UPDATE: YouTube pulls Rear View Girls’ web film – No butts about it: The White Agency CD slams ‘Rear View Girls’ unbranded web campaign
MONDAY UPDATE: YouTube has just removed the official ‘Rear View Girls’ video – which was approaching 7 million views – citing a violation of their terms of service. But happily it’s still ONLINE HERE
In today’s SMH, Julian Lee reports that Darwin Tomlinson, the creative director of Sydney digital shop The White Agency has slammed the unbranded ‘Rear View Girls’ web campaign created by Colenso BBDO, Auckland for Levi’s HQ in San Francisco, despite the fact that it has close to seven million views on YouTube in only 10 days.
Lee quotes Tomlinson: “This campaign is completely perplexing,” he said. ”Like the Lynx Jet ad, it’s based on the whole notion of playing upon sex appeal to sell something.”
“The reason Old Spice did so brilliantly is because they did it without offending anyone. But this ad for Levi’s just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
The campaign’s target audience is also unclear. “I don’t think it’s speaking to females necessarily,” Mr Tomlinson said. ”I’d like to see a breakdown of the genders viewing this. I doubt many women think much of it, but I reckon men love it.”
49 Comments
The idea of using sex appeal is not new nor offensive. However this video also has a great insight – men look at chicks butts and Levis jeans make your butt look good.
How would you know what gender it appeals to? Why do you think would men love it? It doesn’t actually show chicks butts.
You’re the only one that’s perplexing Tomlinson. Go back to designing your little websites.
Just visited the white agency website to see who they are.
Didn’t recognise any of their work.
Case closed.
Idiot
that could be the most effective anti recruitment ad so far this year (early i know). nice work white agency, sounds like they are pitching for the Mormon account.
The What Agency???
I’m a woman and I love it. Insight: women want guys to check out their ass, why do you think they wear tight jeans dumb ass
Sounds like he wishes he’d thought of it. As far as impact goes, this has been massive. A job well done.
Stick to your shitty CommBank websites Julian.
The Shite Agency
Unless you’re R/GA you’ve got no creds.
Right conclusion, wrong reasons.
I’m female and I think it’s brilliant. Actually quite empowering because the girls are the ones controlling the prank. That piece is just embarrassing.
Look, lets be honest.
It’s not meeting the bar that the White Agency has set.
It’s good. But it’s not White Agency good.
Colenso BBDO is known for making amazing work. The White agency is now known for being conservative and not much else. The proof is in the pudding.
Oh shut up White Agency. This is great and a lot of females I spoke to like it too.
Digital agencies trying to comment on proper ideas is always funny. Stick to banners and maybe you won’t be so ‘perplexed’.
It’s too high-res for White Agency. Stick to 72 dpi guys.
WOAH!
10:08, you’re right!
White Agency = so hot right now.
7.58.
you must have a very nice ass. If I was a woman, and I had a truck for an ass, I’d be offended if blokes kept checking out my load. I think you speak for the hotties, not the fatties.
Coffee and a cuddle?
This guy should take a look at the brief and read the objectives before he shoots his mouth off.
Also explain this Gonzo, how is it relying on sex appeal when you really don’t see her butt at all and your reference to Old Spice is a buff guy in standing naked in a towel?
“I’d like to see a breakdown of the genders viewing this.” Is this guy implying there are more than two? Perplexing.
@10.56 and 10.58
Last I noticed it’s a ‘digital’ video on YouTube.
Bash the guy, bash the agency, don’t bash an entire industry you have no clue about. Or should I say stick to your FULL-HD 300dpi High-res projects of superawesome… witty eh.
11:11
I was thinking if I could get a gig at Colenso, that’d be sweet. But that’s only if I can’t get my dream gig at the White Agency.
@11:59.
Hey bud, settle down.
I work in a reputable digital agency, and I completely agree with what 10.56 & 10.58 are saying.
If digital agencies listened a more to the ATL guys, it’d be for the better. There’s a lot to learn.
TBH if you personally keep thinking you ‘know it all’ because ‘you’re all digital and stuff’, well, good for those who are gonna try raise the bar in digital with ideas. Less competition.
😀
http://darwint.wordpress.com/ – Creative Innovation “NOT FOUND”
If Levi’s market is only woman between sizes 6-10 who like men checking out their arses… then this is fantastic.
If their market is fat 45 year old men who like leering at unsuspecting women… well, that is also a great campaign.
Why do people measure a campaign’s success in YouTube hits? Increased market share and $$ is the true measure.
Will this help Levi in a world where younger people are moving towards Italian/Japanese denims and brands like Nudie?
Time will tell I guess… but give the White guy a break. He has a point.
Am I missing something here? Why would this sell jeans or even create brand awareness???
white bread
@Tony – he decided to slam the ad so he gets what he deserves. i think he has sounded off on something he knows little about, and i think you are doing the same.
we all understand what is the final yard stick against what we need to measure ($$$$), but since the campaign is about as old as ricky nixon jokes at this point, 7 million views has a lot of relevancy in measuring effectiveness. it has a mass audience and mass appeal – the numbers have only had real traction since the reveal happened. this take is beyond “markets” and into popular culture – a territory that Levis has and continues to be a fixture in for the last 100 odd years.
go sit under a tree and ponder you what-isms of advertising – glad to see you can identify nudie as a denim brand. Apparently you have spent some time staring as the assees of those youngins’ wandering around your office – i guess a good thing that none of them had a camera attached.
Kent – why would it create brand awareness??
Probably a bit late on the question.
