It hearkens back to a time when people pulled themselves up by their bootstraps to get through hard times, digging in and forging ahead all while wearing bluejeans. Yet Levi’s also wants to “refresh and reinvent the idea of a pioneering spirit for the times in which we live,” according to executive creative director Susan Hoffman.

The newly launched web site, Go Forth, features a “new” declaration of the U.S. It also allows site visitors to write their own declaration, stating, “Take up your pen, you general of the new revolution. Add your words, your images, your voice to a new declaration, redefined in the spirit of today’s America. An America in which we hold these truths to be self-evident…” The video ad (shown below) features what is believed to be an original recording of Walt Whitman reading his poem “America.”

Interestingly, Creative Review reports that Levi’s used photographer Ryan McGinley, the same photog who shot recent Wrangler’s ads as well.

One has to wonder what backlash, if any, will result from minorities who weren’t exactly embraced during pioneer days. It’s doubtful that they would want to celebrate times of forced labor, broken treaties, and stolen land. What are your thoughts?

Here’s the video ad with Walt Whitman’s poem:

image: levi.com/goforth

Post from: EveryJoe

Levi’s “Go Forth” Campaign