The brief to launch the new Levi's Red Tab range uses a through-the-line approach that includes print and poster work. BBH, Levi's global agency-of-record, handles above-the-line advertising for the region.
Although the brief was set by Jay Gee Enterprises, Levi's distributor in Singapore — not Levi's directly — the Levi's client has final sign-off on all work.
"This is a rare opportunity to show off our creative muscle," said Siew Chong Bong, OgilvyOne Singapore's associate account director on Levi's. "Jay Gee and Levi's allowed us to demonstrate that our ideas cross boundaries."
The campaign is part of Levi's effort to fend off the rise of consumer interest in rival denim labels. Gap recently launched in Singapore, along with niche foreign imports Joe's and Sacred Blue.
"The local campaign shows a stronger commitment to marketing to Singaporeans," said Bong.
The line 'On4Life' will push the idea that a lasting bond forms between a pair of Red Tab — Levi's populist, best-selling line — and its owner. Using online and PR as well as print and outdoor, the campaign will run from this week until Chinese New Year.
OgilvyOne Singapore executive creative director Peter Moss said: "It seemed appropriate that if the idea is about clothes being so close to you that you never take them off, the environment and styling had to be equally close to our audience. Something that would touch Singaporeans in a way that other big brands did not."
Three print executions were shot on location in Singapore by local photographer Jonathon Tay. One features a jeans-clad couple outside a public housing block, dangling from a bamboo pole as they wait for their denims to dry. Another shows a girl who is so attached to her jeans she refuses to take them off while taking a shower.
An On4Life website also launched today, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the print campaign.
Supporting roadshows and PR events have also been mapped out over the coming months. The campaign aims to boost sales in the run up to Christmas in a promising market where Levi's has 80 per cent share.
Levi's reported a six per cent sales slump in the first quarter of 2006 (from US$1.01 billion to $960 million), largely owing to disappointing sales in the US and in Europe. However, double-digit growth in Asia has helped offset a period of long-term decline for the San Francisco-based company.
