Have you seen the Levi’s ad from a few years ago that uses a Walt Whitman text to convince you to buy their jeans?
A Chain of Writers Back to Whitman
This week we read Willa Cather’s novel My Antonia, which explores the challenges of pioneer life on the American prairie frontier in the 1880s. This was not Cather’s first novel about these pioneers, though. Her novel O Pioneers! was published in 1913, five years before My Antonia. A C-Span discussion of Cather’s novel O Pioneers! notes that “The title is taken from Walt Whitman’s “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” which, like the novel, celebrates the frontier virtues of inner strength and spirit.”
You’ll notice a theme throughout our course–writers giving a nod to the influence of writers who came before them. Cather and Pound to Whitman. Hemingway to Twain. Others?
Will Whitman Sell Jeans?
The poem intones: “Oh you youths, Western youths, so impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship….fresh and strong the world we seize…”
And we see young people–the target audience of this advertising campaign–frolicking with each other and on their own out in the wild. Fire. Waterfalls. Fields of Yellow Flowers. They run through fields…dance bare-chested before bonfires …wrestle…make out (are those 2 boys kissing?). The language of the poem is urgent, repetitious, like a drumbeat. It instructs the “pioneers” to fight and seize the West. The ad ends with the written injunction “Go Forth.”
Does it make you want to buy Levi’s?
Other Instances of Whitman Inspiring Youth
Have any of you seen the movie “Dead Poets Society” with Robin Williams? In it, an unconventional English teacher at at stuffy, conventional private boys’ school inspires students to embrace poetry, not pick it apart until it’s dead. Whitman becomes the poet who breaks them all open, who the teacher uses to encourage students to “seize the day”, who inspires the students to call to their teacher at the end of the film, “O Captain, My Captain!” (a poem Whitman wrote upon the death of Abraham Lincoln).
Here’s a scene that invokes “the barbaric yawp” of Whitman’s “Song of Myself”:
(post originally published 2-15-10)
I had not seen this commercial before and although it is captivating with Whitman’s poetry, it doesn’t make me want to buy jeans. It makes me want to go outside and have adventures, which is the spirit I think Whitman tries to evoke in the poem. I think the poetry is too powerful on its own to sell jeans. If I hadn’t read that it was a commercial for Levi’s, I honestly might’ve not even noticed what the commercial was trying to sell.
I haven’t seen Dead Poets Society, but I’ve heard about it and seeing the clip makes me want to watch it. When I was younger, literature and poetry could create such strong feelings in me, and I would love to get that feeling back. In fact, that’s part of why I decided to take this course.
Levi’s is a product of the west and they themselves realize where their own roots are laid. It seems fitting that they should call to a new generation to listen to their inner pioneer, and to buy jeans, American Jeans. Not sure how Mr. Whitman would feel about selling Jeans but their is poetry in the fact that his words can today still evoke such powerful feelings and images.
To be completely honest I have never seen this commercial. They did a great job using “O Pioneers” as a statement in the commercial. They are using Whitman’s words to attract the adventurous side of consumers. I actually did not realize that this was a quote from Walt Whitman until I heard this commercial on the blog. The poem has a very catchy edge to it which I can see why they used it in order to attract consumers. Personally i think the commercial was to cluttered with different photos. The words would be the only thing that would attract me if I did not where Levi’s in the first place. I do feel that now knowing any edgy side of Whitman’s work that I can relate to, it will lead me to read more of his work to find out what else is out there I can relate to.
I honestly did not know that this commercial was an excerpt from Walt Whitman until just now. I have seen that commercial on television before and was intrigued by it but mostly just confused, yet captivated. I will say that it motivates me to buy Levi jeans much more than the Brett Favre drives a truck and plays in the mud and therefore I should want to wear the same jeans as him commercials. I think this commercial captures the free spirit that we all want to let go “the hipster gene” (no pun intended). It makes me think of the sixties and I think it is a good cross-era advertisement which reinvigorates the youthful spirit of our parents and their hippie days and excites a spiritual freedom in the younger crowd. In fact, I might go out and buy a pair right now.
