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Levi's Commercials I Love

When I was a teenager growing up in London, I used to go to the cinema a lot. One of the things that is, or was different about movie theatres in the UK is that they would show commercials before the films.

You may roll your eyes at the idea of giant ads playing to a captive audience… but these were different. I would make sure I got to the theatre early, so I didn’t miss the new Levi’s ad, they were that good. This was the early ’90s and somehow they managed to squeeze enough cinematic quality into those 60 second ads to make them worthy of the big screen.

Directly below is a playlist of six of my favorites, from directors like Michael Gondry and Tarsem Singh. These ads are what first introduced me, and perhaps re-introduced an entire generation of teenagers to the music of The Clash, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, Eartha Kitt, Ben E. King, and Jonny Cash. These were ads that were made to play on the big screen, and I loved them.

It’s been a very very long time since I have felt anything worth reporting about a Levi’s ad, but today that changed when I saw a couple of examples from their new GO FORTH campaign. These are two that really registered with me.

They may not have the wit of the ads from fifteen-plus years ago (times are different now and ads that make us think win over ads that make us smile) but they have every bit as much unbridled sexuality, lyrical innocence, and pure artistry. I could actually do with a couple of new pairs of jeans, and I think it’s worth rewarding a company like Levi’s for making ads that do not irritate, bore, or talk down to me.

I’m not a huge fan of commercials in general, and have so far managed to steer clear of the allure of the quick-buck they can represent for a director today. But these are some of the few ads that have made me do anything other than skip ahead on my DVR in quite some time, and if I ever decide to tackle the world of directing commercials, I can only hope to achieve something that stands the test of time like Levi’s ads have for me.