Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
An Indiana Jones look-alike in a hat with a female companion steals a massive emerald from a deity-like statue. The statue’s head tumbles off and rolls after the couple in close pursuit. The pair barely escape being crushed by using a vine to swing over a steep ravine. At first glance, this may look like a scene from a 1980s adventure blockbuster. But it’s not. It’s a commercial for clothing brand Wrangler. From action movie commercials to a real life dinosaur hunt, this is the story of Wrangler’s Live it to the Limit advertising campaign.
Source:
“Touting…Brontosaurus Regustersus?” Steve Twomey, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec 25, 1981
“New Species?” AP via Detroit Free Press, May 27, 1983
“Blue Jeans Sales Boom is Bottoming Out,” Peter W. Barnes, New York Times News Service via Florida Today, Jul 25, 1984
“Raiders of the Lost Market,” Bernice Kanner, New York Magazine, Nov 26, 1984
“Adventures in Advertising,” Steve Matthews, The Charlotte Observer, Dec 9, 1984
“Apparel Maker to Spend $50 Million on Ads,” News and Record, Dec 11, 1984
“Blue Bell Heats Up the Jeans War,” News and Record, Dec 12, 1984
“Jean Manufacturers Try to Zip Up Profits,” Elizabethton Star, Feb 24, 1985
“Buyout Has Been Tough at Blue Bell,” Sarah Avery, News and Record, Jun 16, 1985
“Textile Manufacturers Find Reason for Optimism After a Dismal 1984,” Sarah Avery, News and Record, Jan 27, 1985
“Wrangler Extends ‘Limit,’” News and Record, Aug 22, 1985
“Wrangler and Willie in Harness,” Sarah Avery, News and Record, Aug 29, 1985
“Outfitting a Dinosaur Hunt,” Rocky Mount Telegram, Sep 20, 1985
“Wrangler Has Willie in New Ad Campaign,” News and Record, May 3, 1986
“A Merger Would Suit Maker of Blue Jeans,” Larry Fish, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jul 25, 1986
“Tune in Tomorrow,” Bernice Kanner, New York Magazine, Oct 28, 1991
“Focus: The Buzz on Coffee Talk: Taster’s Choice Gimmick of a Continuing Commercial Works,” Ted Johnson, Los Angeles Times, Jan 2, 1994
An Indiana Jones look-alike in a hat with a female companion steals a massive emerald from a deity-like statue. The statue’s head tumbles off and rolls after the couple in close pursuit. The pair barely escape being crushed by using a vine to swing over a steep ravine. At first glance, this may look like a scene from a 1980s adventure blockbuster. But it’s not. It’s a commercial for clothing brand Wrangler. From action movie commercials to a real life dinosaur hunt, this is the story of Wrangler’s Live it to the Limit advertising campaign.
Source:
“Touting…Brontosaurus Regustersus?” Steve Twomey, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec 25, 1981
“New Species?” AP via Detroit Free Press, May 27, 1983
“Blue Jeans Sales Boom is Bottoming Out,” Peter W. Barnes, New York Times News Service via Florida Today, Jul 25, 1984
“Raiders of the Lost Market,” Bernice Kanner, New York Magazine, Nov 26, 1984
“Adventures in Advertising,” Steve Matthews, The Charlotte Observer, Dec 9, 1984
“Apparel Maker to Spend $50 Million on Ads,” News and Record, Dec 11, 1984
“Blue Bell Heats Up the Jeans War,” News and Record, Dec 12, 1984
“Jean Manufacturers Try to Zip Up Profits,” Elizabethton Star, Feb 24, 1985
“Buyout Has Been Tough at Blue Bell,” Sarah Avery, News and Record, Jun 16, 1985
“Textile Manufacturers Find Reason for Optimism After a Dismal 1984,” Sarah Avery, News and Record, Jan 27, 1985
“Wrangler Extends ‘Limit,’” News and Record, Aug 22, 1985
“Wrangler and Willie in Harness,” Sarah Avery, News and Record, Aug 29, 1985
“Outfitting a Dinosaur Hunt,” Rocky Mount Telegram, Sep 20, 1985
“Wrangler Has Willie in New Ad Campaign,” News and Record, May 3, 1986
“A Merger Would Suit Maker of Blue Jeans,” Larry Fish, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jul 25, 1986
“Tune in Tomorrow,” Bernice Kanner, New York Magazine, Oct 28, 1991
“Focus: The Buzz on Coffee Talk: Taster’s Choice Gimmick of a Continuing Commercial Works,” Ted Johnson, Los Angeles Times, Jan 2, 1994
