The Levi's "O Pioneers" Commercial - Why do I hate it so much?

[KickTheBobo]

Hi. I've seen this commerical 3 times. It was on again tonight during 30 Rock, and it just enraged me. I would like (hopefully, with your help) to figure out why the F I might feel so negatively towards this particular piece of media.

Is it:

A) The Obvious reason: Hey, here is a commercial full of attractive young people doing things that are so free and enjoying nature and living a seemingly artful and rich life. You are just jealous of this sitting there with your workaday job and meaningless existence.

or (what I have been leaning towards)

B) This commercial is obviously the work of a 2009 Don Draper. Substitute the Cadillac and brylcream for the L train and an ipod synced to a Pitchfork RSS feed. Whomever is behind it is probably someone within the same age bracket and knows how to push buttons (music, visual aesthetic - in this case the Artsy Flicker Etsy Twee deal). This threatens you on some level because now 'we' have become 'them' (underground> mainstream, rebellion>establishment, art>pop culture).


You decide:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG8tqEUTlvs[/youtube]

either way, it illicits a response from me. The last commercial to have done this was this commercial. It is the only time within memory where I (consciously) sought out a product via a commercial. It took around 15 plays of it before I went and bought the sandwich. it was shitty and I never bought one again.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBNMjpDmrFc[/youtube]

any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[scratchbomb]

Because it's incredibly self important, but ultimately just about jeans.

Levi's has a long history of weird, weird commercials. Like this one.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BajEfI7g5A0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

Or this one.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3gFCSKMo70&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[Chris L]

I know what you mean.  It's the latest advertising progression from "writing a cute jingle," to "'Lust for Life' on a cruise ship," to now some cynical art director trying to place Levis in the pantheon of American Masters. The similar b&w one is even worse and plays before every quasi-indie movie I've been seeing lately at the Landmark.  Some guy behind me half-heartedly booed it last time.  

Funny, you should mention Don Draper (I think they're more 2009 Paul Kinseys) because the other ad shows a guy who looks just like him glowering at the camera.  You can hear the gears turning as these pretentious wannabes storyboard their panoramic view of American society while making sure the Loose Fit 501's get the requisite screen time.

[Omar]

It's a good ad, and I have purchased Levi's jeans as a result.

[Christina]

I know what you mean.  It's the latest advertising progression from "writing a cute jingle," to "'Lust for Life' on a cruise ship," to now some cynical art director trying to place Levis in the pantheon of American Masters.

Yes - I think this is what happens when a brand becomes so huge (see also: Nike, Coke) that advertising is no longer about specific products, or a new product; it's solely about implanting or reinforcing emotions and self image.

You can hear the gears turning as these pretentious wannabes storyboard their panoramic view of American society while making sure the Loose Fit 501's get the requisite screen time.

Well, the Loose Fits are what we (the plebes) are actually wearing, the Skinny Scrawny Fit is what you see in the ads and also what we're supposed to believe we're wearing, no matter what number is stamped on the waistband.

[Christina]

A) The Obvious reason: Hey, here is a commercial full of attractive young people doing things that are so free and enjoying nature and living a seemingly artful and rich life. You are just jealous of this sitting there with your workaday job and meaningless existence.

I think the older you get, the more irritating (or easy to ignore, depending on your temprament) it is when carefree youth is used to sell anything. So I think this is certainly part of it. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all sit around doing whatever, & it's very irritating when ads try and make workaday jobs seem small. That always makes me reach for my revolver. I hate the "we're all rock stars" gambit. That's the same kind of horseshit that has made the youth of today soft serve - it's the grown up version of getting a trophy just for participating in something.

B) This commercial is obviously the work of a 2009 Don Draper. Substitute the Cadillac and brylcream for the L train and an ipod synced to a Pitchfork RSS feed. Whomever is behind it is probably someone within the same age bracket and knows how to push buttons (music, visual aesthetic - in this case the Artsy Flicker Etsy Twee deal). This threatens you on some level because now 'we' have become 'them' (underground> mainstream, rebellion>establishment, art>pop culture).

I have no idea if this is the work of a modern day Draper or whatever but yeah, any time you see something you care about used as currency it's sort of weird. I don't feel bummed out about it anymore really, in an ad, it's just glib and easily dismissible ... I mean, should we dismiss Walt Whitman now 'cause they used his poem in this dumb ad? Nah.

