Yesterday, I saw an uproar across online news sites and social media about the latest Levi’s ads.
Personally, I had heard about the Hottness Comes in All Sizes campaign, and I was really excited for it. Finally, a clothing company has heard our call and decided to embrace the concept that not all bodies are created equal, and yes, skinny jeans for all!
Wait a minute…
All those bodies look the same, and the jeans all look the same, but I have a body, and I was called hot once in Cancun during spring break, so – hold on, let me do the fashion math – this means that I should qualify for these pants.
So where are the pictures of the other body shapes?
Fashion ad false alarm, put the party hats and noisemakers away, no hottness for us just yet!
In all seriousness, Levi’s is allowed to sell whatever size pants they want to sell, and they’re allowed to label the girls that fit into them as hot, and they could have a really great product, but what irritates me, and we’ve talked about it before, is that the marketing, well…sucks.
When you say something like “we believe that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes,” and then you show an ad with three identical women, give or take some rear, it sends the messages that beauty does come in all shapes and sizes, and by all you mean three, you know, the same three you usually deal with.
For some women, it’s easy to see this and shrug it off, because that’s just how the industry is and we’ve learned to look passed flawed beauty campaigns, and buy the product anyway. But what about the women who can’t shrug it off? What about the women who struggle so hard to build up confidence in their body, only to have misleading campaigns like this undo all their progress? What about the teenage girls who develop their body image on the foundation of magazines and advertising and television shows?
The concept of this campaign is brilliant, I love it, but the execution is flawed. Why can’t we say we love all shapes and sizes, and then, I don’t know, show them?
Sometimes I think it shouldn’t be so hard to picture yourself feeling good in clothes, especially when it comes to jeans. Which is why we decided to put out a social media call, and do some marketing of our own. Here’s our go-to hottness jeans, that we know work for our shapes and sizes (want to see our favorite jeans in action? Click here to check out our Project Real: It’s All in the Jeans article for photos!)…
Brittany, size 16: I love Old Navy’s Skinny Mini Flare Jeans ($19, sizes 0-20, Women’s sizes 16-30) the name is deceiving, but the stretch makes them hug my curves, and they sit near/above my belly button, so my tummy feels held in.
Jenny Grace, size 12: I buy GAP’S Curvy Boot Cut Jean ($69.95, sizes 00-20), I have a big ass, jeans are really hard to find!
Amber, size 14: I love the Mossimo Flare Jean in the dark wash (Target $29.99, sizes 0-18). I like Mossimo at Target because they have Fit numbers. These are Fit 4. Once you figure out what “Fit” you are, you can usually just pick up a bunch like that and they work out nicely.
Becky, size 18: I love Old Navy’s Women’s Stretch Waist Flares ($19, sizes 16-30), they have an elastic waist, but you’d never know it by looking at them, they are so comfy, almost like maternity jeans for when we’re not pregnant.
Daisy, size 10: GAP Long & Lean ($59.95, sizes 00-20) in the short length, ironically. They minimize muffin top and lengthen legs, while providing good hip to ankle to balance!
Heather, size 10/12: I love Mossimo’s fit numbers, I wear the Mossimo Skinny Jeans (Target $24.99, sizes 0-18), I have them in three colors.
Kim, size 18: I wear the Old Navy Sweetheart Jeans ($27.50, sizes 0-20).
Jackie, size 14: I actually recently heard of Eloquii, and I ordered their Flare Jean ($89.90, sizes 14-24), and really like it. They’re not really faded or worn looking, so I can wear them to work on casual days.
Maya, size 8/10: I buy GAP Boot Cut Jeans ($59.95, sizes 00-20) because they hide the muffin top and have just enough stretch to them.
Holly, size 12: I actually love my Levis Bootcut 515′s ($45, sizes 4-16).
Julie, size 20/22: I haven’t found a pair of jeans that fit me better than Lane Bryant’s Right Fit Flare Jean ($59.99, sizes 14-28T).
Jen, size 10/12: I have really long legs, I have to order everything in tall, and I love the fit of GAP’s Curvy Cut Jeans ($59.95, sizes 00-20).
