Reviewed today: Levi's Jeans

Levi's has always been hit or miss when it comes to their jeans. This might have something to do with the fact that they have any number of simultaneous campaigns for different types of jeans going at any one time. They have had a least a couple of successes in our judgment, like the 'They go on' series of ads or the commercial with the elevator, a guy and a girl, and the song "I Think I Love You".

Levi's most recent effort is straight from the Dockers (Motto: "There's something wrong with just wearing pants") school of commercial production. The two that we have seen feature a teenager giving a short soliloquy about something that has nothing whatsoever to do with his jeans, though the camera does linger to show you that the kid has bought into possibly the stupidest trend in youth clothing since bell bottoms--big (presumably Levi's) jeans.

Uninspired format aside, the worst thing about these commercials is their content. The first teen admits that he's gay and uses drugs, while in the second commercial we saw, the kid tells a story about skipping a class so that he could surf some more, also pointing out that he didn't shower or change before going to school. So, I suppose Levi's is putting itself forward as the jeans of choice for gays, drug users, dropouts and people who don't bathe. We are not suggesting that there is anything wrong with being gay; it is the unintentional endorsement we have a problem with. What's next? A teenage boy telling a story about how he slipped his date a roofie and took advantage of her?

While Levi's is probably right that most drug users and dropouts wear Levi's, they might find others offended at the characterization. Since we are not the target audience here, we would hope teens would denounce Levi's for having the gall to suggest such losers might influence their decision in favor of Levi's. Of course we all know that teens would never do that. More likely, these commercials will be noticed by religious groups and parents, who will conviently complain, pushing sales ever higher. These commercials seem purposefully designed to elicit this response. Our only hope is that they won't be seen or will be ignored by those whose voices raised in complaint will attract only more teen customers.

Rating: 1 Star for sheer manipulative menace.

While we are not sure whether the "Hard Jeans" ad campaign is blessedly over, cynical.com finds it appropriate at this time to point out that it is or was a terribly stupid premise. We do not know what was supposed to be appealing about "hard" jeans. We thought that part of the allure of jeans is that they are comfortable. Apparantly today's youth wants jeans that stay intact but manage to scuff your knees inside them when you fall. They repeated this twice, so we know it's supposed to be really good. Imagining the audience that Levi's was hoping for with "Hard Jeans" we can only think of Beavis and Butthead sitting on the couch saying "huh huh, cool." We hope that the youth of America hasn't sunk this low yet.

Rating: 1 Star for mind-boggling premise

Conclusion: Do not buy Levi's.

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