First of all, it must be said that as soon as I saw a clip from Dead Poet’s Society in this blog entry, I had to read it. What an amazing story that is. I absolutely love that movie. I love the development of the characters; all young wishing to be something more who find an outlet in classic poetry. The scene where Keating has them stand on the desk in order to get a different perspective on the world is my favorite. The scene in the youtube clip was perfect for the character, Todd because in the short minutes you witness his lack of confidence grow with his inner poet and creativity coming out. I’d like to watch this film again after taking this class and reading such classic works. I may have an even deeper appreciation.
Much like the other comments made, I hadn’t seen the jeans commercial before. I’m also a DVR junkie. I found the background noise unsettling and not particularly inspiring. It sounded like prison to me. I would be curious who the target audience is here because I don’t know many people today who identify with a pioneer mindset especially teenagers. I don’t think that many people would even realize that it is a Walt Whitman poem.
I have actually seen this commercial quite a few times on the television and it even brought about a bit of discussion as to what it was trying to convey between my sister and I. Whenever the commercial came on I found myself watching it rather attentively. I think just the curiosity alone that the commercial conjures up means that Levi chose a clever way to advertise their jeans.
I must admit when I watched the commercial I enjoyed the poetry but the imagery was a bit too disjointed for me. Of course, I understand as an adult learner I am not the target audience they are trying to reach. I feel torn about the use of this poem for commercialism. It seems to me to trivialize the poetry by using it to sell jeans. On the other hand, poetry is to be heard and this will be heard by millions. I doubt that this “poemercial” will ignite a spark to read more Whitman poetry although it would be great if that were the case.
“Denim Sunset”
The Levi’s commercial is very interesting, more artistic and ambitious than most commercials, although it feels a bit contrived. There is a relation of America and the west to jeans and denim historically (rugged wear and the cotton belt), and if a fabric could conjure up images or encapsulate an idea of the west that connects today to the distant American past, it would be denim, no? Wild cowboys, gold mine workers, Kerouac in New York, San Francisco in his tattered, indigo jeans have walked all the decades in between. It also reminds me of how we idealize the sentiments of work like Cather’s, Whitman’s and even Kerouac’s to reflect what we want American to be or believe it to be. Compared to many hollow fashion advertisements, it is at least visually and poetically hypnotic with beauty beyond the skin.
I saw the movie Dead Poets Society in high school and found it extremely depressing. However, I feel the same as Mr. Anderson in the beginning of this scene. I have always stayed away from poetry unless I have been forced to read it. Often times I don’t understand it and I don’t want to take the time to sit and analyze it. However, since we were required to read poetry this last week, I was forced to sit with it and think about it and try to make sense of it. There are certain authors (Williams and Stevens in particular) that will always leave me confused, but I also surprised myself with poets such as Frost. I actually started to understand meanings and words. Most of this understanding came from listening to people recite the poetry. They knew where to take breaks and what words to emphasize. I couldn’t believe how listening to poetry instead of reading it made such a big difference. The Levi commercial is an excellent example. I could read “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” and probably think to myself, what the heck was that about, but listening allowed me to hear the force of the words.
This commercial never made sense to me until I took this course. I thought it was interesting but truly odd. Now I know why they had a narrator talking about pioneers, of all things, in their commercial.
It was rather clever once I actually knew the reasoning behind it. Perhaps the advertisers should explain it better on you-tube or something. I think that many will not and did not understand the commercial.
I had never seen this commercial before either (also due to my love for DVR), but I found it very interesting. The noise that I think was supposed to be a stick hitting something reminded me of either a gun shot or of a jail – either someone hitting the bars of a jail cell or the doors slamming shut. Either way, it was jarring and didn’t really inspire me. It doesn’t really make me want to buy their jeans though because I don’t identify as a pioneer and I’m not sure that many teenagers (which seem to be the demographic for this) do. I wonder if this would go over better with adults who may also understand that this a Whitman poem.
I love the movie Dead Poets Society, but never knew which poems or authors were referenced in the movie. I like the way it shows how poetry (and a teacher) can influence people and help them become more confident. I did not know that this part was referencing Whitman and I’m wondering if many people do. I think that watching the movie again after this class would be a different and more thought-provoking experience.