But from time to time, absolutely--shit like this can get under your skin. Take a good deep breath, KtB! It's how you know your synapses are all still firing at 100% !!

[Joe Rogaine]

Hi. I've seen this commerical 3 times. It was on again tonight during 30 Rock, and it just enraged me. I would like (hopefully, with your help) to figure out why the F I might feel so negatively towards this particular piece of media.

Is it:

A) The Obvious reason: Hey, here is a commercial full of attractive young people doing things that are so free and enjoying nature and living a seemingly artful and rich life. You are just jealous of this sitting there with your workaday job and meaningless existence.

or (what I have been leaning towards)

B) This commercial is obviously the work of a 2009 Don Draper. Substitute the Cadillac and brylcream for the L train and an ipod synced to a Pitchfork RSS feed. Whomever is behind it is probably someone within the same age bracket and knows how to push buttons (music, visual aesthetic - in this case the Artsy Flicker Etsy Twee deal). This threatens you on some level because now 'we' have become 'them' (underground> mainstream, rebellion>establishment, art>pop culture).


You decide:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG8tqEUTlvs[/youtube]

either way, it illicits a response from me. The last commercial to have done this was this commercial. It is the only time within memory where I (consciously) sought out a product via a commercial. It took around 15 plays of it before I went and bought the sandwich. it was shitty and I never bought one again.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBNMjpDmrFc[/youtube]

any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

I always thought that was a Nike commercial. Doesn't Nike also have some commercial with poetry in it? This is actually not a bad commercial compared to all the other crap commercials out there.

[emma]

AC: I don't like the ad and I also don't really appreciate it when people talk about the 'youth of today' being 'soft serve.' Every generation has jerks/creeps/lazy people who feel they're more important than everyone else and should have everything handed to them on a silver platter. I know plenty of people like that of every possible age. The ad sucks because it does two shitty things at once; it corrupts a piece of art and makes whoever's watching it feel unglamorous and unadventurous and insecure. And then it uses that feeling to get you to buy jeans. I think it's the opposite of that 'everyone's a rockstar' thing. The point is that you are not nearly as gorgeous and exciting as these people but don't you wish you could be? Nothing to do with kids today thinking they're special.

Ps: first person to make a Youth Of Today reference/joke gets a prize.

[Lothar_Brightblade]

It's the jeans version of the Miracle Whip commercials. "We will not be quiet. We will not try to blend it, disappear in the background, play second fiddle. When we're in a sandwich, a salad, a panini or crustini, you'll know it. We're not like t others. We won't ever try to be. We are our own mixed up blend of one of a kind spices. We are Miracle Whip, and we will not tone it down."

The mayovolution will not be televised.

[AndrewVDill]

Who you calling soft serve, Christina?  Bring it on.

[yesno]

Walt Whitman is such a sellout.  I can't believe he'd let Levi's corrupt his art like that.

Maybe he can reinvest some of the jeans money in Camden, the place has gone to shit.

[crumbum]

I've noticed lately that the Levi's brand seems to be on an upswing in popularity with the young hip folks. However I think it has zero to do with this ad campaign and a lot to do with the fact that they've finally gotten around to making skinny jeans (too bad they'll be out of fashion again soon). Also there's a general disgust at the $200 price tag on your other popular brands like Nudie.

I thought that Burger Kind guy was Darius Rucker for the first 15 seconds.

[Christina]

The youth of today, so sensitive.

One of today's youth who got uppity about what I said has no problem constantly insulting me for being 39. (not you emma, the other one.)

[Sarah]

I think the older you get, the more irritating (or easy to ignore, depending on your temprament) it is when carefree youth is used to sell anything.

I'm older than any of youse, and it's not the use of youth to sell that bothers me about these commercials; it's the astounding pretentiousness/presumptuousness of using that text.  Not that I have any particular attachment to Leaves of Grass; it just annoys me when superior/more serious works are pressed--cynically and with no sense of humor--into service in support of lesser/more trivial/more mundane ones.

Now get off my lawn.

[senorcorazon]

Don't worry, in about 5-10 years we will all exit the key demographic for marketing and suddenly find ourselves staring at anything produced on TV or similar outlets in a state of utter bewilderment. Who and what is that? Why is everything so loud? KIDS THESE DAYS!