Levi Strategy May Wear Thin With Core Fans

Advertiser: Levi Strauss & Co.

Agency: Foote, Cone & Belding, San Francisco

Challenge: Develop a more youthful image for Dockers khakis to attract younger male consumers.

The Ads: In two retro-style TV spots, women swoon over lean, muscular men wearing khaki pants. In one ad, set at a carnival and filmed in black and white, women line up for a chance to plunk a shirtless, Dockers-wearing man in a dunk tank. A voice-over asserts that the pants get better with every wash. In the second spot, filmed in color, women dance with a man in Dockers at a nightclub, some of them suggestively tugging at his belt loops and waistband. A voice-over says people wear out before Dockers do.

Comment: The company is trying to build sales among men between the ages of 25 and 34; typical Dockers customers are over 35. In using retro themes and a dance scene, Levi makes points about authenticity and comfort. But Levi is pitching more than pants. In using buff, bare-chested models, it is selling an absurd male fantasy that clashes with the average-guy image of its previous “nice pants” campaign. And that everyday image is what helped give Dockers an estimated 43% of the men’s khakis market. $$