Ad campaigns reflect the '90s - jeanswear advertising - column

Discount Store News, Sept 3, 1990 by Jill Lettich

Ad Campaigns Reflect the '90s

As fall nips the air, so do the new advertising and marketing campaigns from major jeans manufacturers. If anything is a mirror of our changing society, advertising is it. The history of how jeans have been portrayed in ads and with mass merchants tells the story of how our lives have changed better than most history books.

Manufacturers should be commended for the latest crop of creative promotions. Not only do they give us a sense of our social climate, but they spell out clearly who's who in terms of demographics.

Last year, Gitano made a dramatic reversal from its sexy, young teenage image to one of a family-spirited company. The success of the campaign, and the speed with which the original image was forgotten only confirms how ready we were for that message.

Current ads for Gitano again feature Tony Bennett singing in the background as family (mother, father, multiple kids) frolic on the sand in what are supposed to be home movies.

Now Brittania, a division of Levi Strauss & Co., is catering to the same customer: the young family man that wants jeans that fit over that ever so slight pot belly.

The new ads, which emphasize fit, feature not the rugged Marlboro Man but the local little league coach in loose Brittania jeans.

Even McGregor has gotten into the act. It is introducing its first jeans line for spring 1991. Known as a traditional men's house, the company has projected a more fashion-oriented image in the last few years. Though it will offer fashion galore in its choice of jeans, the company makes no bones about who it is marketing to. Spelled out in black and white in its own promotions are the words "aging baby boomer."

And then there's Sasson. Rather than following along this new track, the company is playing to its strengths, "ooh-la-la." The familiar logo is back as is the catchy tune. For those that remember the ooh-la-la heyday of discos and designer jeans, the Sasson campaign seems trapped in the past. But in fact, it is geared to the next important demographic group: the emerging juniors market.

Fresh-faced, denim-clad Americans are featured playing on the streets of Paris in its latest advertisements.

Jordache sees the value of this junior customer and has begun rerunning ads featuring high school students pondering world problems originally introduced in its ads a few years ago.

Manufacturers should take note, however. Demographic experts are increasingly aware of two important spending groups, the over-50 set and the 5- to 8-year olds, which have lots of influence on family buying decisions. The next commercial you see may be a toddler couple in jeans frolicking in a sandbox. "Aging baby boomer" can't get more literal than that.