Levi's 501 'Drugstore' Tv Commercial Analysis

Q.1 Describe the objective behind the TVC 'Using the Hierarchy of Effects Model'. Please explain the reasons for your answer.

Among advertising theories, the hierarchy-of-effects model is predominant. It shows clear steps of how advertising works. Hierarchy of effects can be explained with the help of a pyramid.

Any ad campaign would first try to accomplish the lower level objectives such as awareness, knowledge or comprehension. Subsequently, the campaign would aim towards achieving other objectives such as associating feelings with the brand, trial, or regular use etc.

However, the Levi’s 501 ‘Drugstore’ Ad Campaign (1995) focuses mainly on developing a liking and preference towards the brand and its product, which would convince the target audience and further lead to purchase. The campaign does not aim towards achieving the objective of creating awareness and knowledge because by the time the ad for Levi’s 501 was released, the target audience was already aware of the brand and had knowledge of the product that the brand dealt in.

If the consumer already knows the product, it becomes important for the brand to make them feel good about it so that they not just like the product but also prefer it to others. And promoting quality, performance and other features in brand advertisements definitely does this.

The ‘Drugstore’ TV commercial brilliantly showcased that the Levi’s 501 Jeans was for the young and rebellious men out there and conveyed a very strong message that anyone who would wear those jeans would become more desirable and look sexually attractive implying to the fact that the product would make the consumers feel more confident about themselves which probably no other brand offered.

I’m sure, after seeing the TVC, every young boy at that time would’ve loved to be the guy shown in the commercial and this proposition helped Levi’s to create linking and preference among the youth during that time and also convinced them that this is why their jeans is better than that of any other brand. 

Q.2 What is the message/proposition this advertisement is trying to send to the target audience?

Levi’s 501 jeans were advertised as rebellious, confident, dangerous and desirable in Michel Gondry’s “Drugstore” TV commercial. With absolutely no dialogues, black and white shots, really interesting music and great visuals, the advertisement spoke to the consumers in ways no other commercial at that time did.

The ‘Drugstore’ TV commercial brilliantly showcased that the Levi’s 501 Jeans was for the young, reckless, carefree, upbeat and rebellious men out there and conveyed a very strong message that anyone who would wear those jeans would become more desirable and hard to resist implying to the fact that wearing those jeans would make the consumers feel carefree and more confident about themselves which probably no other brand offered.

Q.3 This ad delivers a message through story telling. Why is story-telling an important aspect of successful advertising?

The ‘Drugstore’, Michel Gondry’s stylish 1995 TV commercial, is a pretty amazing piece of film, which over the years gained a lot of acclaim and recognition mainly because of its well-crafted and crisp storyline that the audiences could definitely connect to. The commercial has a young man who surprises the owner of a drug store, when he arrives to pick up the man’s teenage daughter, having bought a pack of latex condoms from him earlier in the day. With absolutely no dialogues, black and white shots, really interesting music and great visuals, the advertisement spoke to the consumers in ways no other commercial at that time did only because it delivered a message through its story.

One of the most important aspects of advertising is that the audiences expect a brand to do much more than simply tell them why they should buy their product. Its more important for a brand that they do everything they can to forge an emotional connection with potential customers, and the best way to do this is through effective storytelling in their advertisements. Hence, good advertising is good storytelling.

If you look at successful advertisements, almost all of them have one thing in common: they contain well-crafted stories that make people feel something. The tone could be humorous, sad, uplifting or eye opening, but it almost certainly contains a clear story structure. The main reasons why storytelling is an important part of successful advertising are as follows:-

1.     Stories produce experiences that leave a lasting impression and go far deeper than facts figures or features. And by creating a story-based experience, you cause your audience to walk away with an impression of your brand that not only rests in their minds but also in their hearts.

2.     Stories help a brand to create a specific identity by revealing what message the brand actually wants to convey and how is it unique.

3.     Stories are the emotional glue that connects a brand to its consumers. Sure, the point of a commercial is to sell something, but people don’t like being given sales pitches. Commercials crafted in the style of a story allow people to read between the lines and pick up the message themselves without having it hammered into them by repeated sales pitches. This is much more effective, as it feels like the viewer is sharing an experience with your brand, rather than being pushed into buying something by a sales person.

4.     Stories shape information into meaning. ‘’Show, don’t just tell.” This is one of the biggest rules of advertising. You can tell people how great your brand and products are as much as you want, but it’s always going to be more effective to show the benefits of your brand and what it does for people. This ties in with the greater subtlety that comes with storytelling in advertisements. For instance, in the above commercial, there are no dialogues, the commercial still speaks to its consumers in a number of ways and conveys a strong message only through effective storytelling and great visuals.

Q.4 Describe the personality of the Levi’s brand based on this TVC in not more than 4 words.

A change of Levi’s brand image was seen during the 1950s and 1960s when the brand added contemporary elements like the watch pocket to the designs of its jeans. With this, Levi’s introduced its first ever shrink-to-fit 501 jeans that had a modern look and feel but did not compromise on its signature classic brand personality. This change in Levi’s brand image has established a strong emotional connection within the younger consumers during that time, thus allowing the brand to enjoy strong brand popularity among young and hip subcultures which include the greasers, mods, rockers, hippies and more.

Therefore, based on the ‘Drugstore’ TVC Levis’ Brand Personality could be: -

Classy and quality-driven yet modern and carefree.

Young, confident and rebellious.