“Nearly everyone in the modern world owns, or has owned, a pair of Levi’s jeans,” says Stephen Clements, executive creative director at AKQA. This bold statement was the starting off point for the advertising agency’s partnership with Levi’s to create the Live in Levi’s Project, an online platform that explores the many ways that people around the world wear their Levi’s jeans.
The crux of the global campaign is this digital Live in Levi’s platform, which is a shoppable video of influencers across the globe describing how they wear their pair. Launching the site, viewers can see a variety of individuals from street-style star and Londoner Julia Sarr-Jamois to Japanese boxer Nao Tsuchiyama explain their love of their favorite pair of jeans. The shoppable format allows viewers to easily click-to-buy the denim products seen in the video, but the experience itself is even more immersive.
Beyond the initial shoppable video, each individual profiled has their own video where viewers can get to know them more in-depth, to discover their inspirations and their motivations in life. It drives the tagline home: “A billion jeans. One-of-a-kind stories. This is how the world lives in Levi’s.”
And beyond sneaking a peek into the lives of these folk hand-selected to represent the brand, Levi’s also wants its global audience to participate in the project. Using the hashtag #LiveInLevis, fans are encouraged to share their own “Levi’s moments” on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and – interestingly – Weibo, the Chinese microblogging site. The latter indicates how global the brand hopes the project will be.
“The people who wear Levi’s have always been the inspiration for our brand,” says Jennifer Sey, chief marketing officer for the Levi’s. “This innovation is a way for us to open up our legacy and invite participation from all over the world.”
The project blends storytelling and commerce seamlessly, all while staying true to the global ethos of the brand. Says Clements:
The global ubiquity of the brand and the diversity of people’s style is what we wanted to celebrate. It’s something no other brand can claim.