Nov 24, 2008

A Canned Response from Levi Strauss

In addition to the actual snail-mail letters I sent to the President and Chairman of the Board of the Levi Strauss Co., I sent an email to their "consumer relations" email address, and received the following "canned" response:
Thanks for contacting us about our "Live Unbuttoned" ad campaign. We appreciate hearing from you. We try hard to connect in meaningful ways with the enormously diverse range of people who wear our jeans. Sometimes, we miss the mark and sincerely apologize if you feel this is one of those times. Thanks again for letting us know your comments and concerns. We will definitely pass them on to our marketing colleagues who pay close attention to consumer feedback. Samantha Consumer Relations Levi Strauss & Co. sherna3396589
And this was my return response:
Thank you for your canned response. I do hope you will actually pass my email on, as this is a serious matter to many of us who actually care about the future of our children and resent Levi's promotion of "unrestrained behavior". As an employee, are you actually allowed to put this "unrestrained behavior" into action? Can you be rude to customers? Can you walk into an executive's office without being invited and use his phone or pour yourself a cup of coffee? Perhaps you can take office equipment home with you or steal credit card numbers from customers. Why not, when Levi's own web page tells us your company is all about "unrestrained behavior". Except it's only OUR kids whose behavior can be unrestrained, I'm betting. Not the children of the executives making a few million a year, not the employees at the company... just our kids that your company is trying so hard to promote casual sex and such "unrestrained behavior" as breaking and entering into a family's home. Yes, please do pass my email on -- and this one too.
I will continue to fight this fight and I do hope you will help me by writing to the Levi Strauss Company and telling them that these commercials are NOT acceptable to those of us who actually have to live with the consequences of their "unrestrained behavior" philosophy.

5 comments:

RoeH said...

I'm still in it with you!

chickchatmom said...

I hate those party line answers!

chickchatmom said...

Joan - I think you need to act locally too. I think you should take up the smut-free magazine isle for the grocery stores. Just like the candy isle - there should be one lane that doesn't have all those trashy magazines w/ half-dressed 14+ year olds. This is a start - it gets people questioning and thinking about what is suitable and what crosses the line. If there was a smut-free isle, could I really justify choosing to go in the "smut" isle?

I apploaud your fight - and you've got my support (and other chickchatters!), but we need to spread it out. I think local action, as well as getting people to think and re-think their standards is a good start. I think, unfortunately, many people are desensitized (and can you blame them w/ all the stuff we are bombarded with!) and we get busy and forget that these things are important.
- Rebecca
www.chickchat4us.blogspot.com

maggie fellow said...

I'm not sure how I got here, but I am appalled at the commercials as well. I don't watch TV anymore, so I hadn't seen it. My oldest is 30 and we have never purchased from Levi Strauss because of their campaign against the Boy Scouts a long time ago. Thanks for making a stand.
Maggie
www.stampingwithmaggie.com

QuiltedSimple said...

Hi there. I wrote to Levi, and got the exact same response as you, word for word. I wonder if anyone really reads the comments consumers send?
Kris