny, VP of marketing at Levi Strauss & Co. for the Levi’s brand.
The campaign ads feature stories about the “new American worker.” The ads star residents of Braddock, PA, which is trying to revitalize itself by encouraging a culture of local artists and craftsmen.
“We hope to engage workers everywhere and inspire them through stories of the new American worker,” said Sweeny. “We decided to focus this fall’s campaign on workers because our work wear collection is about craftsmanship and attention to detail.”
All campaign creative was shot in Braddock with the goal of inspiring other consumers to follow the town’s lead. “Rather than shooting fashion models in work wear, we came up with the idea of finding real people who are doing work,” said Tyler Whisnand, creative director at Wieden & Kennedy. “Levi’s is all about authenticity and we wanted to show off the line in an authentic way.”
Levi’s has donated money to refurbish Braddock’s community center and supported the town’s urban farm, which supplies produce to residents at reduced costs.
The first “Go Forth” brand campaign launched last July 4 to position the brand with “authenticity,” according to Levi’s. The past campaign included an interactive Constitution that consumers could “rewrite” and distribute across social networks. The new work continues this message by focusing on re-imagining the American town.
“This year it was very important to give that spirit a tangible project,” Whisnand said. “We needed something that would put the ‘Go Forth’ spirit to work.”
Jaime Cohen Szulc, CMO and SVP of Levi Strauss & Co. told DMNews this spring that the idea behind “Go Forth” is to harness the idea of “change” that then-Senator Barack Obama introduced during his presidential campaign, and to inspire people to actively make a change in their lives. The goal is to encourage consumers to be brand advocates, rather than just loyal shoppers.
