Levi’s came to NERDS with a clear ambition: make the 501, the denim icon, desirable to Gen Z all over again.
A creatively driven, mainstream-rejecting young consumer is far more likely to buy into Levi’s, and the 501 in particular. The broader, street-led mainstream, by contrast, was reaching for non-branded, fast-fashion, low-priced, trend-focused alternatives. Levi’s had broad awareness, but lacked the aspirational status to compete.
We devised a cultural positioning and engagement strategy to iconise the 501 from the grassroots up, through a spectrum of authentic cultural and stylistic expressions that each, individually and collectively, drive influence on the high street. We worked with pan-European talent to show how the values and status of the 501 complement their signature style and story, through a content series of video and stills, distributed across local specialist media, insider and brand channels, online and in-store. The result: talent content distributed through specialist media partners delivered a 300% higher engagement rate than previous campaigns.
