Fledgling Activists or Fashion Models?

"This is a wake up call for the rebel inside you. If you want to live a successful life, you have to fight for it. Join with us. Seize the day." You won't be finding an activist yelling this slogan in front of city hall, but you will find it in a magazine advertisement promoting Diesel jeans. Some say sex sells, but Diesel thinks activism will.

Grungy, punk-like models holding picket signs with messages like "More Green Traffic Lights" and "Plant More Flowers" are the focus of Diesel's print ads and website. Of course these "protesters" are clad in Diesel jeans, shoes, and accessories, but that is seemingly beside the point. The images camouflage the fact that they are indeed fashion advertisements by spotlighting mock issues like "Believe in #13" and "Free the Goldfish." While Diesel may argue that their advertisements promote youth action and organizing, real activists aren't buying it.

"[Diesel] ads make fun of activism ... and use it to sell their clothes. Honestly, there are probably people right now organizing against the child labor ... they use to make their jeans in the first place," Venus Rodriguez, an organizer at Youth of Oakland United, says half sarcastic and half serious. Diesel is no stranger to irony; the clothing maker has a long history of tongue-in-cheek advertising. In a description of its "Diesel - For Successful Living" campaign the company warns, "Diesel images ... must be interpreted very ironically: the standard of consumer 'success' found in most advertising is exaggerated and made absurd ... [A]ny suggestion of worthiness is undercut by a final admission that it's all just a joke."

But Diesel's current "Action! - For Successful Living" campaign covers new territory. A European marketing magazine reports that "the print campaign aims to encourage young people to take action, to express their emotions and to speak up and voice their opinions for a better life." However with messages like "Marry Young" and "Share Your Bath Water" Diesel's trademark satirical humor lives on. Some young activists aren't laughing.

"This is something that I do. I'm an activist and I'm an advocate," explains Belinda Bellinger, an intern and youth advocate at Youth Making A Change (Y-MAC). "It's disrespectful to me because [these images] are portraying who I am. [They suggest] that I don't believe in serious issues."

		"With youth, [activism] has to be [about] something that relates to them for them to feel it and to want to take part in it.'"

The youth organizer is particularly concerned that young people won't take activism seriously after seeing the ads. "[The] #13 is not a real issue in the community," Belinda says, "with youth, [activism] has to be [about] something that relates to them for them to feel it and to want to take part in it."

Diesel is aware that the issues they promote are trite, but perhaps the company hopes that young consumers will see the images of people protesting and be inspired to take action on issues of real pertinence. Belinda is skeptical about the chance of this occurring. "The ads are dangerous," she says, "because [some young people] will see the Diesel signs and take it seriously." Belinda asks, "why not put real stuff that real people are fighting for on their signs? "

Carolina Salazar, a youth organizer for C-Beyond, agrees with Belinda. "The [Diesel ads] will have a negative effect on the organizing community," she predicts. "The ads make it look so real. I would be confused if I were a kid."

Carolina also points out certain stereotypes that the images perpetuate. "The media portrays young activists as hoodlums who don't know what they're talking about and are just trying to raise a ruckus," Carolina says. "The [Diesel ads] say kids don't care about anything, but 'sharing their bath water.'"