Dockers Pulls FCB Ads

Levi Unit Replaces TV Work With BBH Spot SAN FRANCISCO--Facing fierce competition from the Gap, Levi Strauss & Co.'s Dockers unit has quietly phased out its TV ads from Foote, Cone & Belding in favor of one spot by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, which handles the brand in Europe. The spot, which replaces FCB's "One leg at a time" work, is the first Dockers ad from London-based BBH to air in the U.S. It features surfers whose surfboards double as ironing boards. The tagline is: "There is more to life than ironing." The spot is airing on network and cable TV through the fall. FCB's current print and outdoor ads will continue to appear. Levi in San Francisco confirmed the shift but said it has no plans to change agencies. "This is not a war between FCB and BBH," said Robert Hanson, vice president of marketing for Dockers. "We are a global brand. We are in more than 40 countries. Our priority is deciding how to leverage the best work we've got for Dockers, no matter who created it." Hanson added that Dockers is "committed to FCB and its work for the [rest of 1998] and early 1999" and gave FCB approval last week for a new campaign. That effort will break in late fall, backed by at least $20 million in media spending, said sources. Levi spent about $30 million on Dockers last year and $11 million through April of this year, according to Competitive Media Reporting. "We have a good, strong, productive relationship with Dockers," said Tim Elliott, managing director of FCB's San Francisco office, which also handles Levi's Slates brand. Executives at BBH declined to comment. "FCB's definitely on guard," said one agency source. "This whole thing ... is [reminiscent] of events that occurred before the [Levi's] jeans review." Before the closely watched jeans pitch began, the client adopted a BBH spot for 501's that first appeared in Europe. FCB, which had handled the jeans business for 67 years, and BBH both lost that pitch to TBWA Chiat/Day in Venice, Calif. BBH has been eyeing New York as the site for its first U.S. office, which it plans to open by the end of the year [Adweek, April 27]. It has made little secret of its desire to land a Levi assignment in the U.S. Overseas, BBH handles ads for Levi's jeans in Europe and Asia and Dockers in Europe. A factor in Levi's decision to shake up its U.S. Dockers campaign, said sources, is increased pressure from The Gap, which recently unleashed a trendy $20-30 million TV, outdoor and print campaign for its khakis. The Gap's TV campaign shows groups of young people dancing and skateboarding to different musical styles. One standout spot features a group of fashionable dancers swinging to "Jump, Jive and Wail" by the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

Brand Marketing

Dockers Pulls FCB Ads

Jane Irene Kelly

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