• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

3

Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
MPWMost Powerful Women

A Beyoncé song gave Levi’s a golden opportunity. Here’s how the CEO made it a campaign

By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jane Thier
Jane Thier
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 16, 2024, 5:12 PM ET
Michelle Gass at Fortune's MPW Summit in California
Michelle Gass, president and CEO of Levi Strauss & Co., talks Beyoncé.Kristy Walker/Fortune

Michelle Gass has reason to celebrate. 

Recommended Video

As the newly minted—and first female—CEO of the iconic denim brand Levi Strauss & Co., she got word that music legend Beyoncé would be name-checking the company in the title of a song off her recent album Cowboy Carter.

In turn, Levi’s launched its “REIIMAGINE” campaign with Beyoncé herself, who is notoriously averse to brand partnerships. 

“It’s sort of like a dream come true to have Beyoncé name a song after your brand,” Gass said at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel, Calif., on Tuesday. “That’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment.” 

The song title wasn’t an advertisement or a partnership. All Gass and her Levi’s team got in advance of the album drop was “a little whisper” mere days before. “It was truly, completely organic.” 

But Queen Bey’s love for Levi’s goes way back, Gass told Fortune’s Ellie Austin, and their relationship is one that’s been nurtured over time. “She’s been a fan of the brand for decades—as we’ve been a fan of hers,” she said. Back in the 1990s, when Beyoncé was one-third of Destiny’s Child, Levi’s once outfitted the whole group—and the company still has a pair of Beyoncé’s jeans “in the vault.” 

New Americana

The Cowboy Carter song is spelled as “LEVII’S JEANS,” not Levi’s. A lawyer asked Gass if she was worried about trademark infringement, she recalled with a laugh. “I was like, are you crazy? This is a gift.”

Once the Levi’s team knew the song was coming, they shifted into action, changing all their social media handles to match the song’s stylization. “And then it just kind of went crazy.” Gass knew it was vital to seize the opportunity. “You don’t have these moments very often, obviously,” she said. “Once we saw the reaction, [we thought], maybe there’s something more here.” 

A few weeks after the album drop, Gass got dinner with Levi’s head of market, chief marketing officer, and chief product officer, and two top-secret key people in Beyoncé’s orbit. “We just sort of started to reimagine what was possible.” 

The 30-second spot featuring Beyoncé in a laundromat is actually a remake of a similarly popular ad campaign the brand did in the mid-’80s, Gass said. “The wonderful thing about Levi’s is we’ve got all this incredible heritage. So [we get to] take this and move it forward with one of the world’s biggest icons.” 

The entire campaign came together in five months, from the idea, to inking the contract, to doing the shoot. “Here we are, launched, and it’s been a great lesson with the team [about] how you can move with speed and agility and capture these moments, because they don’t come around very often.”

The Beyoncé campaign, Gass said, has led to over 2.4 billion impressions. 

Gass then motioned to her jacket, which was decked out in sparkles. “This was one of the many options that was created for Beyoncé for the shoot, but she did not choose to wear it,” she said. “So I get to wear it. But I will tell you, given all the feedback I’m getting at this conference, I suspect this will be in production. Stay tuned.”

Fortune MPW is one of the world’s preeminent leadership communities, bringing together global executives committed to maximizing their impact on their organizations and on society. Membership includes our invite-only Most Powerful Women Summit, which will take place Oct. 12–14  in Santa Barbara, Calif. Learn more.
About the Author
By Jane Thier
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in MPW

How a book convinced Arundhati Bhattacharya, one of India’s most powerful bankers, to try working for a U.S. tech company
AsiaMost Powerful Women
How a book convinced Arundhati Bhattacharya, one of India’s most powerful bankers, to try working for a U.S. tech company
By Angelica AngMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
shyam
CommentaryHealth
World Economic Forum: women’s health gets only 20% of R&D funding. We must seize this $1 trillion opportunity
By Shyam BishenMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
weld
Future of Workthe future of work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who’s going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 days ago
‘No one was coming to save me’: How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn’t fix
Successreese witherspoon
‘No one was coming to save me’: How Reese Witherspoon built a $900 million company from a problem Hollywood wouldn’t fix
By Sydney LakeMay 17, 2026
3 days ago
‘Be delusional enough to call yourself something the world hasn’t called you yet’: What powerful women told the class of 2026
NewslettersMPW Daily
‘Be delusional enough to call yourself something the world hasn’t called you yet’: What powerful women told the class of 2026
By Sydney LakeMay 14, 2026
6 days ago
Mrs. Dow Jones on what women get wrong about money
NewslettersMPW Daily
Mrs. Dow Jones on what women get wrong about money
By Sydney LakeMay 13, 2026
7 days ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
15 hours ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
23 hours ago
Employers are quietly pausing 401(k) matches again. The last time this happened was the 2008 recession and Covid
Personal Finance
Employers are quietly pausing 401(k) matches again. The last time this happened was the 2008 recession and Covid
By Courtney Vinopal and HR BrewMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Monday, May 18, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Monday, May 18, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.