There’s a Levi’s Curve ID Jeans print ad that’s generating something other than sales. It seems that the ad is for some plus-sized jeans, or at least trying to attract that market. The only problem is, while the headline pays lip service to the idea of hotness coming in all shapes and sizes, the three models in the ad all look slim and about the same body type. There are some minor differences, but they’re all models, and they’re all about the same size. This has been perceived as insulting to some women, and perhaps also damaging to women’s body image perceptions.
Perhaps the ad should simply have added another line of copy underneath the picture of the models. The ad’s headline, written above a photo of three models looking very similar in shape and size, says: “Hotness comes in all shapes and sizes.” Maybe they should have simply written under the picture: “Unfortunately, our jeans only come in one size: slender. So buy someone else’s jeans, you plus-sized hotties!” That’s what the ad looks like it’s implying anyway, so why not just come out and say it? Then nobody could excoriate them for subliminal messaging about body image. (Of course, they could berate them about explicitly stated body image messaging, but that’s a different issue.) But if this is not what Levi's intended to say in the ad, they really ought to correct it with some differently-sized and -shaped models. They're selling the jeans to women, so I think it might be a better idea not to make women mad at Levi's with their advertising. But it's just a suggestion.
Ads are usually meant to attract, not repel, the prospective clients, or at least I think it works better that way. But maybe you could use reverse-psychology to make people want your stuff, like by saying: “Hotness comes in all shapes and sizes, except for yours. You're ugly, so you're not allowed to buy our jeans.” Then, maybe people would want them even more, because people always seem to be attracted to whatever is forbidden. Also, everyone wants to have something exclusive, so maybe if their ad said you can't have any, everyone would demand them. I guess you never know. Arrogant Bastard Ale uses this approach on its label, and it's fun. But I think it should have gone even further, saying at the end (it basically says you're probably not sophisticated enough to appreciate the ale): “In fact, upon further consideration, you can't have any, so just put the bottle down right now!”
But about this Levi's size issue: Maybe Helmut Lang has taken over Levi’s? (He used to make those ridiculously unforgiving jeans for men that would normally not fit on most people. When I was younger, I fit into them perfectly, but I was pretty slim and in good shape back then. But people would try on his jeans and come out of the dressing room fuming, saying stuff like: “That’s not a 32!” So maybe he’s doing the new women’s Levi’s?) That might explain it.
Here’s an article about this ad which shows what the ad looks like:
