Levi's - 150th | Mattia Paolinelli

Levi's - 150th

We were approached to promote the 150th anniversary of the iconic jeans model with a DOOH campaign focused on a platform created by Levi’s to celebrate the unbelievable true exploits of 501® wearers from the last 150 years.

“The Greatest Story Ever Worn” aims to celebrate the 501® jeans incredible past by illuminating an expansive set of stories inspired by true events and inspire a new generation to write the next chapter.

We were approached thanks to our previous 3D anamorphic campaigns developed for The Whitcher (Netflix) and Sonic (Sega).

We started developing general ideas for a main storyboard which would have had to be translated to more specific structures due to the different specs of the screens and locations chosen for the campaign (one in London, three in New York, two in LA).

I had the opportunity to collaborate with the creative and the production department in the development of the storyboard of the main 45 sec advert, stressing about the necessity to implement pictures from Levi’s archive in order to outline the importance of Levi’s heritage.

From the very start it was clear that the animation would have consisted of both 2D and 3D anamorphic content and that the main asset for the latter would have been the storybook batwing (which fades into the brand logo).

We imagined a 2D opening, animating lockup and main headline, followed by a virtual architectural opening where the white background is giving space to a niche from which the storybook emerges.

This expedient, apart from the ability of keeping the animation consistent troughout all the locations, provided us with the opportunity to create specific additional content for the screens with large horizontal development like the ones in Piccadilly and Time Square.

Every 2D animation was developed with the additional purpose to create content for social networks (Instagram, Tik Tok) to serve as a tease (Jan 23 - Feb 4) for the main campaign.

One of the first assets I created was the animation of the stories about 501 wearers: like written by a typewriter, with pictures funny outlining the narration. Levi’s opted for a more serious approach: we got rid of the pictures but we kept the story animation.

We provided Levi’s with many different approaches to the archive pictures carousel outlining the importance of a fast pace for their showcase: so their initial concept of a close tie with the social content was in the end ditched in favour of a more dynamic and fluid showcase. This evolution is visible in the comparison of one of the first mockup (see link in the following page) and the final outcome.

EXPLORATIONS

The 3D anamorphic part was developed as usual as a partnership between Tommy (main concept and assets), KJS (additional effects and Post) and Ocean Outdoor (Screen Technical Specialists).

Concerning 3D, I had the opportunity to create the first assets for the niche opening and storybook with Cinema 4D. I must thank my colleagues Chris and Will as well as KJS and OO for their ingenuity and for the incredible effort and enthusiasm they shared with me on this project.