LEVI'S TOOLSAgency: AKQA San Francisco
Client: Levi’s USA
Role: Creative Director/Copywriter
Cannes Lions Silver, Bronze
Clio Bronze, One Show Bronze
Levi's marked 150 years of tradition by retracing the founder's original trail, journeying from East to West. Over three weeks, a train traveled from New York City to San Francisco, making nine stops along the way. The tour featured a dynamic mix of cutting-edge visual artists, dancers, chefs, engineers, writers, and musicians, each contributing to a unique experience at every stop. Our role was to engage the community and bring them along for the ride. To connect these artists with followers online, we introduced Levi’s Tools—vintage art objects reimagined for today’s world. Custom RFID bracelets enabled artists to upload their creativity directly to social media, allowing fans to engage in real-time. As events unfolded, users could follow the journey on Instagram, X (Twitter), and SoundCloud.
Case study
A 13-car vintage train travelled cross-country, packed with musicians like Cat Power, Jackson Browne, Beck, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, alongside works by renowned artists such as Doug Aitken, Urs Fisher, and Kenneth Anger. Every few days, the train pulled into a new stop, and all these incredible creative minds put on a show, performance, exhibition, or an entire artistic spectacle.
Each Tool had a story and was unique in it's own right: a 1939 Bolex Video Camera; 1939 Graphlex Still Camera; 1956 Gibson Guitar; and a 1901 Underwood Typewriter. Re-tooled to push digital moments from the cross country journey to creators worldwide.
Bolex camera x Instagram
Gibson x Soundcloud
RFID bracelets given to each artist, for instant sharing on social channels
