Friday, November 21, 2008

Levis Sells the Sexuality of America's Youth

I am very concerned about a Levis television commercial I saw last night (11/20/08) on NBC during The Office. A young man and young woman in their teens are taking off their clothes saying things such as, “It’s my first time,” clearly preparing to have sex. The commercial explicitly reveals these two teens in their underwear, and eventually shows them jumping off a dock into the water.

As an artistic person having worked on television commercials, I can appreciate the creativity that went into this spot; however, I am deeply troubled at the message it sends to the children, particularly the teenagers in our country. My young children are usually in bed by the time I watch The Office, but I would hate for any of my children to see this advertisement, and then go away with the understanding that it is OK for unwed teenagers to have sex, which is clearly the message this commercial is sending, not to mention that its explicit content borders on child pornography. It’s a shame that Levi Strauss & Co. seems to think it is necessary to resort to such base methods as selling the sexuality of our great nation’s youth in order to market its timeless products.

Write to Levi Strauss & Co. and let them know what you think:

Levi Strauss & Co.
Attn: Consumer Relations
1155 Battery St.
San Francisco, CA 94111

3 comments:

  1. I'm boycotting Levi's - not wearing pants. That'll show 'em.

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  2. Brian, you inadvertently endorsed the very product you're blogging against. The site gives context-based ads by Google, and so the side of your page is plastered with Levis ads.

    It reminds me of this time Glenn Beck was on a diatribe against Mormon apostates who were fighting against the church and the ads all around the page were for anti-Mormon propaganda.

    It's one of those unfortunate side effects of the internet.

    -Ben

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  3. I know! It's ironic. I noticed the contextual Levi's ads on the right-hand pane as well. (sigh)

    ReplyDelete