Levi's take to the street

This week Levi Strauss, the San Francisco-based jeans maker, parted company with its advertising agency, Foote Cone and Belding, which had been working on the account since 1930.

The account has been picked up by TBWA Chiat/Day which handles brands such as Apple computers and Nissan and has pledged to give the jeans a more street-wise image.

Foote Cone and Belding had been responsible for attaching Levi's jeans to the history of the Wild West, giving it a tough "brand of the cowboys" image long after they had been adopted as a style item by urban teenagers in America and abroad.

Levi and FCB also claim credit for targeting teenagers through television early on in the medium's development and linking TV with teenagers seemingly for ever.

- Paul McCann

Media Correspondent