Image is everything

Credit: 1950sUnlimited / CC by 2.0

In some categories, there isn’t much distinction at a product attribute level.  Sometimes heritage and a brand story is all you have – and sometimes that is enough.

Wrangler has launched its first global ad campaign in three years called “Good Mornings Make for Better Days.”   The campaign is a paean to the American West – the cowboy West of ranches and rodeos.  That is part of Wrangler’s heritage. In fact, the brand came into its own in the 1940s with a pair of jeans specially designed for cowboys and rodeo riders.

The brand also has enjoyed partnerships with country music artists for many years, and this campaign builds on that with music at the center of the ads.

At a functional level, Wrangler isn’t THAT much different from, say, Levi’s.  There are differences, but you’d have be into jeans to recognize it.  But each brand has nonetheless successfully carved out its own image – Wrangler as the brand of wannabe American Cowboys and Levi’s as a slightly counter-culture brand for people with a pioneering spirit.