Sage marketing advice! I’m fed up with all these corporations pretending they want to save the world when all they really want to do is sell product and make money. Which is fine - just be honest about it!
Your analysis is about more than marketing. It goes to the very psyche of modern culture. We are obsessed with death. Look at popular culture. Zombies everywhere. Death images everywhere. Apocalyptic films and political campaigns. Why? Is it because life has no meaning or purpose? Your Live in Levi's campaign would at least be hopeful and aspirational. Great stuff, Jen.
I love this analysis especially coming from marketing perspective. Levi’s loss. I spent many years at Fallon and could totally relate to the comments about creatives winning award shows. It was constant tension between clients/account teams and creatives. Once in while we would hit a home run like the BMW films.
The more woke they go, the more I care for my existing Levi's. I don't want to be giving these guys any more of my hard earned. Thinking of shelving a pair under glass, with a 'Break Only in Emergency'.
I think I like your marketing dissections' almost as much as your political skewering. The comments about creative directors at agencies "wishing they were...." rang so so true. They think they are artists. Focused on their own "art" and what accolades they will get. Not actually doing the work to make their client successful, instead hoping that somehow they will be "discovered" and go on to greatness outside the agency world. Yeah, right.
I left a secure, relatively cushy job in a marketing role just because I could see that the true believer employees who actually worked for the company were being pushed aside by an ad agency empowered by cowardly management only worried about the short term. I couldn't stand to watch what I had helped build slowly be deconstructed into a ghost with no soul or relevance which is where my former employer is today. I have missed the pay, but after 10 years I have finally help build a new organization to the point where I am making a little more than I was 10 years ago (well, still less because we are talking 2023 vs 2012 dollars). But to see where I would have been, either well paid and miserable or gone NOT on my own terms, I am happy with my choices.
There should be more blame of the current BS situation of the world put on the ad and marketing execs who swallow the crap and then feed it back out to the world as either the truth or something more important than it is. Jennifer, please keep shining the light of hypocrisy on "Cause Marketing." In too many cases the company claiming to do good for a cause are not doing good to employees or really shareholders. And often the result is the world (and their companies) are worse off as these charlatans congratulate each other on how good and smart and elite they are.
Mar 1, 2023·edited Mar 1, 2023Liked by Jennifer Sey
We haven't watched TV in years so I didn't even know about these desperate ad campaigns. Add Levi's to the growing list of self-righteous, virtue-signaling brands I will stop buying. Honestly, I'm just tried of being preached at... especially over a stupid pair of pants.
I believe there's a disconnect between what corporations perceive as popular (based on social media) and what people actually want. Algorithms determine which topics get air time on social media, not the end user. Important to note: Algorithms don't buy pants.
Guess we know what Levi's will be wearing at their corporate funeral.
I'm 74 and have outlived more than 20 pair of Levi's and I still have 2 old and 2 'new' in my closet. I'm proud to say that Levi's have spoken for me all my life and I've never imagined that I'd wear them to my final toasting. I guess I'll have to leave instructions to separate me from my pants first.
Jennifer, my family (Cone) was hand-in-glove with Levi for decades! My husband, David Bulluck, still works with them making jeans in Mexico. He is concerned about the future of blue jeans.
Mar 2, 2023·edited Mar 3, 2023Liked by Jennifer Sey
Jennifer, I am a new subscriber to your Substack based on your HighWire interview today. I was impressed with you in a previous interview on another portal that I closely attend, so thank you for mentioning your Substack in the forum of Del’s interview. My friends are talking right now about your strength. Thank you for exercising this heroic behavior of personal fortitude to us as your age bracket peers and certainly to the next generation. The discussion around the 34 minute mark when spoke about honing one's strength against ostracization resonated strongly here. I sporadically found my strength in such a manner as a child, but cemented it over the last three years. The manner in which you spoke during the interview brought tears to my eyes, but they are happy tears, meaning a gut reaction of honesty and truth that is hard to find nowadays. I am typically stoic and cry only when something touches a nerve. Please keep doing what you’re doing. It matters.
My mom died 4 months ago, my best friend 2 months ago. Last thing I wanted to see when trying to distract my mind with fluff tv was an ad taking place at a funeral and a “dead” person in a casket wearing 501’s. Currently all my jeans are Levi’s but this ad is tacky and turning me off of the company. I never get riled up by stupid advertisements like this to the point where I vent on the internet. But this one was so dumb it compelled me to google “Levi 501 stupid funeral commercial” which brought me to this article.
Jennifer - great commentary. I had been a Levi’s lifer until the anti gun campaigns. Donated all 4 pair I had and haven’t looked back. I don’t want politics from my brands...not even politics I agree with. The fun message you were running...that is exactly what I’m looking for. The world is plenty serious. Help me escape that with your brand messaging and I’m yours.
Boy, is the world of advertising missing you, along with some large company in great need of saving! Your creative juices continue to flow. I can’t wait for your documentary to come out so I can watch that brilliance up on the big screen!!
