Levi's Web film goes to the dogs An AdFreak reader, singing its praises, brought this Levi’s Web spot to our attention. “Punk” says “finally looks like there’s a real and timely strategy.” A dog rips an apartment to shreds while superimposed text talks about how complicated things have become with lines like “Movies became films,” “Mediums became grandes,” “Meat became soy,” before the text explains, “It’s enough to drive a good dog mad.” The black-and-white spot, driven by a punk-pop track by Welsh band My Red Cell, has a raw, homemade feel, especially when it gets to the final shot of the dog ending its tirade by lifting his leg and peeing on a magazine. It’s supposed to be a swipe at marketing with (wink, wink) marketing but all it makes me want to do is swipe the dog ...  I think he’s adorable. The film's not interesting enough to make me want to pass it around and "tell a friend" as the site suggests. I know logic isn’t everything, but why would a dog care about any of this stuff, anyway? He's just having fun while master’s away. I like the tagline, “Uncomplicate,” and the idea that marketing's just gone too far in trying to make products fancier, sexier or more wanted. Unfortunately, this ad didn’t go far enough. Just relied on a dog with old tricks. (Addendum: when we stopped by the site this morning, we discovered there's a second spot up on the home page now, at  501uncomplicate.com. It's a two-minute film called "World Gone Pretty" starring what looks to be a Ken doll and his friends in a think-piece on the horrors of metrosexualism. If you check it out, tell us what you think.) —Posted by Eleftheria Parpis

May 2, 2005 in Parpis | Permalink

Comments

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this looks like the typical "mood video" -- type and music -- an agency makes when trying to sell a new campaign or get a new client. i dont see why its getting so much hype (other than its levis and bbh.) im sure the creatives will be trying to top it and use this positioning to make actual spots.

Posted by: bbbb | May 2, 2005 12:04:24 PM

I watched the other spot on the website. It seemed very made-by-old-people-esque. "What's with all these daggun' changes in men. Why back in my day..." I mean, I'm a very un-metro type, but come on ad people, when did you become so afraid of change?

Posted by: T | May 2, 2005 2:08:26 PM

Hmmm, this is about the fifth ad blog that's "received" this video and the message that Levi's "finally has a real and timely strategy." Same phrase in every post. If you do a little searching around, it seems that "Punk" has a Levi's email address. By the way, the video sucks. While the "uncomplicate" message may be real and timely, the execution is anything but. And having run the ad department at Wordwide Wickets, I know real and timely.

Posted by: Pierpont Finch | May 3, 2005 9:19:12 AM

i think irony of blogs is that while it's supposed to be all original and unadulaterated, folks on the internet are lazy. they just copy and paste and plagarize.

check out any blog besides boring ad blogs like gawker or whatever and you can see they just borrow shit from one site to another.

what's a wickets anyways?

Posted by: bored | May 3, 2005 1:56:51 PM

sorry folks i didnt use spellcheck... boredom makes the brain go mush and so i'm the dumb ass... but i can admit it. so to correct myself...

unadulterated
plagiarize

Posted by: bored | May 3, 2005 2:05:04 PM

Nobody here at Worldwide Wickets has any idea what a wicket actually is. It's part of what made the Broadway play about us ("How to Suceed in Business Without Really Trying") so charming. Robert Morse played me in both the play and then the movie.

Posted by: Pierpont Finch | May 3, 2005 3:07:53 PM

i actually think the films are pretty cool. props to levi's

Posted by: cali | May 4, 2005 9:17:14 PM

I think the "World Gone Pretty" film is excellent. It is creative and stands out amongst the usual fare of hip, "too cool for school" video-looking spots. They will look dated and this will always stand out. It's refreshing and I love that I got a chance to see it -- and pass it on.

Posted by: Jason | May 20, 2005 6:14:47 PM

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