Published: February 10, 2006

Levi's Monster Unleashed in San Francisco's Union Square: Advertising Students' Denim Beast Hoping to be Adopted

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If you were walking around in Union Square in San Francisco recently, you may have noticed a strange sight: an enormous, four-legged muslin monster prowling menacingly in front of the Levi's store. It walked around, it sat down for breaks, and it created the kind of buzz that only strong advertising pieces can. The monster was a hit with the public, and many San Francisco bloggers praised Levi's for this ingenious and weird bit of guerrilla advertising.

However, the monster was not the child of Levi's. Instead, it was the brainchild of Academy of Art University, San Francisco advertising students Matthew Herip and Greg Coffin. They took a large quantity of muslin, some handmade stilts, and a small dose of insanity and whipped up the coolest free ad for Levi's in recent memory.

Greg and Matthew approached the Levi's project with the concept of finding a unique way to deliver our message so that the target audience will feel entertained, intrigued, and not "advertised" to. They first focused on art that could be constructed from denim, then environmental art, and finally performance art. The Levi's Beast is a combination of urban acrobatics, environmental art, and performance art.

Despite a single ninety minute performance, the beast turned many heads and garnered a good amount of media attention. The one appearance got great feedback from onlookers as well as listings on over a dozen blogs. Upon seeing images of the creature online, one blog commenter posted, "No movie!! Boo hoo."

While the students had zero contact with Levi's, they are hopeful that with the success and media attention attained, Levi's may be interested in adopting the creature -- and thus their services.

Video of the monster in action can be seen at: www.academyart.edu/perspective/index.asp?NW=7&CID=472

About the San Francisco Academy of Art University

Founded in 1929 by artists for artists, the Academy of Art University is a fully accredited private institution of higher education offering professional study at the AA, BFA and MFA levels in the fields of art and design. The curriculum integrates the talents of students with their personal visions and aspirations with the overarching goal of preparing them for professional employment in art and design careers.

The Academy of Art focuses on a well-rounded art education offering courses in the following schools: Motion Pictures & Television, Photography, Animation, Interior Design and Architecture, Industrial Design, Illustration, Graphic Design, Fine Art, Fashion, Computer Arts, Architecture, Animation & Visual Effects and Advertising.

For more information about The Academy of Art, see: the advertising school, animation school, architecture school, computer graphic program, fine art college, fashion design school, graphic design schools, illustration school, industrial design college, interior design school, acting schools, photography school, college course online , and general art education.