Today's Rant: Levi's Ad Campaign Goes Too Far

Well, I used to like Levi's. After years of wearing 501s, Levi's has managed to flushes whatever goodwill I had toward the brand down the toilet in one fell swoop. In what looks to me to be an act of desperation to gain some relevance in the marketplace, Levi's has released its instantly controversial "Unbutton Your Beast" ad campaign. On its website (don't go there!) visitors can select their very own trouser puppets (like "Paul the Pincher" and "Saucy Sal") to customize and send to friends. It's blatantly nasty and completely inappropriate. Make no mistake, Levi's is encouraging visitors to focus on what's behind the buttons.

Although most fashion-conscious teens won't be caught dead wearing a pair of Levi's, I'm worried that the campaign which resorts to adolescent (or grade school) humor to attract them to the site will succeed.

Parents, don't let your babies grow up to wear Levi's.

Source: HomeWord

Comments

[bajoro]

Jim:

Levi's and their agency should be ashamed.

Once upon a time, Levi's strictly avoided sexual overtones in its advertising. For years, Levi's cranked out wonderful ad campaigns that appealed to people's desire to be hip. Levi's was hip, and universal at the same time. A neat trick.

Now they've completely given up, taken the easy way out, and sunk to the lowest common denominator.