First the song, now the ad campaign. When Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” album was released in April, her personal interpretation of country caught everyone’s attention, fans and charts were raving, the record industry placed her on the genre’s top step. But at Levi’s headquarters in San Francisco, home of the 501, there was one song in particular that stirred spirits: the startup’s duet with Post Malone entitled “Levii’s Jeans.”
The brand immediately reacted to that call by even changing its name on social media to “Levii’s.” The nod, evidently, was for Queen Bey. This started a back-and-forth that eventually yielded an ad campaign: Reimagine, which plays some of Levi’s most iconic ads.
The first is the 1985 commercial in which a young man, played by handsome singer Nick Kamen, walked into a laundromat to the tune of Otis Redding’s “I Heard it Through the Grapevine’, stripped off his Levi’s model 501s and sat in boxer shorts and newspaper in hand among the ‘impressed’ onlookers, while his jeans were in the wash.
In the updated version, it is Beyoncé who is the protagonist, strutting around showing herself extremely confident. “My song ‘Levii’s Jeans’ celebrates what I believe to be the quintessential American uniform-something we all wear with pride,” Beyoncé said. “I am honored to work with Levi’s to create the quintessential American iconography. Denim has often been viewed through a male lens, so this reimagining campaign, celebrating the female perspective, is important to me. I look forward to exploring innovative ways to empower women and honor their strength.”
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Future ads will be based on other well-known Levi’s looks, from western designs to jackets and shorts. “This campaign celebrates two icons,” Levi’s Mitchell said in an interview. “It is inspired by Levi’s and our inimitable history and its impact over time, as well as Beyoncé, who is an artist who can shape culture.”
