Worst Timing of the Year Award? Yes! Matthew Newton of Forbes.com skewers newest Levi's jean ad - "Romanticizes Youth Riots At The Wrong Time"

Levi's® Legacy (English), July 20, 2011, http://youtu.be/KT16DcHcjRA

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.

Read the rest of the post:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewnewton/2011/08/10/levis-latest-go-forth-ad-romanticizes-youth-riots-at-the-wrong-time/

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 Channel yesterday.

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.

http://www.channel4.com/news/manchester-riots-end-after-seven-hour-battle

BBC Radio's 5 live is there LIVE covering riots: Downtown Manchester is under siege -and the gangs are running the police ragged

A family affair...

Entire families are showing-up at Manchester City Centre stores being looted with their cars -and children.

And the kids are helping Mom and Pop to loot!

I've been listening since 10 a.m. Eastern in utter amazement as the situation escalates.

An MP for Manchester has stated on the air that the police knew where the most likely hot spots would be, so why weren't they pre-positioned?

Instead, the largest gangs are engaging in hit-and-run tactics, and hours later, they seem to have the advantage over the timid police, who are vastly out-numbered.

One thing is abundantly clear in listening to eyewitnesses for hours: there are thousands of people looting, not hundreds.

And more cries are being raised for the British military to get involved since the timid police tactics so far are proving completely worthless.

Listen LIVE at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/bbc_radio_five_live

Follow events at the 5 live Twitter page:

http://twitter.com/#!/bbc5live