I thought the ad campaign was actually rather tame and would probably appeal to a more bohemian/alternative type of demographic. Woah, OK, didn’t think I would get the My Antonia image in my head for that. I think this commercial uses the pioneer theme over an over to entice the consumer to break off from the ordinary and be a part of something new, kind of like T.R.’s excerpt. I think the fact that the concept of being a “pioneer” is enticing as being a status symbol which makes the characters in My Antonia so relatable. Think about it. Who wouldn’t want to be a pioneer and get all that fame and notoriety?
As far as Whitman goes, I do applaud the advert for using his quote and showcasing the models that he depicted in his poems, because instead of using the all too common buff machismo models, they used a different group of models that signified what Whitman was expressing in Songs of Myself. They celebrate themselves by being different from the pack. Kudos to the creative team. Just shorten the ad next time, this isn’t the “Thriller” music video.
Although I am a fan of levi’s jeans, I have to be honest and say that I found this commercial a little bit creepy. I definitely agree with Nicole that not many people would know this is Whitman; I think it would go over their heads (it definitely would have went over mine if I didn’t know this was Whitman from this class). I think the concept of the commercial was innovative, but I don’t think it speaks to the modern generation. I also thought it was a bit lengthy for a commercial. It got a bit repetitive after a while.
I liked the scene with Robin Williams. He is definitely an out-of-the-box teacher in this scene. As an aspiring English teacher myself, I hope that someday I can help students connect with poetry on a deeper,more meaningful level.
If I had never seen this commercial before, I would definitely be intrigued enough to Google the lyrics, only to find Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. But now that I am familiar with Whitman and his influence on society, I can see the rhetoric embedded in the commercial. To start, I searched for the exact definition of a pioneer. A pioneer is “a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region,” or “one who is first or among the earliest in any field of inquiry, enterprise or progress.” This makes me believe that Levi is hinting at a more mod meaning: buying their jeans is like setting a trend. If you’re the first to wear them, others will follow. The images in the commercial are appealing as well, because of its outdoorsy, natural feel. There are lakes, fires, fields, animals, bridges, waterfalls, breezes and dark nights skies. This gives Levi jeans a natural, comfortable feel. I’m reminded of an English class in which we did a rhetorical analysis of an advertisement–in this one, the quick change of images along with the steady beat and repeated rhyme keep viewers watching. I’d buy Levis, just cause this is very, very unique and appealing.
I think it’s a good commercial if it inspires you to go look up poetry (good in a civic sense, although not necessarily in a marketing sense).
I have never seen this ad before, but thought it was very clever and very artistic. I liked the link between Whitman’s poetry and the youthful models wearing the Levis. I thought it was very “Levis” given the history of the company. The good-looking models seem very Whitman-ish and complimented the phsyical descriptions in his poetry such as “tan-faced children”, “my darlings”, and especially ” you youths, western youths, So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship”. Those last two lines really sum up the image the Levi company seems to be portraying. Even if the target audience had never heard Whitman’s poem before, it sounds like a famous poem that most people would think they should’ve remembered from high school. Overall, I liked the advertisement, though it didn’t appeal to me as a female consumer. I think it would’ve been better for selling jeans to young men.
Ok, so now I’ve seen the Youtube. This seems VERY “Dead Poets Society”, but I don’t really see at all what it has to do with buying jeans. I guess it’s the “wild and free” feeling that they’re aiming for, but I don’t at all see any connection whatsoever with the poem and the actions in the commercial to people buying jeans. If anything, it makes me want to boycott the company, if simply to boycott the stupidity of the commercial.
When you said that authors “take a line out of a work”, as a way of naming the author that inspired them, I instantly got an image of TV shows that quote famous lines, or re-enact scenes from movies, an homage, so to speak. I didn’t really think of it that way before…thanks!
Of course you are right about anyalyzing poetry, I didn’t mean to make it sound like my interpretation was so far out there it didn’t make sense, just the idea that there might be more than one way to look at a passage. I guess it adds to the mystery for me at least because you never really know what they were thinking, or what message(s) they are trying to get across to the readers.
I was shoveling again, more YAWP. I might have to put it on my Blog…..hmmm.