The fact is, I don’t spend money when I feel like crap about myself, unless that money is on Jimmy Fallon’s Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. I spend money when I’m happy and feel good about myself and my body. When are advertisers going to pick up on that kind of math?
In the spirit of full disclosure, prior to word of this campaign, we were running ads for Levis Curve ID, we have since asked that all ads be removed from our inventory.
image courtesy Yahoo/Reddit
They really need to take a lesson from Dove! Now their real women campaigns have always shown REAL WOMEN and that is why I am very loyal to them. Shame on you Levis. And bravo to you all for asking that their ads be removed.
YES! I’m so pleased that you asked for the ads to be removed. When companies start losing money and ad space, maybe then they will alter their marketing.
This reminds me of every point Kristen was making in the Victoria’s secret body post she wrote on here. Levi’s could have made such an incredible impact, but instead I am just dissapointed.
Exactly! That and the point that you may be able to shrug it off, and that’s great, but SO. MANY. WOMEN. And teenage girls, and middle school-aged girls, and…
They CAN’T. And it’s DAMAGING. And THIS is why so many women, of EVERY age, have eating disorders!!!
Boo on you, Levi’s.
And ironically today I am having one of those really tough days where all I can see is the 20 lbs my new meds caused me to gain and I feel like shit. Then I just want to go and eat my feelings. Because, well, that’s what I do.
From what I can see of the small top photo, I look like the girl furthest right…only about a foot shorter. How about some girls without 5′ long legs?!
The idea of all shapes and sizes helps me; my waist is significantly smaller than my hips and butt, which leaves me with that “I see London, I see France…” gap at the back of most jeans. So a “curvy” fit would be nice. But I can’t tell if they offer different shapes and sizes, or just this one pair of skinny jeans (and black pumps) that they think look good on “all shapes and sizes”…
Does this line feature sizes that would fit girls larger than the ones shown? That would at least justify their tagline– not the photo choices, but the tagline. Either way, I agree that the marketing sucks.
THANK YOU! Thank you so much for asking for the ad to be removed and asking for a change. That someone has come so close to having an absolutely excellent marketing campaign that could actually mean something and yet be so far away from getting it, is such a painful reality. btw, I love my Lane Bryant Right Fit jeans and so does my husband
I couldn’t agree more with your post! Thank you
If it really is about shape and not size than let’s see some different shapes!
I remember seeing an ad that they did that talked about regular women and it listed the sizes as all well under 29″.
My husband once did an ad for a laser face product of some sort. They hired 4 women: Asian, Hispanic, Caucasian and African American, by the time they were done art directing him all four women had virtually the same skin color and facial features. It’s a vicious cycle.
I love your integrity in removing something you don’t support.
I saw an add on hulu for these ‘new’ jeans and the blogger who was talking about them (scripted) said something like ‘wether you’re a size 27 or 29 waist…blah blah blah’ and I was like ‘uhhhhh….what about a size 32? 34?’ The last time I could squeeze my ass into a size 27 waste was when I was 15.
Brittany-I’m wondering if you could get in touch with them to see if they would feature YOU as a blogger on one of their advertisements/comercials? I know they’re using a whole slew of bloggers and THAT would be a badass way to represent real curvy girls… I see this as an opportunity for change and think you may have their attention.
Being a curvy girl this ad drives me crazy…it is visually misleading. Bravo CGG for dropping their advertising…I agree that the only way we will see change in these companies is if it hurts their bank accounts.
Hotness comes in all shapes and sizes- size XXS, XS and even the fatties that wear size SMALL because they have an adorable little but (that was probably photoshopped in). We are sooooo enlightened over here at Levi’s!
Butt, not but. Being annoyed by this nonsense causes typos!
This comment just made my day, whether you put in the right “butt” at first or not.
When you hear something like ‘hotness comes in all shapes and sizes’, you think, ‘ wow, great campaign. Can’t wait to try the jeans.’ Then you see the picture and go, ‘Huh?’ I think my butt looks pretty darn good in my size 20 jeans. Where’s a butt in size 20? Oh, right, I’m ‘plus size’, ‘large’, ‘fat’. Certainly can’t be showing my butt in a Levi’s ad. Thank you, CGG, for removing their ad.
