Levi's: “501 — Launderette”
A young man walks into a 1950s launderette, strips to his boxer shorts and washes his 501 jeans.
- Brand
- Levi's
- Year
- 1985
- Agency
- Bartle Bogle Hegarty
- Category
- Fashion
In a 1950s American launderette, a handsome young man walks in, takes off his jeans and shirt and puts them in a washing machine, along with some stones to give them a worn look. Then he sits down in his white boxer shorts, while the other customers stare. The soundtrack is Marvin Gaye's I Heard It Through the Grapevine.
The 1985 ad by the London agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty starred model Nick Kamen. It was designed to make Levi's 501 jeans fashionable again among young Europeans, by giving them a cool, rebellious American image.
It worked spectacularly: sales of 501s jumped, the song returned to the charts and, according to the often-told story, sales of boxer shorts rose too. It started a long series of Levi's ads that turned old songs into hits.
Watch the full ad on YouTube
Could you recognise it with the logo hidden? This ad is one of 129 famous commercials in Guess the Ad.
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