Levi's: To Work
With a cast of Braddock residents, we set out to bring our theme of the new frontier to life. Working with John Hillcoat—director of The Proposition and The Road (which was shot in Braddock)—the goal was to begin the spot with a sense of timelessness. We wanted viewers to feel that what they were seeing could be “set” in the 1830s or the 1930s. Then, as dawn comes up, the viewer begins to realize that the pioneers the girl narrating the spot is speaking of are real people in a real place, settling a new kind of frontier in their own ways. The spot ends with a reworking of the opening shot from the film The Searchers, one of the most famous frontier vistas in cinema history. Pushing past the door and onto a Braddock street, the girl tells us, “Some people think there aren’t frontiers anymore. They can’t see how the frontiers are all around us.”
Advertising Agency: Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, USA
Chief Creative Officer: Dan Wieden
Executive Creative Directors: Mark Fitzloff, Susan Hoffman
Creative Directors: Tyler Whisnand, Danielle Flagg, Don Shelford
Art Directors: Julia Blackburn, Mike Giepert
Copywriters: Nathan Goldberg, Antony Goldstein
Agency Producers: Ben Grylewicz, Sarah Shapiro, Juliana Montgomery
Advertiser's Supervisor: Doug Sweeny
Planner: Andy Lindblade
Account Manager: Andrew Schafer
Account Supervisors: Tamera Geddes, Jessie Young
Production Company: Skunk
Director: John Hillcoat
Executive Producers: Matt Factor, Shelly Townsend
Editor: Tommy Harden
Sound Studio: Sound Lounge
Sound Design: Gus Koven
Music: Richard Wagner, Vorspiel
Post Production: The Mill
Production Designer: Dominic Watkins
Color Mastering: Pascal Dangin
18 Comments
Uff, annoying voice
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http://twitter.com/jackmancer/
Annoying comment. When you comment make an objective statement. Dont base it on taste.
When it comes down to it, it ain't gonna change your world any.
I have had it with whispering voice overs.
I hate it when commercials think they're waaay more important than they really are.
+++
"I love some things, and don't love some other things."
That last camera tilt up at the end almost had me for an instant: "Space! The final frontier!"
People who don't have work to do are annoying.
Beautifully shot. Really TERRIBLE V/O.
okay, I'll be the one who will say it's his favorite commercial of the year thus far.
'maybe the world breaks on purpose so we can have work to do' is a fantastic take on the current world. it's that screwed-up logic only a kid could employ. that's why that voiceover makes sense to me. I think there is a longer version on youtube that I first saw a week or so ago. it gave me the biggest fucking goosebumps I have had all year.
wk portland is having a massive year. this campaign strikes me as wonderfully sincere, old spice is funny as hell and nike is nike. I wish those guys all the best. enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
go ahead and rip me but that's where I stand.
Makes sense.
i agree. one way to really make brands live forever in the minds of people is to resonate with what they hold dearest to their hearts - and what we all hold dear to our hearts, cliched as hell though it might sound, is the hope that life will always get better. i love how this ad puts the responsibility in our hands. we get out of life what we put in, et. al.
looks and sounds allot like the ending to terrence malicks "new world". Levi's had a perfect 10 with the "America" black and white piece, but with this, they are just getting lazy.
They're just pants!
I just don't like ads about fashion brands....unless they are actually selling something in it.
I think the Work from BBH done before was better. Also the "Go forth" message reminds me of "Keep Walking" - also a BBH Campaign. Generally I like the emotional upgrading, instead of talking about jeans. It's what's building the brands image over time. Image Commercials are not just for selling or showing a product benefit. They are for building the longtime brand attitude. An emotional extra-benefit. The brand's spirit. The purpose isn't to put the pant in the customer's heart. But the brand. It's not selling. It's an investment.
Outstanding, impecable copyrighting, awesome cinematics, the voice totally goes with the tone of the piece.
i still LOVE this.
people think there aren't frontiers anymore...
they can't see that frontiers are all around us.