The Brief

Our challenge was to promote Levi’s Commuter – a cycling-inspired jeans collection for China, a country that has for decades seen the bicycle merely as a mode of transport. The aim was to uplift the Levi’s brand in the eyes of youth by setting a new lifestyle trend and driving sales of the collection.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

Over a billion Chinese have pedalled China forward through their bikes. It was now the turn of today’s youth. We turned this challenge into a chance to celebrate the Levi’s “GO FORTH” spirit, represented by China’s unstoppable energy and its new generation of progressive youth. PEDAL POWER, generated by Levi’s Commuter, was a series of events across China that transformed cycling into a progressive and cool lifestyle, using pedal power to “power up” youth passions. By pedaling to a certain speed, the generated kinetic energy was converted into electricity, powering up a camera to take snapshots, playing music and powering a sewing machine!

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

PEDAL POWER went all over China. With no support in above-the-line channels, sales of Levi’s Commuter increased by 800% vs the week before. Over 9,300 people talked about the event on Sina Weibo within just a few days, and the momentum hasn’t stopped.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

At the events, bicycles “powered up” the different passions of our progressive audience. Pedaling to a certain speed generated kinetic energy that converted into electricity, powering up a camera to take snapshots, a speaker to play music and a sewing machine to stitch patch-ware. Young Chinese were inspired to pursue their passions and pedal China forward, together with Levi’s.