Clothing manufacturer Levi Strauss & Co. unveiled its new integrated campaign for its Levi‘s SilverTab brand this week, combining offline ads with an online, rich-media tour and cross-branded partnerships.
The “Lost But Not Lost” campaign combines traditional print advertising and strategic partnerships with an Internet tour strategy to promote the company’s new line of SilverTab clothes, which Levi’s markets as functional, street-inspired and technology-hip.
Conceptually, the “Lost But Not Lost” campaign documents three young Americans’ visit to and adventures in Morocco. Online, a non-linear series of sites tells their story through QuickTime video footage, still images, character journals, and personal e-mails.
London-based Web consultancy Lateral designed and build the “Lost But Not Lost” sites.
“We are taking the SilverTab customer on a journey with us. We accomplish this by speaking through numerous sites, not as banner and conventional ads, but as a series of stepping-stones across the Web,” said Mitch Kanner, founder of Los Angeles-based creative shop C3, which, with consultancy Think, Think, Think jointly developed the concept behind the Web campaign.
The companies said the online portion of the campaign abandons the traditional banner ad formula to more closely mirror the free, adventurous and techno-savvy lifestyle of the SilverTab audience.
“The SilverTab consumer is constantly seeking new experiences and isn’t afraid to integrate technology into their everyday lives,” said Levi’s brand marketing director Sean Dee. “The ‘Lost But Not Lost’ sites capture this thrill-seeking mindset with numerous entry points that drop consumers into the adventures of our three urban nomads.”
A promotional component comes into play as the online campaign drives traffic to partner sites, which become stops along the “Lost But Not Lost” story path.
A deal with consumer electronics giant Sony features links to “Lost But Not Lost” sites on several Sony properties, and “Lost But Not Lost” content will also be featured in Sony’s lifestyle print publication, Sony Style, in which SilverTab will also advertise.
Several Sony consumer electronics products are also featured in many of the “Lost But Not Lost” ads and sites.
Other partners include behind-the-scenes content site iMovieStudio, which features background information and production photographs from the campaign.
From the “Lost But Not Lost” sites, users can also download a co-branded “Personal Online Desktop” that combines streaming media players, file sharing, instant messaging and online calendar, through a deal with consumer software company OMNIPOD.
More partners will be added in the future, Levi’s spokespeople said.
The national print campaign, developed by TBWAChiatDay in San Francisco, broke last month in consumer publications including Rolling Stone, Spin, Detour and Jane and will run through December.
Print campaign images and the URLs will also be included in buys across a variety of non-traditional media through December, including 15-second cinema ads and a national GoCARD postcard program — which places postcards in bars, restaurants, gyms and on college campuses.
SilverTab will also be promoting the campaign and label through partnerships with The Ritual Expo, a six-city touring event that highlights cutting-edge designers, music and Web
life, and Les Rythmes Digitales, an electronic dance-pop tour from Europe.
