Levi's 501

At my last hotel I stayed in Room 501, which immediately brought to mind the Levi's 501 advertisement 'Launderette' from 1985. It was probably the most famous ad of the era and was the first of a highly successful campaign that rejunvenated the Levi's brand.

It featured the very pretty Nick Kamen who tried - unsuccessfully - to launch a pop career. I wonder where he is now? I bet he'll turn up on some reality show soon, if he hasn't already.

What I find interesting about the campaign was that it also helped grow the boxer short market in the UK. Before this, the British male stuck rigidly to his Y-fronts. In the early 80s I played football for my university and there was an American lad in our team. I remember how shocked we were when he got changed and we saw him wearing these weird boxer shorts. We gave him a lot of stick at the time!

Lots of other brands are named after numbers: Chanel No 5 of course, Nescafe Blend 37, Porsche 911, Boeing 747 and er...that's all I can think of. Maybe there aren't that many after all.