The position that this Levi's ad is arguing us to take is that people who wear Levi's jeans are young, "pioneering", exciting individuals out to change the world and make it a better place and blah, blah blah...
The entire ad seems a bit dramatic, to me. From the comment, "Stink is good" to "Apathy is death!" Levi's begins to stir up feelings of unrest from the viewer. By the time we reach the end of the overly emotional monologue, we are convinced that we must, MUST buy a pair of Levi's so that we can change the world just like that guy in the picture did. He must have; he's got dirt on his face.
The keyword "social construction" comes into play here. Levi's is playing off of the reality that was constructed for us many years ago. The "American Dream" is a social construction that has been in place since our country was born. Ideals such as hard work, perseverance, and trailblazing when one meets resistance are typical to this notion. The Levi's ad is playing off of this construction with words like "pioneer", "strike", "tomorrow", and "promise". These words are meant to invoke our inner American. After seeing this ad, don't you just feel like rising up against the injustices in our world today and making some sort of change? I know I did. Using this ad, Levi's is convincing us that if we buy a pair of these jeans, we will be just like that random guy to the right that really needs a shower. We will change the world! Or, at least send a letter to our Representatives or something.
Robin said in class on Thursday that "The language builds the reality." The rhetoric used in this ad truly does build up our emotions and cause us to believe that Levi's are a good thing to buy because they make a difference.
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