Creative Director’s Choice: New Honor Society’s Heidi Singleton on why Levi’s 'Circles' impacts in a meaningful way
Creative Director’s Choice gives creative directors a chance to highlight the current work they think is the best out in the ad world – the ads and campaigns they believe are making a difference.
Heidi Singleton, CCO at New Honor Society
This week, Heidi Singleton of New Honor Society, praises Levi's 'Circles' international dance spot for uniting people in a meaningful way.
As someone whose mission it is to help brands behave more like people, I’m drawn to creative work that demonstrates real human qualities in brands. One such human quality is cultural consciousness: an understanding of where the brand fits into the world, and a desire to impact it in a meaningful way.
Levi’s latest anthem, 'Circles,' is an inspirational reminder of cultural commonalities during a time when divisiveness is front and center. It isn’t tone deaf, like Pepsi’s horrific attempt at cultural relevance. And it isn’t heavy handed, like Heineken’s Worlds Apart spot. Instead, through the language of music and dance, 'Circles' lets the truth speak for itself: We aren’t all the same, but we’re all connected.
While many brands rely on pop icons as cultural influencers, Levi’s partnered with the (formerly) unknown artist, Jain, to create a genre agnostic soundtrack for 'Circles' – the mesmerizing ‘Makeba’ – free from celebrity manipulation. What makes me appreciate this work all the more is knowing that Levi’s is actively engaged in social causes ongoing. Too often, brands invite themselves into cultural conversations where they have no credibility or where their internal behaviors are at odds with their outward-facing marketing. Levi’s walks the talk. Or I should say, dances.
Heidi Singleton is chief creative officer at St. Louis-based agency New Honor Society.
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To see the latest creative ads and campaigns, please visit The Drum’s Creative Works section. If you or your creative director would like to be featured in our Creative Director’s Choice, please contact Kyle O’Brien at kyle.obrien@thedrum.com.