You’re right, Lenore, that “nod to” perhaps isn’t the best phrase and that these early writers did lay a foundation for later ones. What I meant to say with “nod to” is that some writers explicitly name others as their inspiration, or they take a line out of earlier works as a way of naming. Some writers are not as explicit about their influences or what they’re responding to. I do agree that Cather’s style is not so much like Whitman’s, although they both address the concept of exploration and conquest of the West.
I like your analysis of the Levi’s commercial! It does have a sense of “wildness” and barbarism about it. I also like to envision your snow YAWP.
As for analyzing poetry…it’s tricky to walk the line between interpreting it effectively and accepting only one interpretation of it. You’ll be asked to interpret poetry in this class. Not ALL interpretations are valid. It’s not anything goes. But as long as claims/interpretations can be supported with particulars from the poem, as long as you can point to lines that suggest your interpretation (and others can see that connection), then it’s a valid reading in my book.
Thanks for your comments!
Although I noticed that the authors in our class had drawn inspiration from previous authors, is it so much a nod to them, or is it building on the foundation the early authors laid for them? It reminds me of inventors. They improved or modified a design, many times based on other’s previous designs. Every year, we get new car models, improving on the designs of those before. So, maybe Walt Whitman broke the ground, perhaps on that style of poetry that inspired Willa Cather as a writer. I found her style, incidentally, more like Mark Twain’s regionalism without the humor. Certainly, attempts at the Bohemian dialects, or broken English were included as well. She has an amazing gift of putting emotion into her story, My Antonia. I felt a lump in my throat more than once reading that.
As far as that jeans commercial goes, I had only heard the phrase, “O Pioneers” before, not any of the rest of it. That commercial seemed odd to me the first time I saw it on TV, and again when I rewatched the YouTube clip. I wondered if the frontier they are really speaking to wasn’t a metaphor for “tolerance”. There are a number of same-sex pairs in that commercial, and the “wildness” of it all makes you think that it is “barbaric”, all the running…escaping maybe? Are they to Go Forth, meaning, “Hey, we at Levi’s don’t care who you are, what you do…it’s all cool with us, so go do your own thing, have fun, and buy our jeans to do it in”. That is what I get out of that, and no, I don’t feel compelled to buy jeans because of that…I just have to go try on 15 pairs.
As much as I like Robin Williams, I have never seen “Dead Poets Society”, but it makes me want to put it on my queue at Netflix. I loved that scene for what the Professor was trying to do, and break that student out of his shell. Poetry comes from odd sources…I found myself mumbling a free-verse “poem” as I was shoveling snow the other day…. I suppose that was my barbaric YAWP complaining about the snow. I think poetry scares a lot of people..the reading of it, the writing of it, maybe because we don’t understand it. Notice how I said, “we”, meaning “me.” I like what you said about “not picking it apart until it’s dead”. High school english was like that for me, I argued DAILY with the teacher about what the poet meant in this phrase or that phrase. My contention was, “How do you really know? You weren’t there. You weren’t in his/her head. You are just guessing that is what he/she meant. I interpret this differently, and that doesn’t make me wrong.”
I have seen this commercial, a couple of times and before I took this class I did not understand the commercial. I did not know whose words they were using, I understood the words calling for consumers to become pioneers, go forth and purchase Levi’s jeans, which are considered one of the pioneering American jean companies, but it is an even better marketing tactic since Walt Whitman is one of the great American poets. IT was a stretch though, how many people would actual know that it is Walt Whitman’s poem? I thought it was a part of a deceased president’s speech….
Because I have DVR, I rarely watch commercials. So the only time I’m exposed to them is if I happen to have the TV on while cooking or doing something else. I think Levis sponsored Law & Order reruns (which I confess I’m addicted to) because for awhile it seemed like I was hearing it incessantly. I had no idea it was a Levi’s ad (and didn’t until now) but the audio on it “haunted” me so to speak. It didn’t haunt me in a scary sense but in a echoing and lingering sense. I remember looking up the poem and reading it. It’s probably the only commercial that has motivated me to go and read poetry. It has not motivated me, however, to buy Levi’s!