MEDIA: Strategy of the Week - Levi's finds new-style strategy for new-style jeans.

Levi's abandoned its usual formulae to promote its 501 Anti-fits, Mark Sweney says.

In promoting the latest redesign of its iconic jean brand, called the 501 Anti-fit, Levi's Europe wanted to reflect its brand's 'originality' by adopting a radically different advertising approach.

Levi's has traditionally opted for an epic blockbuster-style of television ad, with no dialogue and heavily reliant on music, backed by a blanket media strategy designed to saturate the target 16- to 24-year-old market.

The new campaign, centred around Bartle Bogle Hegarty's TV spots, is the first to promote the 501 brand since 1998. It breaks with convention by using dialogue - without any music.

'We needed to communicate that the jeans have been remodelled and contemporised,' Rob Farmer, the business director at BBH, says. 'To do that we wanted to communicate the product news differently from the old ad formula.'

The media strategy eschews Levi's traditional blanket formula, instead aiming for a more targeted, personalised approach.

'We have dramatically refined Levi's media strategy, which usually targets 16- to 24-year-olds,' Nick Vale, the group account director at Levi's media planning and buying agency, Starcom Motive, says. 'It is tempting for a fashion brand just to appear in fashion sectors. Essentially, we want to hit kids when they are involved in their passions.'