Smart Or Just Plain Silly?

Fashion writer Leah Chernikoff is asking whether we agree or not with Levi's latest ad campaign. I think it's smart yet silly as the headline reads. Leah's point of view as a journalist, in our opinion, is always admirable and extremely useful, in an industry where a lot gets filter and over saturated.

"If you, unlike me, haven’t been completely absorbed by New York Fashion Week this past week, you might be one of the nearly 2.5 million people who have watched this viral video on YouTube in which two hot girls rig the back of the jeans so that they catch people checking out their asses. At 1:53 Jesus even stops to check out one of their bums.

Cute gimmick? Sure. But it’s also very clever marketing. The “hot girls” are actually Jessie Gurunathan and Reanin Johannink, two actresses who are part of Levi’s latest Curve ID Skinny Jeans campaign. You know, they’re the jeans that come specially made in four styles to best flatter your bum, whether it’s a “slight curve,” “demi curve,” “bold curve,” or the newly introduced “supreme curve” (the girl with the butt-cam is a demi-curve in case you were wondering). Levi’s hired New Zealand-based creative group Colenso BBDO to create the campaign, and with two and a half million views in three days, it seems safe to say the campaign is already a success. It’s such a hit that Gurunanthan and Johannink currently have reporters stationed outside their homes in New Zealand.


Levi’s has successfully used viral video campaigns in the past. Remember the “Guy Walks Across America” video? That “guy” was wearing Levi’s. So Levi’s Curve ID decided to give free rein to the little Kiwi creative that could. “Given our interest in empowering young artists and encouraging organic expressions of our brand, we agreed to let [Colenso BBDO] create and conduct this grassroots experiment without any creative direction from us,” a Levi’s spokesperson told us.

The campaign’s got legs, so Gurunanthan and Johannink (and their hot asses) are starring in another video in which they teach you how to DIY your own butt-cam.

Oh, and that super catchy tune in the video (which I’ve already watched three times just so I can hear it again)? It’s by Philly-based rapper Amanda Blank.

Here’s a sneak peek at the new installment: