Good Genes (Jeans) Spotted at an Idaho Mall

Living in Idaho reminds me of an old Merle Haggard song.  The culture of Oklahoma is about the same, and people in both states don’t lose their minds over what we used to call political correctness.  Never did, and still don’t.

I thought about how normal life is here when I walked through the Magic Valley Mall, and saw a sign in a shop window featuring the actress Sydney Sweeney.  No angry demonstrators were picketing the store and asking for the poster to be removed.

When did a Pretty Woman in Denim Become Offensive?

I’ve only been tracking this story slightly, because I can’t see what all the fuss is about.  One of the guys here at work explained it was because in some pictures, the word jeans is spelled genes, as in good genetics.  Well, it's obvious to any passerby that Sweeney has good genes.  That’s why she was hired as a model for the advertising campaign.

Way back in my college days, I was in a marketing class where it was explained that people buy the image they want to be, and not what they are.  It’s why beer companies sell products as fun, and not as something that could make you unwell if you drink too much.  Or they did.  Bud Light was an example of ignoring not only the maxim about selling imagery, but ignoring the customer base.

Lefty has No Clue About Marketing

There was a demand from the left a few years ago for more plus-size models in advertising, and some companies bowed to the pressure.  However, I’ve been both fat and slim throughout periods of my life, and I would rather be on the lighter side.  This gets us back to people buying the product they want to be and not what they see currently in the mirror.

If I’m selling jeans, beer, or trucks, I would keep that in mind.  Because if you don’t, and you lose the company money, you’ll make shareholders angry, and probably lose your job.