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Whitman as American Legend
Levi's GO FORTH Campaign
The Levi’s Go Forth campaign was launched in the fall of 2009, and is heavily based in the use of Whitman’s poetry as a backdrop for their campaign. It is arguable whether or not Whitman would have supported the use of his work by such a large industrial corporation; however an important factor for Whitman was whether or not the intended user was going to respect the integrity of his work and keep it intact (Blake, 22). The ad campaign consists of two television ads, both using Whitman’s poems, an alternate reality game and an interactive website.
The first Levi's commercial uses what is believed to be an actual wax-cylinder recording of Whitman reading the poem "America." Whitman may not have enjoyed being used for commercialism, especially in a way that gave him no credit for his work (since Whitman is not mentioned anywhere within the ad), however, this video, for one keeps the poem intact, but it also seems to be an accurate representation of Whitman's values, and hardly emphasizes the capitalistic aspect of the ad. In fact, had the Levi's logo not been shown at the end, there would be no indication it was a Levi's ad at all. That being said, the video focuses on portraying a working class America, the America Whitman idealized. The imagery used to correspond to the text portrays a diverse America. The scenes are reminiscent of a depression era America. The video uses very literal imagery (shots of elderly people and a child are shown while the words “young and old” are being spoken) to interpreter the poem. In the actual text of the poem, the words "freedom," "law," and "love" are all capitalized; Whitman assigns them as their own entities, and the video does the same, giving a distinct image for each word. This video is an artful interpretation of Whitman's poem, and it's effective despite its basis as an ad.
The second video in the Levi's campaign uses a reading of "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" Only the first four stanzas of the poem are read, with the first four lines of the fourth stanza being omitted in the narration. This video is much less visually representative of the text than the previous ad was. The ad places the younger generation as the addressees of Whitman cry of "O Pioneers!" and encourages them to aspire to the bohemian “fresh and strong the world we seize.”
Both of these commercials draw on Whitman as an ominous, legendary power. While neither commercial uses his name directly, the viewer is encouraged at the end of the commercial to visit the Levi's Go Forth website, which contains a short description of Walt Whitman as "an optimist in a time when it was easier to be a pessimist." There are also places where people browsing the website are encouraged to submit their "new declaration" of independence, as well as edit the original Declaration of Independence according to the values they believe apply to today's America. This ad campaign, which is filled with slogans decrying "men in suits" and celebrating the “average man,” seems to be a response to the current financial woes in America; it plays off the feeling that common Americans have been victimized by big business and unfeeling executives.
Another part of the online portion of the ad campaign is of course the Go Forth ARG (alternate reality game), which took place October 2009 through November 2009. In the video introduction to the game, the protagonist, Grayson Ozias the IV describes being inspired by Whitman to explore America, and to leave his fortune to future Americans also in search of the land Whitman spoke of. The game involved a cross country search for various clues, often using words puzzles that required a copy of Leaves of Grass to decipher. While the game did not have much to do with Whitman personally, as it was focused on the storyline of Grayson Ozias, Whitman was heavily involved in the clues, as well as daily posts from a game associated Twitter account. Each day for the duration of the game, the account would post at least one or two quotes from a Whitman poem, often referencing something occurring within the game at the time.
While Levi's, a giant corporation seemingly similar to the ones being rebelled against in the ad campaign, might seem out of place to make use of Whitman, it seems that in general they are sticking to Whitman's call to the American people to be "pioneers," to shape their own nation, to band together and celebrate an ideal America, not the cynical America of a recession. In their pure representation of Whitman’s values, though for commercial gain, it seems they have done right by Whitman, even if he may not have approved of his use if he were alive.
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Link to Go Forth Campaign site
