Our first integrated campaign for Levi’s is a call-to-arms with an
optimistic message: “Go Forth.”

As the sweat of New World desperation enveloped the West Coast of America in
1873, the Levi’s brand was born. In recent times, the deep sense of purpose
that birthed America has been obscured. Now is a time of self-reckoning, not
dissimilar to the America of back when. With the words of Walt Whitman,
Levi’s is using inspiration of old for new times. Whitman was an optimist at
a time when it was easier to be a pessimist and believed in the strength of
the individual. He lived through the Civil War, one of the darkest periods
in American history, and drew strength from the struggle.

The inaugural TV spot “America” sets the tone for the new campaign: America
is going through a challenging time, but the American spirit of
self-reliance will persevere. The audio used in the commercial is widely
believed to be an original wax recording of Walt Whitman reading four lines
of his 1888 poem “America.”

Shot locally in Portland, “O Pioneers” expands on the Go Forth message with
a 1950′s Smithsonian recording of Walt Whitman’s poem “Pioneers! O’
Pioneers!” playing over footage of new American pioneers.

In print and OOH, the Go Forth campaign sets out to capture the spirit of
young American pioneers and provide some honest inspiration. Something to
remind us how the individual is resilient, strong, and capable of anything.
Photographer Ryan McGinley’s work embodies this Go Forth spirit. For the
last six years, he has photographed friends on road trips across America and
has made his name as one of the leading young artists of the new generation.
He captures the energy and freedom of youth with wit, honesty, and feeling.

Levi.com – Check out the site here.

NYT July 4th ad.

Interactive turns the Go Forth message into a call to action, drawing
inspiration from the historic want ad placed by famous explorer Ernest
Shackleton. The New Declaration is a fresh look at the document that founded
this country, letting people add their own voices, thoughts, and opinions to
the original text.

The New Americans is an interactive art project, asking people to submit
their videos, images, thoughts, and feelings about this country. It’s a
collective look at the state of our nation today, one that will paint a
portrait of the voices in a changing country.

Credits:

Creative Directors: Danielle Flagg & Tyler Whisnand

Creative: Julia Oh, Julia Blackburn, Azsa West, Rudy Adler,
Jennie Hayes, Rob Kendall, Ben Carter, Zambuki

Account Management: Shelley Stevens, Maggie Entwistle, Tamera Geddes, Diana Gonzalez, Taryn Lange

Interactive: Sean O’Brien, Kris Hanson, Jason Tarantino, Trent Johnson, Guillaume Mathieu, Nathan Bell, Destin Young, Sage Baggott, Christine Ellsworth, Christine Vo, Mark Shepherd, Nick Bauer, Kiem Vu, Scott Kleiner, RENNY!

Studio Artist: Steven Denekas, Loren Boggs, Erin Sorenson, Christina Piluso, Karen Koch, Paul Levy

Studio Manager: Lis Moran

Strategic Planning: Andy Lindblade, Allison Bonner, Christina Perry

Media: John Rowan, Jon Carlaw

Project Manager: Jane Monaghan, Stacy Grogan, Emily Longfield

Retouching: Kyle Pero

Proofreading: Brie Spicer, Liz Upchurch, & Rachel Miller

Print Producer: Deborah Hyde

Art Buyer: Natalie Flemming

Directors: M.Blash, Cary Fukanaga

Broadcast: Jeff Selis, Elliot Graham, Julianna Montgomery

JOINT: Patty B!, Peter Wiedensmith, Elliot Graham, Terra Cloyes

Business Affairs: Teresa Lutz, Jessica Sinn, Cynthia Valenti

PR: Joani Wardwell, Christin Spagnoli, Jane

Accounting: Tara Allender