Flat Eric and Levi’s STA-PREST

The Advertising and Chart Crossover

Forgotten Adverts · 1999

Archived on

Associated With

Levi Strauss & Co. - advertiser; BBH - advertising agency; Quentin Dupieux - director and music creator as Mr Oizo

Defining Feature

Surreal car-based films pairing the silent yellow Flat Eric with the sharply dressed Angel

Status

Historical event - two principal campaign bursts ran in 1999

Overview

Flat Eric became the silent yellow face of Levi’s 1999 STA-PREST campaign and a chart crossover.

Created by BBH, the films paired the sharply dressed Angel and Flat Eric in a battered American car. Quentin Dupieux directed the initial television films—“Dancing”, “ID” and “Fly”—and supplied their music as Mr Oizo.

The UK campaign ran in two principal bursts between January and August, supported by print, posters and merchandise. Flat Eric later appeared in “Flat Beat”, whose official video was separate from the Levi’s commercials.

Why It Mattered

Its distinctive mix of deadpan character comedy, immaculate trousers and electronic music gave a revived crease-retaining range an unusually recognisable identity. The initial films received advertising-industry recognition, and the associated “Flat Beat” single spent two weeks at number one in the UK.

Demand also extended to official merchandise, including a record bag, T-shirt, hat and puppet.

UK Campaign Rollout

  • Teaser advertising was scheduled for 29 January 1999, followed by the announced full UK campaign on 11 February.
  • The initial launch comprised three television executions and four print and poster advertisements.
  • A second campaign launched in London on 12 August, with scheduling for MTV from 16 August and UK terrestrial television from 26 August.

Films, Jokes and Production

  • The initial films were titled “Dancing”, “ID” and “Fly”; “ID” used a police stop and neatly kept garments, while “Fly” made damage to Angel’s trouser crease the joke.
  • The History of Advertising Trust credits “Fly” to Levi Strauss & Co. and BBH, directed by Quentin Dupieux through Partizan Midi Minuit; those detailed credits apply specifically to that execution.
  • The History of Advertising Trust records a 1999 British Arrows Bronze for “Fly”, while Broadcast reported awards attention for all three initial films.

Music and Regional Reach

  • “Flat Beat” entered the UK Official Singles Chart on 3 April 1999 and remained on the chart for 13 consecutive weeks.
  • F Communications identifies the associated 1999 “Flat Beat” video as directed by Quentin Dupieux and featuring Flat Eric; it remains distinct from the Levi’s commercials.
  • Newspapers and company material described distribution across Europe, the Middle East and Africa rather than a US-led worldwide campaign.
Sources & Records

Gallery

Flat Eric, a large yellow furry puppet, sits belted into the front passenger seat of a blue car beside a man driving in a pale blue short-sleeved shirt and light trousers.
Source
Credit

The Guardian

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Flat Eric rides beside his human companion in the Levi’s campaign, making an unlikely puppet the centre of a jeans advert.

Yellow fuzzy puppet seated behind a glossy green desk, holding a black telephone receiver beside its head; a typewriter sits at left and a blurred framed photograph fills the foreground of an ornate green-and-gold room.
Source
Credit

Quentin Dupieux / Mr Oizo; Flat Beat music video, F Communications

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Flat Eric answers the telephone in Mr Oizo's 1999 Flat Beat video, inhabiting a mock executive world that helped give the puppet an identity beyond the Levi's adverts.

Flat Eric holds a long black gun beside a weathered white vehicle while a dark-haired man in a blue shirt drinks from a bottle in the background.
Source
Credit

YouTube

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Another scene pairs Flat Eric with his human companion, continuing the campaign’s deliberately odd buddy-story atmosphere.

A yellow Flat Eric plush toy with long arms and legs sits on a white cabinet in front of a suitcase covered with colorful vintage-style Levi’s labels and illustrations.
Source
Credit

Vintage Everyday

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

A plush Flat Eric turns the advertising character into a keepsake, displayed here against a case covered in Levi’s imagery.

A small yellow fuzzy puppet sits behind a large curved green desk in an ornate pale-green and gold room, surrounded by a white chair, lamps, a framed photograph and audio equipment.
Source
Credit

Quentin Dupieux / Mr Oizo; Flat Beat music video, F Communications

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

The oversized executive office in Flat Beat makes Flat Eric's small puppet body part of the joke, giving the music video its distinctive mixture of authority and absurdity.