Now that it’s had 7 million hits, you should probably ask:
“Am I missing something here? Why did this create brand awareness?”
I think the answer would be something like
“Because it’s awesome.”
Butt envy.
@ 5:03, 5:11, and the vast majority of the commenters, many like the two mentioned who seem to be borderline literate from the grammar and spelling errors that are rife in their rants –
While you are all taking great pleasure in ad hominem attacks on Tomlinson and the White agency, his point of view questioning the relevance of a viral campaign whose sole aim it would seem is to garner You Tube hits in the millions, absent branding, and absent a cohesive message that reflects positively on the brand or the product (let’s face it, the spokesmodels instigating the attention are the Kiwi versions of Paris Hilton, if she were raised on a sheep station and had an accent that make bogans laugh) is one that is shared by a number of media writers and industry observers around the world, some of whom probably have a good deal more experience in marketing, communications, and advertising than those of you scribbling on this blog out here at the edge of the world.
From Salon and regular editor and contributor Mary Elizabeth Williams,
“Levi’s may yet pull some genius, sales-inspiring sequel out of its shapely butt here, but right now, the ass cam seems a grand example of how garnering millions of page views does not in and of itself constitute an effective advertising campaign. Instead, it just looks like a sneaky trick, one whose message boils down to “If you wear our pants, ugly guys dressed up like Jesus will stare at your caboose.” Got it, Levi’s. Message received. You’re a bunch of asses.”
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/02/24/levis_sneaky_viral_butt_cam_campaign/
I was going to apply for a job at white agency. Not now.
The black agency more like
Why is it that old school agency dudes always think that YouTube is meant to achieve the same objectives as mainstream advertising. Mass marketing isn’t the way forward. The return on ‘investment’ is huge. 1 week, 7million hits. How much did the production cost do you think? 1 hidden cam and an in-house edit. It’s not Levis budget globally is it. I bet the guys at Nudie are super jealous.
Levi’s are doing the right thing here. It gives Levi’s some sorely missed cred dicks. And god… I don’t think I’ve ever seen any jeans brand advertise using fat chicks. Does it mean they won’t buy it. Ever seen a hip hop video. Ever seen Beyonce. Sexy as shit! Give up Tomlison you’ve got no game and no hand. You’re trying to paint yourself as some ad/brand guru but you just look like a douche. So out of touch.
It’s unfortunate that a new school guy like Darwin, has fallen back on such old school ways of judging what makes good, effective advertising.
7:10
If your middle class aspiration to be a gangsta rappa skateboardin’ wall taggin’ pathetic imitation of ghetto slang ‘sorely missed cred’ and ‘old school agency dudes’ and ‘sexy as shit!’ is in touch, then Tomlinson should be quite happy being out of touch.
You’re all hat and no cattle son, following the trend of immediacy and style rather than taking any real interest in substance and longevity. It’s not a generational thing as I know plenty of young creatives who actually get it and are working at the top agencies in the world doing some amazingly inventive work. It’s the lazy thinkers who try to turn their own shortcomings and short attention spans into a cultural change, essentially to mask their own sad inabilities. It’s a curious unknowingness really, but there are always some people who just don’t get it, and the blog of late seems to be attracting them like, well you choose a simile.
Frankly mate, you could use a douche. For all we can tell from your not so clever use of language (someone else’s to boot) you’re probably in accounts.
conclusion…hot arses appeal.
Why are we bashing the guy? He’s just concerned about the ‘let’s-all-make-sexy-webcam-vids-of-teenage-girls-then-get-7million-hits-on-youtube. F-the-rest’ attitude.
In the end, our job is to sell the client’s product. The ass-cam stunt gets views, big whoop. If you want to play theory, go back to school – your career is gonna rely on real sales data.
Until very recently Levis had once again become an irrelevant brand. They even pulled their account out of BBH in London where it had been for some 20+ years because the kind of ads they’d always done simply weren’t working anymore. Will this garner massive sales figures? Maybe – maybe not. Will it get Levis back on the radar, get people talking about the brand again and get them a tonne of free media coverage? Almost certainly.
I bet Darwin (by the way the name often given to Darren Stephens by his mother-in-law in Bewitched) regrets taking that call from Julian Lee. In the digital age of blogs and twitter, anything you say to a trade journo you think is only for a newspaper article can end up in places like here.
I just love the fact I live in a country that openly sells coon cheese and to have a published opinion on new-school, you need to work at the white agency.
Freaking love the spot btw. Clever as fook
I think it was bang on for the target and it was well put together but it sells a category not Levi’s. If Levi’s own the category then they’ll benefit. But do they?
‘A violation of terms of service’.
Exactly what ‘terms of service’ were violated?
i love being looked at
6.07, you’re in no position to talk about punctuation. That second paragraph of yours is the longest single sentence in history.
2:36, stick to drawing. You obviously can’t construct an intelligent argument.
Since when must every piece of brand communication translate into direct sales? What about PR, product placement, and sponsorship?
And from a ‘using sex to sell’ point of view, what’s the difference between a man with his shirt off selling cheap aftershave, and two sexy girls walking down the street fully clothed?
It’s amazing how many people who obviously don’t know what they’re talking about actually have jobs in this business.
2:47, you’re right – PR, product placement and sponsorship are all great, but none of which were part of this campaign.
Now it’s taken off youtube for pulling an unbranded stunt.
Old Spice had the wit and decency to tell you that they’re selling you a product, not under the guise of user-generated content like this piece of work.
PR not part of this campaign…. We’re all talking about it and it was all over the press. What kind of knucklehead are you 10:16?