If They’re Good Enough For Bridget Jones… 10 Of The Best Levi’s Ads

If one brand defined a generation through its advertising - as well as the fortunes of the agency that created it - it has to be Levi's.

The story of how Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) broke the mould for British advertising in the 1980s through its Levi's campaigns has been well told, and we're not going to repeat it here.

On the pitch for the business, they agency's co-founder Sir John Hegarty reveals: "Our presentation concentrated on making Levi Strauss fall in love with who they were. It was about how they should have pride in their great brand, and express it from the product out. Focusing on durability, quality and its American-ness. But in a way that captured imagination. When we had finished, we expected our guests to say something like this... 'This must be a joke. You are just four people in a run-down office.' But they didn’t: we won the pitch."

With Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy rekindling interest in the brand (she is seen wearing a pair while shinning up a tree, and the famous 'Swimmer' spot is recreated in a scene), we thought it timely to look at some of Levi's best ads.

It's a look backwards, of course, but as it says in a book not authored by Helen Fielding: "Our ends from our beginnings know."

'Swimmer'

'Laundrette'

'Parting'

'Refrigerator'

'Pool Hall'

'Creek'

'Drugstore Boy'

'Flat Eric'

'Twisted to Fit'

'Odyssey'