| He saved a baby from certain death. He rescued a kitten in a tornado. He jumped out of a burning airplane without a parachute. So one question lingers after viewing the new Lee Dungarees campaign: Where the hell is Buddy Lee? "We wanted to put people and product up front this year. Our intent is to keep things fresh," says Harvey Marco, group creative director at Fallon in Minneapolis. Downplaying the ad icon, Marco admits, was a tough call, but he says client and agency agreed on the strategy. "It came out of the work," he says. "We wanted to talk to the audience in a different way." Targeting a younger demographic, the new effort 'talks' in a strange, surrealistic voice. "Emu" juxtaposes a man, an emu and sorority chicks. "Cheese Sandwich" has a hungry kid, a cozy car trunk and a cheese store. As the spots unfold, both ponder the question, "Is it coincidence or part of something bigger?" Buddy Lee appears briefly in the ads, as a logo tag on the jeans. Is Buddy busted? "The campaign changes from year to year. Next time, he may have a larger presence or he may play an even smaller role," Marco says. "But he will not vanish. We will continue to celebrate the specialness of Buddy Lee." |
