The greatest magic trick in advertising history.

How Levi’s turned “dad jeans” into objects of desire.

In the early 1980s, in the UK, Levi’s was having a very rough go of it. 501s were supremely undesirable. They were deeply uncool dad jeans, and even the most clueless of dads doesn’t want to wear deeply uncool dad jeans. Though you could argue that dads were way more clueless and deeply uncool back then. Also, the button fly was a bug, not a feature. 

Last time we talked about the funny, dorky, sweet, very fun Levi’s 501 Blues campaign in the US. Things got a whole lot steamier in the UK. 

The epic Levi’s 501 ad “Laundrette” first aired in 1985. It features a model named Nick Kamen who walks into a laundromat and strips down to his boxer shorts, inviting the female gaze. He puts his jeans and t-shirt in a washing machine along with some rocks (stonewashed), inviting the female gaze. And then he waits around in his boxers, inviting the female gaze. Plenty of males gazed, too. There was lots of gazing all around. The gaze was tremendous, revolutionary. It was the gaze heard round the world. Marvin Gaye’s (heh) epic “Heard it Through the Grapevine” is the soundtrack. 

The desire in this ad is palpable. You can see it on the faces of the two women staring longingly and perhaps a little bemusedly at shirtless Nick. You can feel their desire for him. You can feel their desire to be desired by him. The acting is tremendous. 

Simultaneously, you can feel your own desire to be desired — a desire you might not have been consciously aware of — transfer from them (or from Nick) to the 501s. 

Women wanted him, men wanted to be wanted by the women who wanted him. And if they couldn’t be him, they could wear those jeans. Abracadabra. 

Levi’s went from “dad jeans” to “hot guy jeans” pretty much overnight. Sales of 501s also jumped 800% almost immediately. Levi’s initially had to pull the ad because they couldn’t keep up with demand. This ad was so good that the pants people ran out of pants. Amazing.

Boxer shorts, which Levi’s did not make, also went from “dad underwear” to “hot guy underwear” pretty much overnight. Hilarious. And “Heard it Through the Grapevine” hit #8 on the UK Singles Chart, which was unheard of for a song that was 20-years old at the time. Bananas. A single ad did that. It was a goddamn, culture-shattering magic trick.

Levi’s followed up with more steamy ads, including “The Fridge.” In this spot, a very attractive woman is working behind the counter at a cartoonishly dilapidated diner. The elderly patrons of the diner are cartoonishly dilapidated as well. Her extremely attractive, completely ripped, very much implied one-night stand comes downstairs in his underwear. Rude. She doesn’t care. Her desire for him is palpable, visceral, carnal. His desire for her is … less palpable. He’s over it. 

The extremely attractive man rudely slams his boots on the counter … and takes his 501s out of the refrigerator. Yes, he does that. 

His eyes are impossibly blue. He looks like he’s been hanging out on Arrakis, consuming epic quantities of Spice. 

Then he slowly puts on his jeans while the camera lingers and the very attractive woman and all the elderly diners gaze either longingly or disapprovingly at him. Either way, dude’s gettin’ gazed at. He doesn’t care. He’ll take his coffee to go, thank you. Actually, he doesn’t even order coffee. He gets on his motorcycle and rides off into the desert. 

That’s the story. It’s preposterous. The song is “Mannish Boy” by legendary bluesman Muddy Waters. Incredible song. 

Women wanted him, men wanted to be wanted by the women who wanted him. Wear these jeans, and you can be that guy. Also, don’t be that guy. He’s kind of an ass. 

This campaign rules. It rules because it was great, and it rules because it worked. 

Yes, sales in the UK went through the roof. More importantly and more profitably, Levi’s was able to nearly double the price of 501s in less than two years. Does advertising work? Advertising works. 

So what does any of this mean for you?

It’s astonishing how focused this campaign is. One campaign. For one product. For nearly a decade. Every ad features wildly attractive people and a banging soundtrack, usually an old Motown or blues song. There is no dialogue, but there are plenty of knowing glances and incredible facial expressions. The acting is phenomenal. 

Each ad has a sense of place. They’re set in a vast, cinematic, romantic, hot, dusty and worn pastiche of America. It’s an America that is always somehow 1932 and simultaneously 1956 and 1985. This version of America was created for a UK audience by the legendary London agency BBH. 

Every ad tells a complete story. It’s never quite the same story, but there’s a common emotional thread that holds them together — desire and the desire to be desired.

Great advertising makes the audience feel something. We’re in the memory business, and emotion drives memory. Emotion also drives action. More importantly, it drives profitability. Within three years of “Laundrette,” Levi’s was selling 20x more jeans at a price 50% higher than market average. 

It was magic. 

We’ll see you next time. 

Sources!

1. ‘It was a piece of magic’: How Levi’s ‘Laundrette’ ad led to an 800% sales boost – Marketing Week
2. 501! Contemporary Lessons from a Vintage Case Study – Jim Carroll’s Blog
3. How Levi’s fell out of fashion – Management Today
4. 1985 Levis 501 ‘Launderette’ commercial – made by Bartle Bogle Hegarty 
5. Levi’s 1988 “Fridge” (Muddy Waters, Mannish Boy)