For all those who have the same confusion, the person refered to in this article and the Levi Strauss (jeans guy) are different.

Claude Live-Strauss referenced in this article is an anthropologist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_L%C3%A9vi-Strauss

The Levi Strauss who ran a clothing company is here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss

Yeah, when I first saw this story somewhere, I thought, "Huh. Maybe you NEED tough pants to do anthropology."