Sage marketing advice! I’m fed up with all these corporations pretending they want to save the world when all they really want to do is sell product and make money. Which is fine - just be honest about it!
Your analysis is about more than marketing. It goes to the very psyche of modern culture. We are obsessed with death. Look at popular culture. Zombies everywhere. Death images everywhere. Apocalyptic films and political campaigns. Why? Is it because life has no meaning or purpose? Your Live in Levi's campaign would at least be hopeful and aspirational. Great stuff, Jen.
DIE in Levi’s is accurate given their surrender to the DEI mob
Not to put too fine a point on it...but for THIS they paid $20 million?
I love this analysis especially coming from marketing perspective. Levi’s loss. I spent many years at Fallon and could totally relate to the comments about creatives winning award shows. It was constant tension between clients/account teams and creatives. Once in while we would hit a home run like the BMW films.
The more woke they go, the more I care for my existing Levi's. I don't want to be giving these guys any more of my hard earned. Thinking of shelving a pair under glass, with a 'Break Only in Emergency'.
I think I like your marketing dissections' almost as much as your political skewering. The comments about creative directors at agencies "wishing they were...." rang so so true. They think they are artists. Focused on their own "art" and what accolades they will get. Not actually doing the work to make their client successful, instead hoping that somehow they will be "discovered" and go on to greatness outside the agency world. Yeah, right.
I left a secure, relatively cushy job in a marketing role just because I could see that the true believer employees who actually worked for the company were being pushed aside by an ad agency empowered by cowardly management only worried about the short term. I couldn't stand to watch what I had helped build slowly be deconstructed into a ghost with no soul or relevance which is where my former employer is today. I have missed the pay, but after 10 years I have finally help build a new organization to the point where I am making a little more than I was 10 years ago (well, still less because we are talking 2023 vs 2012 dollars). But to see where I would have been, either well paid and miserable or gone NOT on my own terms, I am happy with my choices.
There should be more blame of the current BS situation of the world put on the ad and marketing execs who swallow the crap and then feed it back out to the world as either the truth or something more important than it is. Jennifer, please keep shining the light of hypocrisy on "Cause Marketing." In too many cases the company claiming to do good for a cause are not doing good to employees or really shareholders. And often the result is the world (and their companies) are worse off as these charlatans congratulate each other on how good and smart and elite they are.
We haven't watched TV in years so I didn't even know about these desperate ad campaigns. Add Levi's to the growing list of self-righteous, virtue-signaling brands I will stop buying. Honestly, I'm just tried of being preached at... especially over a stupid pair of pants.
I believe there's a disconnect between what corporations perceive as popular (based on social media) and what people actually want. Algorithms determine which topics get air time on social media, not the end user. Important to note: Algorithms don't buy pants.
Guess we know what Levi's will be wearing at their corporate funeral.
I was a teenager in the 80s and 501 jeans were the rage. Fly buttons as a zipper....whaaaa?
I'm 74 and have outlived more than 20 pair of Levi's and I still have 2 old and 2 'new' in my closet. I'm proud to say that Levi's have spoken for me all my life and I've never imagined that I'd wear them to my final toasting. I guess I'll have to leave instructions to separate me from my pants first.
;-)
Jennifer, my family (Cone) was hand-in-glove with Levi for decades! My husband, David Bulluck, still works with them making jeans in Mexico. He is concerned about the future of blue jeans.
Jennifer, I am a new subscriber to your Substack based on your HighWire interview today. I was impressed with you in a previous interview on another portal that I closely attend, so thank you for mentioning your Substack in the forum of Del’s interview. My friends are talking right now about your strength. Thank you for exercising this heroic behavior of personal fortitude to us as your age bracket peers and certainly to the next generation. The discussion around the 34 minute mark when spoke about honing one's strength against ostracization resonated strongly here. I sporadically found my strength in such a manner as a child, but cemented it over the last three years. The manner in which you spoke during the interview brought tears to my eyes, but they are happy tears, meaning a gut reaction of honesty and truth that is hard to find nowadays. I am typically stoic and cry only when something touches a nerve. Please keep doing what you’re doing. It matters.
My mom died 4 months ago, my best friend 2 months ago. Last thing I wanted to see when trying to distract my mind with fluff tv was an ad taking place at a funeral and a “dead” person in a casket wearing 501’s. Currently all my jeans are Levi’s but this ad is tacky and turning me off of the company. I never get riled up by stupid advertisements like this to the point where I vent on the internet. But this one was so dumb it compelled me to google “Levi 501 stupid funeral commercial” which brought me to this article.
You mean riots don't sell jeans? Who woulda thought?!
Jennifer - great commentary. I had been a Levi’s lifer until the anti gun campaigns. Donated all 4 pair I had and haven’t looked back. I don’t want politics from my brands...not even politics I agree with. The fun message you were running...that is exactly what I’m looking for. The world is plenty serious. Help me escape that with your brand messaging and I’m yours.
Boy, is the world of advertising missing you, along with some large company in great need of saving! Your creative juices continue to flow. I can’t wait for your documentary to come out so I can watch that brilliance up on the big screen!!