AP Images / Scott Roth

Lil Nas X, the artist behind the chart-topping song "Old Town Road," has breathed much-needed life into the Wrangler jeans brand.

The singer mentions Wrangler in his hit song, which has held the top spot on the Billboard 100 chart for a record-breaking 18 weeks and counting.

The CEO of Kontoor Brands, the parent company of Wrangler, told Kim Bhasin of Bloomberg that the endorsement was making Wrangler more popular with a wider audience.

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"Wrangler on my booty." Those four words appear to be helping a struggling jean brand make a comeback.

They're from Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," a crossover smash hit that's been ranked No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 chart for a record-setting 18 weeks and counting.

As the up-and-coming artist rises to cultural stardom, his reference to Wrangler is helping the brand through a transition period.

Scott Baxter, the chief executive officer of Kontoor Brands, Wrangler's parent company, told Kim Bhasin at Bloomberg that the endorsement was helping push Wrangler jeans in a new direction.

"We knew nothing about it, and then it just took off from there," he said in an interview with Bloomberg. "It's introduced Wrangler to a more diverse group of folks, and that's where we want to be as a brand."

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In the past, Wrangler's primary brand ambassadors have been the former NFL quarterback Brett Favre and the NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. The brand decided to branch out after seeing the success of "Old Town Road" and partner directly with the song's creator.

Wrangler ran a limited-edition collaboration with Lil Nas X that included graphic tees, jean jackets with "Old Town Road" printed on them, and cowboy-cut slim-fit jeans. Baxter said shoppers couldn't get enough of the product line.

"Every time we put more product online, it's sold out immediately," Baxter told Bloomberg.

According to Bloomberg, Wrangler plans to roll out a new marketing campaign in the next few weeks designed to keep spreading the brand's reach to a wider audience.

Kontoor Brands reported its first earnings report as a standalone company on Thursday after being spun out from the apparel conglomerate VF Corporation in May.

While Kontoor's sales as a whole decreased 8% in the second quarter to $610 million, the company expects revenue to accelerate in the second half of the year. One of Kontoor's largest customers went into bankruptcy, which had a downward impact on sales.

Global revenue for Wrangler dropped by 8% as well, but excluding the customer bankruptcy, sales increased by 2%, the company said.

Kontoor reaffirmed its guidance for the year and still expects to hit $2.5 billion in revenue for 2019.

Shares of Kontoor are down roughly 16% year-to-date.

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