I got home from work last night, and in typical fashion, I was too tired to immediately walk up the stairs to my room (and also, in my defense, I needed to take my shoes off before trekking around the house), so I sat on the couch and turned on the television to see if any Olympic events were on. After a bit, this new Levi 501 commercial came on. It was one I'd never seen before, although I have seen others from this same ad campaign. While I haven't ever been mortally offended by them or anything, I often don't think they're appropriate. Anyway, this new one...it's something of a different story. Here it is:
I didn't realize it was a Levi commercial until the very end, and when it started, I thought maybe it was one of those "Hey, get tested for HIV!" commercials. You know, the ones they used to play and put up billboards for and stuff. After he says, "I've been sleeping in my car," I'm thinking she's going to say, "I have HIV. Surprise!," or that after she says, "This isn't my apartment," he's going to say, "I have genital herpes, but don't worry, I'm on Valtrex and haven't had an outbreak, although it's still possible for me to spread the disease," (and then it's a, you know, Valtrex commercial like all those other pharmaceutical commercials, where the lay person who is taking the medication somehow works all the possible side effects/risk factors/reasons someone should not be taking the medication into the conversation, as if they'd really know all that). But no, they just continue on their merry way, busily taking each other's clothes off and eventually throwing their pants into a pile, where the caption pops up, "Levi: Live Unbuttoned."
Okay, so I usually don't let myself get that upset or irritated at commercials, cause I'm like, "Hey, it's a commercial, and it sucks, so I'm going to get back at the crappy director and company by never ever ever buying their crap again." Then I often buy their stuff anyway. Aside from finding the whole situation morally reprehensible, this commercial strikes me as blatantly irresponsible.* It's not enough that TV shows are inundated with random hook-ups. Apparently, we also need them in commercials. At least in most TV shows, the people know something about each other. But the whole point of this ad is that they've both been lying to each other about everything! The funny thing is, when I was looking for this ad on YouTube, I came across another one from this campaign where the (rather glowing) description of the ads gives brief summaries of each one. For this particular ad, it says, "The last TV ad, 'Secrets and Lies' -- features two characters confessing a series of white lies as they unbutton their Levi's® 501® jeans. Their unveilings, along with the physical unbuttoning of their jeans, captures the provoking theme of self-expression and unrestrained behavior central to the "Live Unbuttoned" campaign."** Oh yes, those little "white lies." No, I didn't eat the last piece of chocolate (when really you did). Of course I cleaned my room (by shoving everything in my closet and under the bed). Those are white lies. Saying you work somewhere you don't, or that you're from somewhere you're not, that you live somewhere you don't? Those aren't white lies. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I'm fairly certain that a white lie deviates only partially from a truth. My point is, is this the kind of thing we really want impressionable individuals to watch, whether they're children, teens, or adults? That it's okay to have sexual relationships with people we really know nothing about? If someone has no problem lying about their job or their past, what else do they have no problem lying about? I'm all for free expression, living the way you want to live, etc etc, but can we at least show some maturity?***
Maybe by "live unbuttoned," they mean get used to wearing those awesome button-less hospital gowns because you'll be paying a lot of visits to the doctor to be checked for STDs, as that one "white lie" your little hook-up didn't tell you about turned out to be the most important one.
* I know I really don't like this commercial because I'm still feeling unsettled about it some 18 hours after I saw it...
** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym_Z9tFv650
*** Some people may get after me or think to themselves, "Why are you freaking out about this? It's just a commercial. People aren't going to go have random sex because they saw this, so stop complaining." To them, I say that I don't believe that anyone would go on a wild fling because of one commercial. However, I do believe that everything we see and hear has some influence in shaping how we see and react to our surroundings. Like it or not, we are products of our environment. When we repeatedly see behavior such as is shown in this commercial, we become that much more likely to see that as a viable reaction to any similar situations we may be in. So no, I don't think this ad will make someone suddenly and inexplicably do something they would normally not do. But I do think that, if a similar situation to the one shown here were to arise, they would be less concerned about inherent dangers like diseases and therefore more likely to respond in a manner that would put their own emotional and physical well-being at risk.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Loonies at Lollie
What happens when you get 80,000 (often rather peculiar) people crammed together for several days in a relatively small park in high temperatures and high humidity? Hilarity. And many unpleasant odors. Also a clear demonstration that through science and technology, as well as social welfare, mankind has overcome evolution, and survival of the fittest is no longer in play. Ah, Darwinism...may you rest in peace. Anyway, I was up in Chicago a couple of weekends ago to go to the first day of Lollapalooza (which I almost always spell wrong, by the way). As you can imagine, with 80,000 people there, it was easy to pick out the different breeds of lollapaloozites. This is my brief accounting of a few of the more notable ones.
1. Crazy hippie-hemp-wearing-pot-smuggling-free-spirited-counterculturists. I know you've all seen them. They wear organic clothing and keep little baggies of pot rolled up in their tops, along with blown-glass pipes. They often have unshaven armpits/legs and deliciously sticky-looking hair. Yes, no soap, razors, or shampoo for them. They're one with nature. And you don't see the majestic beasts of mother earth using those. And honestly, who wouldn't want to be more like a malodorous, flea-ridden, sewage-eating rodent?
