From: Shane Eason (email suppressed)
Date: Sun Dec 20 2009 - 08:38:41 PST
I came across these ads this past summer and have done a bit a research regarding them. What I found is the two television ads were done by the Portland, OR office of Weiden+Kennedy. The two poems used are America and Pioneers! O Pioneers! that come from Whitman's Leaves of Grass. The two ads embody the same titles of the poems. The wax cylinder recording is believed to be Whitman for America and Pioneers! O Pioneers! is read by William Geer, actor and activist. The "Go Forth" campaign envisioned by the Levi's brand is the last will of Grayson Ozias IV. Grayson Ozias IV being: G=Grayson; O=Ozias; IV=Fourth. Grayson was a believer in Whitman's writings, traveler and friend to one of Levi Strauss's nephews. He disappeared while on a trek west, attempting to discover a new America. Grayson also left behind wax cylinder recordings of his musings and whereabouts.
Shane Christian Eason, BFA; MFA
Assistant Professor
School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters
Florida Atlantic University
Miami | Fort Lauderdale | Palm Beach
From: Jeff Kreines <email suppressed>
To: email suppressed
Sent: Sun, December 20, 2009 1:36:08 AM
Subject: Re: Dog Star Man and L. L. Bean & LEVI'S
On Dec 20, 2009, at 12:12 AM, Fred Camper wrote:
Additionally, music videos have been ripping off avant-garde film iconography almost from their beginning.
And sometimes they have had to pay for it.
When Robert Frank was ripped off -- blatantly -- in a video for one of those Eagles guys, something like The End of... ok, i googled it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FPEBWZ1EOY'
I saw 10 "restagings" of shots from The Americans -- may have been more. Apparently Frank has a very good lawyer and got a significant settlement. Other still photographers whose work has been appropriated in TV spots have also sued.
Of course, back then ('89) it was a different world, there were record companies and music videos and serious budgets.
Do they still make music videos? MTV seems to be all reality shows.
When I saw that Walt Whitman (public domain) Levi's spot -- the B&W arty one -- I did see images that were, er, homages to iconic images. But mostly I was just staring at the screen with a WTF look on my face.
WTF indeed.
Jeff "doesn't get out enough" Kreines
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