Tuesday, August 19, 2008

"Live Unbuttoned"?

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.

12 comments:

Lilia said...

Hey! I stumbled upon your blog purely by random, it's really good, I love your writing!

I'll have to check out this Levi's ad when I get home, as volume is banned on my work pc..

Megs said...

Come on Cassi, just live unbuttoned.

PS - Awesome job on frequent posting.

Anonymous said...

Oh, button up for heaven sake...... Enough already. All the problems in this poor old world and you are kvetching about this?

sgt said...

Way to stand up for morality! That is a reprehensible ad, and it doesn't belong on TV or anywhere; even YouTube. My *#$%, what are they advertising anyway??? SEX, pure and adulterated!!! Now I know why I won't ever buy any more Levis, and maybe I won't even let Tip buy any as well! Talk about crap! Btw, I think you meant morally and not mortally in your first paragraph. I'm proud of you for taking a stand.

Nicole said...

My question is, who wrote that stupid anonymous comment on your blog? I hope it was one of your friends because otherwise, they're a jerk. And obviously they didn't read all the excellent fine print on your post. Of course, my response to this anonymous fool is that there will ALWAYS be problems in the world, does that mean we should ignore supposed SMALL problems? I mean, that's an idea. I guess if you have terminal cancer, you have no business going to the dentist for a toothache, right? Who CARES? You're going to die anyway. Just focus on the big problems.

What a jerk. Anonymous comments bug the heck out of me. It's like, I'll stab you in the back and then run. You'll never know who I am or how to get in touch with me, but I got MY jab in. Ha ha ha. Way to go, gutsy.

Anyway, excellent post. I agree with you entirely. Levi's have always had crap television ads, except that dancing pants ad, but then, wasn't that one all about stealing? Yeah, they're using the seven deadly sins as their platform. AWESOME! I guess the message is, I would go to hell for these pants they're so great. Or something. Idiotic. They think they're reaching out to the COOL generation. But actually the cool kids all wear Diesel jeans (who have crap ads too) and other really outrageously expensive jeans that I would never buy.

I agree with SGT about morally and not mortally. Although I found mortally an acceptable stand in for morally. It gave it a funny twist.

You're my hero!

cassi said...

aurora- Thanks for your comments! I hope to hear from you again sometime.

megs- You're right. I mean, I work with HIV anyway, and it's practically inevitable that I'll somehow infect myself someday, so why not? Call it a preemptive strike.

anonymous- I had a great response to your inane comment all outlined, but then aries327 beat me to it. And probably did a better job.

sgt- You're great. Thanks for teaching me that you SHOULD stand up for what you believe, even if others (read: anonymous commenter) think you should "button up."

aries327- Damn you, you stole every single argument I wanted to bring up in my reply to that comment! And it was oh so brilliant. You hit the anonymous, you hit the fine print, and you hit the ignoring the small problems. It was great. You're MY hero!

by Aaron Read said...

And why not stand up for morality? It isn't just about being straight laced and "buttoned up." It's a healthy way to deal with problems like loneliness.

This add is insidious because it's promoting a false reality. The impressionable mind will believe, at least subconsciously (as explained by Cassi) that this is how it happens. Joe Schmoe lonely person that he doesn't have to really have any talents or scrupals to fill his hunger. Because hey, the girl is really like that too. And wow, all I have to do is wear these pants! I have this handy dandy signaling device to call out to other dingos! However, there is a slight flaw introduced by the absent-minded person who will have forgotten to up his (more likely than her) fly and will be a source of confusion for other unbuttoned ones.

Lies like this are a big problem because they discourage young people to develop themselves in ways that actually contribute to society. Let alone what happens when you disconnect sex from love and commitment. What kinds of problems in this poor old world don't stem from discouragement and a lack of self-discipline?

Dani said...

Cassi, I saw one of thes on TV too, and was disgusted. The anonymous commenter obviously hasn't done his research to know that what is seen on TV does affect how people think, especially impressionable kids/teenagers. There is a huge problem with morality in the school systems, and if you want to close your eyes to it, and say it isn't a big problem or deal, fine. But, you're just putting your head in the sand. And... I think we all know who the anonymous commentor is.

: said...

i LOVE THIS FILM.

Megs said...

Cassi - just wanted to let you know, in case you don't post or get on blogger again for the next 2 months...We changed our blog url to http://megsandtim.blogspot.com. For security reasons. :)

Anonymous said...

Cassi, I totally agree.

Let me just say that I never post online about stuff like this. But I saw this commercial and immediately googled it to see if anyone else was as disgusted as I was.

My room mate and I just saw this commercial for the first time,(we are both in our early twenties--so you might say we are within the target market..) and we were totally and utterly offended and disgusted.

I was left with the reaction of first, my jaw hanging open, (literally) as well as "Are you kidding me?" Are they implying that it is cool to live life by having sex with strangers all the time, or lie in order to get what you want? If that is what cool people do then count me out. If everyone acted like that we'd be in even more deep doo doo. What bothers me is that this is what Levis comes up with in order to convince us, the American public, to think they are cool. Yikes...This just adds to the de-sensitization of America and the crap that we are used to seeing on TV now. Two stupid kids trying to F*ck by lying to each other somehow means we should buy Levi's.

Very inappropriate. It is a freaking commercial for jeans. If you can't sell your product by simply advertising that they fit great, look nice, and last forever, then that is too bad. It's all about shock value, not the actual product.

TACKY TACKY TACKY TACKY.

I'm not buying Levi's anymore.

Natalie said...

Cassi! I just found your blog! :)

Though it appears it's been dormant for quite some time, lol. What I've read is highly entertaining though, so I suggest you pick it back up.

If you are interested, Rob and I have one too: www.robertandnatalie.blogspot.com

Haven't talked to you in ages. Hope all is well!