Does Levi's Understand Today's America?

Levi's "Go Forth" campaign, launched on Independence Day (July 4th) across the US, is the clothing company's latest attempt to align itself with the brand of America and its 'new generation of pioneers'. Borrowing some choice words from Walt Whitman, the multi-pronged campaign (created by lauded ad agency Wieden + Kennedy) falls in line with moves made by several other brands to embrace the renewed spirit of optimism and hope in the U.S - brought upon largely by the election of President Obama last year.

As Contagious reports: "'Go Forth" is more than a campaign, it is a north star for the brand. The campaign takes the raw, tough, and eternally optimistic spirit that made the Levi's brand great and brings it to life as a clarion call for this generation', explains Doug Sweeny, vice president of Levi's brand marketing."

Whitman's words have been turned into bold taglines like "This Country Was Not Built By Men in Suits" and "Strike Up for the New World", while Levis.com asks its visitors to "add their voice to the New Declaration" by adding their own words, images and stories of "today's America".

Whitman embodies the spirit that the Levi's brand hopes to evoke - freedom, originality, transcendence; the American Spirit untethered by uniformity and pragmatism - but still safely sequestered within a mainstream paradigm. And Levi's decree to "Go Forth" is simple, direct, and undeniably moving - an apt call to action for today's "new pioneers".

So it's a shame, then, that the execution of this ambitious campaign is such a disappointment. I first saw one of these ads in NYC's Spring Street 6 subway station. It featured a sun-drenched, wind-blown waif with the words "This Country Was Not Built By Men in Suits" emblazened across the image - which someone had added to in matching handwritten scrawl: "[IT WAS BUILT] BY SLAVES". Up to that point, I hadn't been able to put my finger on what it was about the campaign that just felt so...wrong. But with that bit of graffiti, it became clear: Levi's is glorifying these centuries old American ideals - Optimism! Egoism! Manifest Destiny! - while making paltry gestures towards the reality of American history and what America is today. The ethos behind "Go Forth" is disappointingly incongruous with its print ads, an aesthetically stellar but largely meaningless photo vérité series (shot by Ryan McGinley) displaying a handful of hipsterish men and women frolicking freely in nature, dirty jeans and all.

While Levi's thought to include actors of a wider range of age and color in their commercials, their print campaign is completely monochromatic and appears almost unapologetically alienating. What about a topless, faceless model walking into the sunset says "New America"? What about this facile representation of "American individuality" will resonate with today's newly hopeful Pioneer? This 'new world' is a lot more interesting, and built on much more heritage, than these empty images communicate.

A brand that intends to speak to and for our generation should take a long, hard look at what this era in American history really means. Where is the heritage we can share and embrace? If Levi's really wanted to inspire us to "Go Forth", it would have been amazing to see them pay homage to the symbols of true individuality from our past and present - the freedom riders, abolitionists, suffragists, veterans, the heroes that represent the truly timeless, transcendent American spirit."The Frontier" is sexy and all, but how about some real American heroes?

Follow Christine Huang on Twitter: www.twitter.com/christinewhuang

Comments

[memosyne]

There were slaves in all the original colonies. There are black children's bones from New York City cemeteries from the 18th century that show evidence of severe over work. However everyone worked really hard unless they were rich in those days. Water had to be carried in pitcher's and buckets. Grain had to be reaped and threshed by hand. Clothes were made of "homespun" and that word means the thread was spun in the home and then the cloth was woven there before being sewn by hand. Fields were plowed with teams of oxen or mules. Trees were cut down with axes. President Lincoln is admired not just because he was president, not just because he was a self-educated man of wisdom and courage but also because he had grown up doing hard physical labor: Has anyone reading this ever split a rail with an axe? Advertising usually has very little to do with reality. I wonder if you could sell jeans with realistic pictures.

[mcmutter]

Wouldn't it be really cool if Levi committed to make 100% of their product inside America.

That would show that they understand America, and would probably boost sales by 30% even if they raised their prices.

[Vurz]

It's weird. The ads rubbed me the wrong way because of something completely different.

Levi's used to be made in the USA by workers who took the money they made from those jobs and invested it in their communities like all the other people who had jobs making things did. Pretty much all of Levi's is made outside the USA now.

Levi's stopped really contributing to the USA in the 1990's. I find their ad campaign to be a joke at our expense.

[nammy50]

As a creative in the ad industry I cannot understand why Levi's doesn't tell their story as it happened. Levi Strauss takes material used for tent making adds rivets and... jeans are born. Well something like that. Instead of all the bs in this campaign.

[adeakili]

Ramblin jack like many defensive whites wants to put too fine a point on this. We'll acknowledge for him and his ilk that strictly speaking, "America was built by slaves", isn't entirely accurate and probably sounds unfair (what about the industrialized North? they cry), but--entire towns in the South, even the White House itself, were constructed with slave labor. Chinese workers, many indentured to "employment agents", were instrumental in the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, so neither is it "politically correct thinking" to recognize that historically America liked its labor cheap, and preferably free.

[NeoStar9]

It still continues today with company after company taking advantage of millions of illegal immigrants. Like in the past it is tolerated and given a green light by the US government and many of those in elected office.

[oregonbird]

We aren't buying into the images, because they are as unreal as any 50's sitcom. The state parks are being closed. The sunlit beaches are chained off due to pollution. The half-naked woman, free to be herself? GLBT couples are being thrown off public property for holdng hands or kissing.

Blue jeans were worn by workers, they were a symbol of lower-class existance. A hard-scrabble life. That's where we are. We need clothes that last, we need jobs to pay for those clothes.

Try that reality on for size, Levis. We're past the fantasy stage; leave that for shampoo and beer commercials. And while you're at it, our food is so polluted, even our toddlers are puffy. So admit that your customers are larger, and cut the darn pants a little wider.

[Edie Spencer]

Yes, quite!

[ramblin jack]

America was not built by slaves but by millions of different people not everything was built by black slaves or any other kind of slave so it is sad that politcally correct thinking has clouded some simple things although I agree that maybe the frontier is not the best place to use but it is where Levi's were made famous plain and simple miners et al