It’s a Jungle in the Jeans World

Sergio Valente’s ad jingle--”Uh-oh, Sergio”--is one that still elicits smiles, or snickers, from those who remember the super-tight denim jeans that had their heyday in the early 1980s.

The company’s commercials are most remembered for the campy song that accompanied images of people in cowboy hats dancing the two-step and a man chasing a woman through a jungle.

“Sergio Valente. It brings out the animal in you,” one commercial said.

“You have to be strong to survive. The laws of the jungle are survival of the fittest. And nothing fits your style like Sergio Valente jeans,” said another.

Competitor Sasson Jeans took a different approach with its ads. It declared Sasson the “official jeans” of the New York Rangers hockey team.

“The Rangers were playing really well, and consumers came to recognize Sasson as a fun, hip, happening brand associated with sports,” said Michael Hassan, vice president of licensing at Sasson Licensing Corp., which acquired the Sasson trademark in 1988 after the original company went bankrupt.

Sasson continued with its sports theme, bringing former New York Yankees player and manager Lou Piniella into one ad and replacing its trademark “Oo La La” logo with “Loo La La.”