Simply another name for the casual, comfortable style San Francisco has embraced forever, normcore became the fashion meme of 2014 when New York Magazine discovered some trend-setting Brooklyn kids dressed like they came out of a Midwest mall in the 1990s. Now Levi's seems to have aligned its brand with the trend in its new global ad campaign, “Live in Levi's.”
The normcore look is all about basics—denim, sweatshirts, baseball caps, and sneakers—and brands like Patagonia, Uniqlo, New Balance, and the San Francisco-headquartered Gap have been identified as some favorites. S.F.-based Levi's wants in on the low-key action.
Levi's has traded out its half-naked hipster "Go Forth" ads for fully-clothed normals (okay, still hot models) looking carefree and oh-so-American in 501s, denim jackets, white t-shirts, plain sweatshirts, and high-tops. The taglines include: “The Trucker Jacket. Fit For Anything”; “501: Started By Us. Finished By You”; “511: A Classic Since Right Now”; “Look Good On Your Way To What’s Next.”
The brain behind the campaign, Levi's Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Sey, re-hired the agency that launched the 501, Foote, Cone & Belding. In a Q&A on the Levi's website, Sey says the new campaign is sending a message that “Levi's is for everybody who’s not just anybody.” Or as New York Magazine described normcore: “Embracing sameness deliberately as a new way of being cool.”
