Levi's Facebook Ads to Hit 24 Countries

Levi’s is buying Facebook ads with an emphasis on Sponsored Stories in 24 countries to drive the latest phase of its “Go Forth” initiative. And Wieden+Kennedy, the jeans brand’s creative agency, has thrown deceased Los Angeles working class poet Charles Bukowski into the mix.

The effort revolves around a 60-second video on Levi’s Facebook page. Directed by German filmmaker Ralf Schmerberg, the spot entails an uplifting global message while employing words from Bukowski’s “The Laughing Heart”.

While the aforementioned Facebook ads will push viewers to the video, the piece will also appear before films in movie houses worldwide. The campaign is being tailored to each country on the social site and in theaters, involving 19 total languages. A Levi’s prepared statement predicts a total of 325 million people could view it.

The overall endeavor includes promoting Water.org, a nonprofit dedicated to providing safe drinking water and sanitation in developing countries. Facebook users are being encouraged by Levi’s to support the efforts of Water.org by making a monetary pledge on the social site that will help bring clean water to 8,000 people for the rest of their lives.

Meanwhile, the campaign builds on Levi’s “Go Forth” efforts from last year and 2009.

In 2010’s version, a Walt Whitman poem was read over the video. A comedic video mocking the effort circulated around the web, utilizing the not-so-upbeat Bukowski poem “Dinosauria, We”. No word from Levi’s or W+K on whether or not that development affected the decision to include the poet this year.