Levi's Latest 'Go Forth' Ad Romanticizes Youth Riots At The Wrong Time
Matthew Newton
8/10/2011 @ 01:37PM
As London burns and violence creeps north into Manchester and Birmingham, Levi’s launch of an advertising campaign that features images of rebellious youth clashing with police in riot gear comes at a bad time. That’s the reality the brand is facing with “Legacy,” the latest spot in its often controversial Go Forth series. And according to Creative Review, such synchronicity has led Levi’s to postpone the UK release of the ad.
But if it makes them feel any better, a lot of their jeans were stolen from legitimate stores...
Ah, the San Francisco counter-culture approach to selling jeans!
Despite all the inevitable media backlash and offense this ad would be sure to cause, and despite the fact that they won't be running this TV advert in England for obvious reasons, Levi's "Favorited" this ad on their YouTube Channelyesterday.
Yeah, that'll show the critics.
LOL!
And when DO they run this precious Wieden + Kennedy ad on TV in the U.K., anyway, given public sentiment?
Play with fire, you get burned.
Especially when you play with poseur fire!
Channel 4 News video: Reporter Jane Deith describes the police's seven-hour battle of endurance in Manchester, where they were usually on the wrong side of a cat-and-mouse game with looters, to the dismay of shop owners and residents.
Listening to BBC's 5 live reports LIVE from Croyden on rioting by thugs and the devastation they have wrought, while Police did nothing but mill about
Tuesday August 9th, 2011
2:30-4:20 a.m.
Below, some things I've learned while listening to BBC's 5 live reports from Croyden in South London as one successful shop -owner after another describes rioting by gangs of teens and the devastation they have wrought, destroying small shops that in some cases have been there for 40-50 years, as well as Ye Olde Dominos Pizza..
One business destroyed has been there for 140 years -made it thru WWII, but destroyed by people in their own neighborhood.
It's located on a street that's named for the business...
Nearby is a safe in the middle of the street.
A woman who owns a maternity boutique described seeing her life's dream literally going up in smoke, finding small hangers on nearby streets that had fallen from the clothes that were stolen.
The hangers got in the way of how much they could carry out.
Guess we'll finally see what all those CCTV cameras can do, since there is clear shots of what took place and who was doing it .
I also think we will be hearing lots of talk about future reprisals against the guilty.
Many business owners think that the military needs to get involved and wonder how 13-year olds are out on the street at 1 am without their parents knowing?
And ask why there were no water cannons or rubber bullets?
Lots of people interviewed there -and listeners at home- texting in to the Breakfast show are taking the Police to task and criticizing the Police establishment for their failure to adapt to changes -social media, Internet, cell phones- and to stop acting like it's fifty years ago and the problem is just juvenile delinquints out on a lark.
Lots of criticism of The Met following an outmoded Police model of civil cooperation that is simply fantasy-land.
Business owners and BBC listeners are saying over-and-over that the criminal element isn't interested in cooperation or "working with the community" but the Police establishment will be slow to change their tactics and strategy.
Theresa May, the Home Secretary, is being interviewed now and wants to say that it's "sheer criminality" -and she has said it 6-7 times- but she is avoiding answering the host's question about whether or not these are, in fact, race riots, since most of those involved are poor Blacks/Carribean and in many cases, it's Asian-owned shops that are the ones that seem to be targeted for destruction.
Many think that while there's an element of wanton opportunistic destruction, there's definitely an ethnic angle, too.
It's also been mentioned that the European press is already saying that the riots show the failure of multiculturism.
All the affected areas in London are ones with the highest concentration of gangs.
The past Labour government's notions of empowering social workers to reach out to the community is a completely failed policy in the view of the majority of the people I've heard today.
One such woman calling for more of that now is getting withering criticism on the radio from others and is actually blaming the necessary govt. cuts for the troubles.
Some people can never accept the fact that their high-minded approach, however well motivated, has failed, which the last three nights has thoroughly proven
Or recognize that some people are, in fact, criminals.
The UK-Netherlands "friendly" at Wembley Thursday night is now in the hands of the Metropolitan Police, not the FA, with a decision expected later today before Dutch team flies out from Amsterdam.
Kudos to Breakfast co-host Rachel Burden for walking thru Croyden while doing her report and keeping it together while seeing such signs of devastation.
It made me think of ABC News'Diane Sawyer and her well-known ability to do the same, regardless of circumstances, at world and national hot-spots, which is why she does that so often -and so well.
Fashion TV video: A bit closer with Daria Werbowy. She's sort of like a taller Canadian & Slavic combo version of Cali's Amy Smart -whom we LOVE! http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005442/
See more photos and video of Daria over at The Daria Files http://dariawerbowy.onsugar.com/
When you're finished watching the vid, head over to Absolut Boston and see what fashion forward Josefina is up to these days in London, a far cry from our own summer nights in South Florida trying to avoid the heat, humidity and heavy thunderstorms.http://absolutboston.se/
Our guess? It'll involve fashion, her friends and clubbing! Yes on all three!
First a little Cricket, then Thai food with friends in Notting Hill, plus a plug for her good friend, Tess Montgomery, who also has a Spot Life blog. http://tessm.se/ Now that's the life! Tess is the model featured here for British-based Seksy Wrist Wear by Sekonda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWy3TA3Hw3o
and here at their website, http://www.seksy.co.uk/ Josefina is someone who SHOULD absolutely -Absolut, get it?- have a TV crew following her every move for a reality TV show worth watching, since she's always on the move and doing interesting and amusing things.
She's sort of the alter ego for so many of the female bloggers in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe who are heavily into fashion, but while they mostly just talk about it, she's actually doing it for Escada AND talking about it. Plus, she's a savvy trend-spotter!
Meanwhile, it just rains and rains here in South Florida... http://www.srh.noaa.gov/mfl/
