Called Copper, the range is an update of the first pair of Levi’s jeans invented, worn by miners in the 1800s. The name refers to the copper rivets found along pocket corners and zippers. According to legend, these rivets were invented and patented by Levi Strauss.
“Copper is, first and foremost, an innovation,” said Agnes Tan, Levi’s strategic brand planning director, Levi Strauss Asia-Pacific “It is an innovation rooted in a heritage story.”
The line will only be available in Asia and targets both existing and potential customers between the ages of 15 to 24 years, Tan added.
Globally-aligned agency BBH took the conceptual lead for the campaign, while OgilvyOne developed the interactive portion. The print work depicts contemporary models in a mine digging out Copper jeans, with the tagline ‘New Levi’s Copper jeans: An original, unearthed’.
This creative strategy, explained Tan, was devised to capture the brand’s essence of originality, integrity and innovation. Meanwhile the website targets a new generation of consumers. It was designed in basic HTML coding instead of the more contemporary flash-based format. The rationale, according to OgilvyOne art director Melvin Lim, was to demonstrate Copper’s platform of ‘back to basics’.
The website imagery is set in a mine, where users can learn about the denim and print out life-size samples according to waist size. “This campaign, particularly the website, engages users from the primary target group to experience the brand and form a stronger connection,” said Tan.
According to a spokesperson at Levi Strauss, 20 per cent of the region’s marketing budget is devoted to online.
Globally, the company has faced consistently falling sales over the past decade as premium denim competitors, such as Diesel and G-Star, have become more popular and eroded Levi’s market share. However, Levi Strauss received a small boost at the end of 2006, buoyed by six per cent growth in sales in Asia-Pacific.
