Authentic self-expression is at the core of the Levi’s brand, and there is no purer form of self-expression than voting. It is the atomic unit of democracy. In 2014, the midterm elections in the IUSA saw the lowest voter turnout in 75 years, particularly among young people. Only 17% of 18–24-year-olds voted. But the midterms can have a dramatic effect on the country, particularly in turbulent times.

So instead of using their budget to sell jeans, Levi’s used it to encourage young Americans to take pride in their civic duty. We knew that prodding or shaming people to vote wouldn’t work. So instead we reminded young Americans that voting is a powerful way to make yourself heard—one that people all over the world are still fighting for. Mindful of the divide within the country, we were careful to not take sides and portray voting as a beautiful, empowering opportunity.

Our campaign took this target’s fluid media consumption habits into account. We created an instagram countdown to build urgency, We co-founded ‘Time To Vote’ and persuaded over 400 major businesses to join us, we turned our stores across the country into voter registration centres, and we turned our most popular T Shirt into a symbol of political engagement, that quickly sold out and was worn proudly by celebrities and influencers from Spike Lee to Snoop to Dustin Hoffman and Elisabeth Moss. We also created a long-form commercial celebrating self-expression through the lens of voting rituals around the world. To act as a rousing call-to-action, the film was set to a forgotten B-side from equally politicised times, “We Can’t Sit Down Now” by 70s R&B legend Joe Tex.

Some cities saw a 500% increase in the youth vote. And while we obviously weren’t the sole cause, we like to think we played a small part in contributing to the highest midterm voter turnout in over 100 years.

Results:

- 763.6MM total paid media impressions.

- 363MM impressions from YouTube Masthead Takeover.

- 79.9M social impressions.

- 86% Reach (26% higher than projected).

- 1000+ new voters registered in Levi’s locations

- 411 other major companies signed the Time to Vote initiative including Lyft, Patagonia, PayPal, Kind, Sonos, and Walmart.