Carmela Garcia Lammers Written Assignment 1 September 16, 2010
LEVI’S® CURVE ID CAMPAIGN
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Levi’s® Curve ID Campaign All asses were not created equal. The new Levi’s® Curve ID jeans bring light to the idea of wearing a pair of jeans that fits you rather than you fitting into the jeans, an idea that will certainly make most women look forward to purchasing jeans. The campaign, developed by Weiden + Kennedy, is targeted toward women between the ages of 20 and 30 with a high enough income and interest in purchasing Levis® jeans. According to a video produced by Levis® on their Youtube site, Levi’s® Curve ID “started from a deep understanding of what women go through when they’re actually trying to purchase a pair of jeans.” In order to fully understand what real women go through during the purchasing process, Levis® talked to women of all ages across the globe and found out that about 54 percent of women try on at least 10 pairs of jeans before actually finding a pair that’s suitable for her body type. On top of talking to women around the world, Levis® tried to identify three body shapes that would represent 80 percent of women, had one-on-one conversations with these women, studied over 60,000 3D body scans to really understand what was unique about a woman’s body and came up with three variations for the new line of jeans: slight curve, demi curve and bold curve. To fully understand their target audience, Levis conducted enough in depth research of the product and the consumer in order to help Wieden + Kennedy put together a good campaign. At first glance, the ads created for Levi’s® Curve ID look hip, fresh and creative. The ads also tie in well with the Go Forth campaign used by Levis®, also created by Wieden + Kennedy. The specific Curve ID ad used as an example catches the reader’s eye as it is placed horizontally on two pages of the magazine, Marie Claire in this case. Placing the ad on two pages instead of one creates interaction between the person viewing the ad and the ad itself. In order to read the
LEVI’S® CURVE ID CAMPAIGN
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ad, the magazine would have to be turned vertically. Not only is the placement of the ad out of the ordinary, but the handwritten type and catchy phrases like “all asses were not created equal” and “It’s the new democracy of jeans!” catch the reader’s attention. The handwritten type and phrases also go well with Levis® notorious grungy, edgy and fashionable style. Although the use of the word “ass” might be taken as offensive by some readers, the ad tries to target a specific audience that would not find the word offensive in any way. Had the ad used the word butt, tush, etc, it would not have delivered as strong of a message as with “all asses were not created equal.” Overall, the copy of the ad delivers a clear, entertaining and strong message to readers. It clearly defines what Curve ID is trying to deliver to women; however, it could have provided a link to a site where women could find reviews and facts about the brand. After viewing the ad, I was more compelled to purchase a pair of Levi’s® Curve ID jeans after reading reviews and viewing the research videos done by Levis®. Overall, I found the campaign created by Wieden + Kennedy for Levi’s® Curve ID to be successful. Although the campaign has been criticized for using smaller sized and more Caucasian women, the ads deliver the main message of the campaign: “The new custom fits from Levi’s® are about shape, not size…It's about a pair of jeans that fit you, instead of you having to fit into the jeans. Coupled together, the imagery and copy are fresh and fun and let ladies know that the new democracy of jeans has arrived.” The ad features in Marie Claire magazine was creative, original and followed the style of Levis®; however, they could feature a larger variety of women in the ads like they have in the online campaigns.
LEVI’S® CURVE ID CAMPAIGN
Levi’s® Curve ID advertisement in Marie Claire magazine
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LEVI’SŽ CURVE ID CAMPAIGN
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http://www.wk.com/campaign/levis_curve_id, retrieved online on September 12, 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1zOG-zM8_c, retrieved online on September 12, 2010. http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/levi-s-curve-id, retrieved online on September 14, 2010. http://www.itcfonts.com/Ulc/IndexofPrintedUlc/Levis.htm, retrieved online on September 10, 2010. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/alltherage/2010/08/levis-launches-new-curve-id-fit-technologyfor-women-september-2-2010.html, Retrieved online on September 10, 2010.