I love this song by Sixx AM. “Lies of the Beautiful People”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzAv7K8BtN0&ob=av2n
I saw that ad about two weeks ago. I think Levi’s came up on Stumble, and I was like, “FINALLY, an ‘I love my body’ campaign that actually includes all size–wait. Size 2, 4, 6…where…are the others?”
I may be a small woman naturally, but that DOES NOT mean these “all sizes are sexy, unless you’re over size 6″ ad campaigns don’t disgust me. If you’re going to say “all sizes,” you damn well better SHOW all. effing. sizes.
My thighs touch. I’m tired of seeing “curvy” jeans on models whose thighs don’t touch.
Also – if they made a truly curvy jean, and then showed a truly curvy model in it? MOST OF THE BLOGOSPHERE WOULD BE ALL OVER THAT. Instant goldmine!
My mom, who is blessed with skinny legs, told me the other day she always wished her thighs touched. I told her NO ONE wishes their thighs touched!! lol She thinks I’m crazy, but maybe it was different in the 50′s-60′s?
I went to the Levi’s website to see the new jeans. When I started searching, they asked me to do a survey when I was done browsing the website. I ripped them a new one. I actually have some old levi’s that i love that fit my body well and and I’m guessing these would fit me too. But I will not be buying them until I can go to the website and see real curvy women modeling these jeans to that I might actually know what they would look like on me.
GAP Curvy jeans all the way!
I have found I can actually wear Levi’s Curvy Cut, and Gap, too.
I feel like I wink and say curvy in quotations. That translates into “I have big hips and ass, but my waist is smaller, and most jeans leave this weird “V” shaped tentish piece of fabric over my tramp stamp”
I too was really excited about this add, I’m not afraid or ashamed to admit that I wear a size 20 in jeans so yeah I am ready to see a plus size chick in an add. The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this “All Shapes and Sizes” ad was; really, all they did was put a pair of those butt padded underwear on that chick. So disappointed
That picture is the silliest thing EVER!
In contrast, EFFECTIVE marketing? After reading your Curvy Girl Guide post on jeans, I got my curvy butt out to Old Navy to try their styles. THAT is what showing real women with REAL bodies can do.
(And yes, I’m a Gap Curvy girl too… when I can splurge a little.)(
Wow, that’s pretty astoundingly myopic. Once I found a larger image I can kinda see what they mean about different shapes, but seriously that’s like 5% of the variation I see on a daily basis. If I were to illustrate the different shapes and sizes of hottness, I might pick a slight-and-slender size 2 (like the thinnest woman in their picture), a dense size 8 with big quad muscles, and a squishy-curvy size 18. Although, I’d probably want more than 3 models. Yeah…
Ay yai yai!
Bummer.
I finally bought jeans recently, after trying almost ten pair at TJ Maxx, and found two styles of Nine West jeans that worked well for me. Stretchy, dark wash, mostly-straight leg, low-rise to accommodate my larger waistline (I gain weight in the belly region). The size 12s actually fit WELL, as opposed to the designer size 12s that wouldn’t button!
Random, shallow comment. This reminds me of when Sassy magazine used to have their staffers review jeans, plain white tee-shirts, tights.
Great article! Yes where is the hotness in a short and round, yet curvy size in the ad? I personally like Old Navy diva jeans as they are very flattering.
Amazing article, Briittany. Just wanted to let you know that we posted this article on our Swimsuiits For All facebook site as the featured post of the week. We loved it and you totally won our hearts with your decision to put your money where your mouth is and nix the Levi ad campaign advertising in light of this revelation. We are very proud to be supporters of your ezine and peers in the fight for body acceptance.
You guys continue to amaze us and we are thrilled to feature your post.
As a thank you to you and your readers, please allow us to offer you the code “CHERSHIP” for free shipping on all orders in the domestic United States. For your international readers, please have them contact me directly at Cher@swimsuitsforall.com to set up a discount on their shipping as well.
Sincerely,
Cher T.
Social Media Marketing Consultant
SwimsuitsForAll.com
I love that you pulled their advert do much that I bookmarked this column (finally). Hear that Levi’s?
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