COMMENTARY | If you live in San Francisco and see a group of hipster looking 20-somethings packing a box of office belongings while looking downtrodden, it is probably the just fired Levi's jeans creative team. The company's "Go Forth" campaign backfired in a big way this week. Commercials depicting young Levi's wearers in riot situations were pulled from the air and company's Facebook page. Glenn Beck is encouraging his viewers to stop buying the brand.
Levi's brand was once very popular with teens and made with pride in America. Both scenarios have now changed. In recent years the styles of Levi's have changed drastically in a dire attempt to once again attract fashion-minded teenagers. In the process of competing with currently popular brands, the company neglected its solid base of middle age men.
If my husband had a growing belly, I could still walk into the mall and pick him up a pair of Levi's jeans, but that is not the case. Only relaxed fit jeans still look like something the average man would put on his body. Straight fit jeans are now adorned with various distressed wash styles and holes.
Decreasing sales likely prompted the slip in judgment which lead to the new "Go Forth" campaign. The first ads were simply dark and edgy and attempted to tell a story of youthful rebellion. But the commercials which debuted during the "Monday Night Football" game this week took teen angst to a whole new level.
The riot-themed ads were quickly pulled from the United Kingdom market, where street rioting is a major concern. Scenes were once again shrouded in darkness and showed young jeans wearers riding their bicycles through tear gas filled streets and taunting law enforcement officers.
Were the advertisements a liberal political message or just a failed attempt to appear cool? At this point it really doesn't matter, the backlash and boycott have gone viral. Levi's is no stranger to controversy. Just a few years ago the company pulled charitable support from the Boy Scouts because they did not permit homosexual males to become troop leaders.
Since women were permitted to lead scouting troops and chaperone overnight camping, there was already a potential for inappropriate behavior with young men. The policy by the Boy Scouts may well have been flawed, but public admonishment of the entire organization cost Levi's loyal customers.
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