About a year ago, some of you might recall a press release announcing the launch of a clothing line under a mikeroweWORKS and Dirty Jobs co-brand. The plan was pretty simple – I would partner with a reputable manufacturer to create a sturdy and affordable line of work clothes. In this way, mrW would get a whole new level of press, as would Dirty Jobs. And a reasonably priced line of work wear would be a fun challenge to undertake. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, it had been a few years since I had learned the same lesson I re-learn every few years, and it was time for another reminder. The lesson of course, is this – A simple plan with a whole bunch of people attached to it is never a simple plan. I won’t even try to describe the singular thrill of juggling a dozen different types of marketing experts with a big retailer and a giant TV company. I’ll just tell you that I was ready to slink away from the whole endeavor sadder but wiser, when I got a call from Liz Cahill.
Liz is the vice-president of marketing for Lee Jeans and was calling to say how much she liked mikeroweWORKS. I thanked her for the kind words. She then said that Lee was looking for a new marketing campaign and asked me what kind of jeans I wore.
“Blue,” I replied.
Liz asked me if I could be more specific.
“Dark blue.”
Awkward silence.
“Honestly Liz, I buy whatever’s comfortable and on sale. I don’t care much for labels.” This was probably not the tone or tact to take with someone who manages a very successful 100 year-old brand, but I wasn’t exactly auditioning for the job.
Liz told me she appreciated my candor and wondered if she might send me some Lee jeans anyway just to get my opinion on them. I said sure. Free stuff has always fascinated me and a few days later I opened a box of Lee Premium Select Jeans, sized 34×34. They were comfortable. They fit. And the price was right.
I called Liz back to thank her for the free jeans and share my opinion. She was pleased to hear that I liked them. She then told me that Lee would like to make a donation to mikeroweWORKS.
“That’s very nice,” I said. “How much were you thinking?”
She told me.
“Holy Crap!”
Liz explained that mrW was a site that really shared the philosophy of her company and went on to say that Lee was looking to reintroduce itself to men. She wanted me to represent the brand and wanted to find a way to partner around the concepts of mrW.
“What will it take to make that happen?”
“Well, this whole mrW donation thing is a good start,” I said. “But beyond that, you’d have to do a few unusual things.”
“Such as?” she asked.
“Well for starters,” I said, “you’ll need to let me have a say in the commercials.” This is what they call a “big ask.” It’s called “creative approval,” and it almost never happens.
“Hmmm… What exactly would you want to say?”
“Well,” I said, “I don’t really care about my blue jeans. You’d have to let me admit that in the spots.”
“I don’t see any problem with that,” said Liz, “we want a campaign that lets you tell the truth.”
“Are you sure,” I said? “Because I also want to make fun of two hundred dollar denim pants. I think they’re ridiculous and I want to challenge the sanity of people who buy them.”
“Done,” said Liz. “We agree it’s crazy and unnecessary to pay a lot of money for jeans too. What else?”
This was getting interesting.
“I want to poke fun of shopping in general. The long lines. The bargain basements. Those tiny dressing rooms. Most guys I know really hate the whole routine. Let’s just admit it.”
Liz chuckled. “Alright, we’ll launch a fun website for men who hate to shop. You can be their national spokesman.”
“Seriously,” I asked?
“Absolutely,” said Liz. “Is that it?” This woman was unbelievable.
“Well, there is one more thing.” This would be the deal killer for sure, but I was on a roll. So I just asked her directly.
“I would like Lee to partner with mrW and launch a line of sturdy, affordable work wear. My current efforts to do so are driving me nuts, but I’m committed to the idea, and I’d really like to make it happen by the end of this year. What do you think?”
This time, the silence was longer. Finally Liz replied. “That’s gonna be complicated. I’ll have to get back to you.”
We hung up and I figured that would probably be the end of it. Liz was very accommodating, but from what I’d seen in the retail business, getting a clothing line launched quickly and onto reputable shelves would require an act of Congress, and Congress was busy.
Well, as I’ve often said on these pages, I’m wrong more than I’m right. Liz got back to me later that week.
“OK,” she said. “You do some fun spots for our blue jeans. And we’ll make you a line of work wear. We’ll call it Mike Rowe Gear by Lee. They’ll be tough, rugged, and reasonably priced work clothes for guys who don’t care about fancy labels and big claims. If we work quickly, we can have it on the shelves by the fourth quarter. Deal?”
A couple weeks later we shook on it.* A couple weeks after that, we shot some commercials for Lee Jeans. If you’ve already seen them, you know that Liz lived up to her word. And check out Shopphobia.com. I appear to be the national spokesman for regular guys suffering from a serious but made-up disease.
It all happened, just the way Liz Cahill promised. And later this year, look for Mike Rowe Gear by Lee. Rumor is you’ll find it at Sears. Stay tuned…
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*Alright, nothing is really that easy. There were some additional meetings and few phone calls. Her people met my people, which was awkward, as I only have one people. There was a lawyer involved at some point, and maybe a dinner or two. There was also the “Guinness Incident,” which is another story altogether and best left for another time. Point is, we got to know each other pretty well, which is something you should insist upon before doing business or trying on someone else’s pants.