The viral campaign is built around a localised 'Stay true' microsite, which forms part of a multimedia campaign to build on renewed consumer interest in washed jeans such as the 501. Caroline Chan, group director of Levi's media agency OMD, said the creative concept and the choice of medium allowed the brand to encourage its 15 to 24 years target market to express their personality as called for in the campaign's 'Stay true' message to showcase 501's originality.
Hiroshi Fujiwara, best known for inspiring street fashion in Japan, fronts one of the TVCs and the microsite, with a message that music rather than fashion or money is important to him.
Along with product and store information and streaming videos of the TVCs, the microsite also features a variety of Levi's branded emoticons, from its buttons to seams, display pictures and wallpaper for MSN Messenger's monthly pool of 1.4 million users to download and customise their chat boxes and send to their 'buddy' lists. Taking the campaign further, Levi's is also running a competition, calling on Messenger users to design their own emoticons and displays using Levi's branding during the promotion's run until mid-October.
There are ready-made icons to help novices with their designs, and Levi's will awardcash coupons for winners to redeem its products. Five hundred entries were received within the first week.
Kevin Huang, CEO of Pixel Media, MSN's exclusive online adsales representative in Hong Kong, said the partnership allowed the portal and the jeans brand to leverage each other's appeal through a cross-marketing arrangement: "The cross-over works for MSN, as Levi's branding gives Messenger users a chance to create customised pages and these displays will provide impressions for Levi's that will last beyond a month-long TV campaign."
Ads have been placed on MSN's local homepage, its Messenger platform and text link along with advertorial features to drive traffic to the microsite. "We have been looking at the internet for many years, but this is the first time in Hong Kong where we have a really integrated campaign for online," said Levi's marketing manager Vincy Ho.