2. The I-was-alive-during-the-60s-and-70s-and-was-totally-awesome-and-
protested-the-Vietnam-War-and-now-even-though-I'm-a-middle-aged-paunchy-man-
I'm-still-hip-enough-to-hang-it-with-the-teens-and-20 somethings group. A somewhat ostracized subset of the crazy hippie-hemp-wearing-pot-
smuggling-free-spirited-counterculturists. Primarily male, these shirtless, rotund older folk attempt to reconnect with their inner child by attending musical events targeted toward younger groups. They can usually be seen nodding to music created by singers who weren't even born by the time they tapped into their IRAs, their portly bodies vibrating in time with each thump of bass.
3. The frat boys who want to impress people by saying, in an off-handed way, "Yeah, I was at Lollapalooza last summer and (insert impressive fact/tale of stupidity)." Their tanned, bare torsos paired with plaid J. Crew style shorts are this group's most distinguishing feature. While they may also be recognized by their trademark beer-in-a-solo-cup, this characteristic can be misleading, as all alcoholic beverages at Lollapalooza are sold in this ubiquitous plastic cup.
4. Indie-listening, vintage clothes-wearing, mainstream-eschewing elitists. While many concert-goers drive or take public transport into the city, these individuals (although willing to utilize public transport) favor riding their fixed-gear, pannier-draped bicycles to the concert venue. They typically weave through street and sidewalk traffic with a frightening disregard for their own and other's safety, and avoid wearing helmets as these may upset their carefully styled, side-swept, artistically disheveled-looking hair. They often wear skinny jeans. This is not to say they are all skinny; rather, they have a remarkable ability to avoid the physical conundrums of density and volume, and can somehow (perhaps by increasing density and thereby decreasing volume) condense enough to fit in absurdly small skinny jeans. Additionally, they favor dark clothing and pallid skin. Because of this, they are often confused with those known as "emo." Like indie elitists, emo practitioners favor skinny jeans, side-swept black-dyed hair, and pallid skin. However, they are more likely to be wearing spikes and to sport numerous thin scars on the inside of their arms as a result of their extreme emotional trauma. The definitive method for distinguishing between an emo and an indie elitist is to ask if they prefer Panic! At the Disco or The Arcade Fire.
5. The oft-looked for, but rarely found, normal person. Unique by her lack of any characteristic that can be construed as "weird," "strange," or "inane," this exceptional red-headed individual can only be seen at Lollapalooza at an approximate rate of 1 in every 80,000. Articulate, clever, exceedingly intelligent, athletic, technically-savvy, and humble, she is a sought-after commodity in a sea of hippies, old men, frat boys, and indie elitists.
1. Crazy hippie-hemp-wearing-pot-smuggling-free-spirited-counterculturists. I know you've all seen them. They wear organic clothing and keep little baggies of pot rolled up in their tops, along with blown-glass pipes. They often have unshaven armpits/legs and deliciously sticky-looking hair. Yes, no soap, razors, or shampoo for them. They're one with nature. And you don't see the majestic beasts of mother earth using those. And honestly, who wouldn't want to be more like a malodorous, flea-ridden, sewage-eating rodent?
2. The I-was-alive-during-the-60s-and-70s-and-was-totally-awesome-and-
protested-the-Vietnam-War-and-now-even-though-I'm-a-middle-aged-paunchy-man-
I'm-still-hip-enough-to-hang-it-with-the-teens-and-20 somethings group. A somewhat ostracized subset of the crazy hippie-hemp-wearing-pot-
smuggling-free-spirited-counterculturists. Primarily male, these shirtless, rotund older folk attempt to reconnect with their inner child by attending musical events targeted toward younger groups. They can usually be seen nodding to music created by singers who weren't even born by the time they tapped into their IRAs, their portly bodies vibrating in time with each thump of bass.
3. The frat boys who want to impress people by saying, in an off-handed way, "Yeah, I was at Lollapalooza last summer and (insert impressive fact/tale of stupidity)." Their tanned, bare torsos paired with plaid J. Crew style shorts are this group's most distinguishing feature. While they may also be recognized by their trademark beer-in-a-solo-cup, this characteristic can be misleading, as all alcoholic beverages at Lollapalooza are sold in this ubiquitous plastic cup.
4. Indie-listening, vintage clothes-wearing, mainstream-eschewing elitists. While many concert-goers drive or take public transport into the city, these individuals (although willing to utilize public transport) favor riding their fixed-gear, pannier-draped bicycles to the concert venue. They typically weave through street and sidewalk traffic with a frightening disregard for their own and other's safety, and avoid wearing helmets as these may upset their carefully styled, side-swept, artistically disheveled-looking hair. They often wear skinny jeans. This is not to say they are all skinny; rather, they have a remarkable ability to avoid the physical conundrums of density and volume, and can somehow (perhaps by increasing density and thereby decreasing volume) condense enough to fit in absurdly small skinny jeans. Additionally, they favor dark clothing and pallid skin. Because of this, they are often confused with those known as "emo." Like indie elitists, emo practitioners favor skinny jeans, side-swept black-dyed hair, and pallid skin. However, they are more likely to be wearing spikes and to sport numerous thin scars on the inside of their arms as a result of their extreme emotional trauma. The definitive method for distinguishing between an emo and an indie elitist is to ask if they prefer Panic! At the Disco or The Arcade Fire.
5. The oft-looked for, but rarely found, normal person. Unique by her lack of any characteristic that can be construed as "weird," "strange," or "inane," this exceptional red-headed individual can only be seen at Lollapalooza at an approximate rate of 1 in every 80,000. Articulate, clever, exceedingly intelligent, athletic, technically-savvy, and humble, she is a sought-after commodity in a sea of hippies, old men, frat boys, and indie elitists.
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