The Challenge

To promote its limited edition 23/501 jeans and shoes online, Levi Strauss wanted to go beyond the usual, often boring advertising banners.


The Plan

Launch a widget campaign that capitalized on the target consumers' penchant for social networking. Avenue A/Razorfish, Chicago, and Gigya, Palo Alto, Calif., created a widget chock full of unreleased hip hop tracks by popular artists. This new music made the widget more likely to be shared with friends.

A sense of urgency was added by including a two-week countdown ticker that tracked how much time remained before the clothes were available for sale on March 1. The widget also included the locations where the special collection would be sold, product shots, and a customizable space where widget users could leave personal messages. The widget was launched on Wildfire, Gigya's widget distribution network. Banner ads also drove traffic to a Web page featuring the widget.


The Results

The 23/501 Collection sold out in less than 50 seconds. The countdown ticker had consumers lining up moments before the products became available at Levi stores in Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Calif., and New York, plus NikeTown outlets in Beverly Hills, Calif., Chicago, San Francisco and New York. Levi.com also sold a limited inventory. The widget averaged 10 views of product shots per installed widget and was sent to more than 2,000 friends. Interactions per impression were 20.8%, much higher than the 3% average that rich media banner ads deliver.