"Backstory"

17 February 2026

45s

Butts a move.

This wonderful Levi's commercial has bum notes in the best possible way. Scored by James Brown's 'Get Up Offa That Thing', the ad puts rear ends front and centre, so to speak, as the brand celebrates denim and derrières in equal measure.

It helps that director Kim Gehrig's in a 'no ifs, many butts' sort of mood. Driven by the sound of 1970s funk, her film scoots between human heinies and one computer-generated one (we always thought Woody from 'Toy Story' was a Wrangler man, but there you go). The flesh and blood buns belong to the likes of Rosé, Questlove, and a luminous Doechii who puts her back into it and then some.

Coupled with a blink-and-you'll-miss-it nod to George Michael and a timely remake of Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the USA' cover, the idea is that denim is the fabric of popular culture. Rival denim brands will disagree, but are they able to, er, make complete arses of themselves and own it like Levi's does here? All we know is that Gehrig and company have delivered a tough act to follow.

USA

Jeans