Following 1998's "expect the unexpected" campaign, an intensely motley collection of ads that threw up a a handful of interesting ideas but was sorely lacking in focus and ultimately dominated by the bum notes struck by the Kevin the Hamster instalment, Levi's finally figured out how to tap into the hip and youthful mindset they were desperately seeking in early 1999, with help from an unlikely plush creation with a stylish penchant for head-banging and soda-slurping. A fuzzy yellow puppet with a physique comparable to that of Kermit The Frog, but species-wise resembling a puzzling cross between a weasel and a spider monkey, Flat Eric (so-called because an early, unused pitch for the campaign had called for his head to be flattened by a car) became one of the 20th century's last great advertising super-stars, appearing in several ads for Levi's Sta-Prest range throughout the year, as well as a hit music video. Predictably, there was also an official Flat Eric plush, which remains a highly sought-after collector's item to this day.
Flat Eric had a precursor, a quirky-looking glove puppet named Stéphane who had been rescued from a flea market by Parisian house artist Quentin Dupieux (also known as Mr Oizo). The two formed an alliance, with Stéphane starring in a music video directed by Dupieux to his own track, "M Seq", in 1998. The video, along with Stéphane's characteristic charms, caught the eye of advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, who hired Dupieux to direct an initial triplet of ads for Levi's Sta-Prest campaign. To avoid potential copyright infringements, Janet Knechtel of the Jim Henson's Creature Shop was called upon to create a new puppet for the campaign, very much in Stéphane's likeness but with minor tweaks made in order to differentiate them. Thus, Flat Eric was born, with Bartle Borgle Hegarty favouring the name "Eric" for its international appeal.
Another essential element of the campaign, if greatly more unsung, was Eric's human co-star Angel, played by Dupieux's chum Phillipe Petit, who sported the wrinkle-resistant attire and had the task of playing the ultra-suave foil to Eric's silent eccentricities. Indisputably though, the puppet was where all the real hipness was. The first ad of the campaign featured Eric and Angel driving along the streets of Los Angeles, the former finger-tapping and head-banging to Mr Oizo's electro house track "Flat Beat". Not a lot to it, but viewers went absolutely wild for the quirky puppet and dirty house beats. Things took an even more offbeat turn in the second instalment (above), in which the two are pulled over by a police officer, forcing them to conceal their outlaw spirit behind ostensible symbols of decency and blandness (Mr Oizo is swapped for a Don Gibson tune, a picture of a female cop displaying her thighs flipped to reveal a reverse image of an innocuous pony). The cop inspects the trunk of their car and finds a stash of immaculately pressed jeans and shirts, whereupon he allows them to go their merrily head-banging way. The ad ends with the cop suddenly becoming incredibly self-conscious about the creases in his own clothing, which he attempts to straighten out. Dupieux's simple but engaging approach hit all the notes that "expect the unexpected" had been previously courting - it was original, eye-catching, unsettling in the best possible ways and, of course, cool as hell. That puppet was an outlaw in a way that made that rebellious kid from Levi's 1998 "Square Peg" ad look like a total square.
Indeed, part of Flat Eric's charm as a character was in how he combined adorable Muppet antics with a demeanor which seemed just the tinniest bit unnerving. He was cute, sure, but there was also a distinctive oddness to him, which took a slightly sinister tone when coupled with his evident need to evade police detection. Still, without knowing what he did, we all went nuts for the little puppet criminal. Unlike Kevin the Deceased Hamster, he actually succeeded in making the declining denim market seem "cool" all over again, with Sta-Prest sales in the UK increasing 21 times over a four month tracking period in the wake of the campaign. "Flat Beat" was released as a single in March 1999 and became a massive hit, with Eric fronting the music video (its success being somewhat vexing to Dupieux, who admitted that, while it worked in the context of the advert, he'd never considered it his best work). The third and final ad in the initial series was more laid-back, lacking a music track and instead focusing upon Eric's love of soft drinks and his skills as a fly-swatter, while Angel continued to exemplify the chill, uncreasable qualities of the Sta-Prest brand.
The campaign so exceeded Levi's expectations that they brought Eric and Angel back for a further series of ads that summer, charting their continued attempts to evade the police with a brief trip to the barber shop in between. Still, despite his immense popularity, Flat Eric's advertising career was surprisingly short-lived, with Levi's retiring him after that second burst of adverts, perhaps reluctant to run the character into the ground. Dupieux, however, has retained the rights to the character and, having gone through a period of resenting his eternal association with the yellow weasel-monkey, has learned to embrace him all over again. Over the past few years, we've seen Flat Eric pop up in a number of projects, most recently the video for Mr. Oizo's "Hand In The Fire". This odd little puppet enabled the 20th century to ride out in style, and now he truly looks to have become a cult figure for the ages.
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