Barbara Lippert's Critique: Lee Jeans Grows Up

She is plus-size but not likely to be visiting Lane Bryant in search of a maroon pantsuit any time soon. Instead, she stands, in black ankle-strap high-heeled shoes, about the size of your average high-rise convention center, and has had some trouble with birds landing on her head. She is the 90-foot woman, star of the latest Lee Jeans campaign. And I've got to say that I'm all for unexpected portrayals of enormous, powerful women, now that mindless, weightless figures like Paris Hilton dominate the culture. (Apparently, in her latest sex tape, she greets her boyfriend at the door wearing only a pore strip over her nose. Who knew Bioré could supply the latest porn?) Just as female twins are on the male cultural radar, it's nice to know that there are certain erotic possibilities to a woman who can make an entire city shake when she walks. And indeed she does. Set to a perfect remix of Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman," the spot was shot in Buenos Aires, and as a result has a cool, bleached-out, otherworldly look. A guy in jeans is in his apartment, watching a TV-news story about the 90-foot phenom, as she walks over a car, busts up electrical lines, picks something human-size off the bottom of her shoe and fixes her slip dress, using the top 20 floors of a mirrored building to view her torso. She stops to lean down and gaze into the guy's apartment, where she has a great view of his Lee-jeaned ass. Even Amazons get lonely, so she borrows the broom a guy is using to tar a nearby roof and writes her number on a billboard (the opposing building's board features a full-body shot of tiny, innocent Buddy Lee, a nice touch.) Then she makes the international sign: "Call me." The tag says, "No matter what happens, don't flinch," which is quite funny, since the move to a sexy giantess is sort of a shock—last we left Lee's ads, all the action centered around Buddy, a 14-inch humonculous who, with his spooky, Kewpie-doll-like looks, spurred one of the most successful brand reinventions in history. His diminutive size, and the fact that he couldn't move or speak, didn't stop him from being a strangely poignant man of action.Lately, Buddy has appeared more as an apparition in the clouds. (He always had a weird blankness that could be read as profundity.) The reality is that the 17-22-year-olds who grew up with him are looking for something new. Enter Natalia, the hot Valkyrie. On the Web site, they call her the 90-Foot Babe, and therein is the difference between her and the paradigm she's obviously based on: the 1950s cult classic Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman. It's a complicated plot, but the film's enduring image comes from the last 15 minutes, when the actress is abducted by an alien in the desert and returns 50 feet tall, wearing only a loincloth-style bikini. (That must have been a fashion statement from an alien with a Tarzan fixation.) She literally goes to town, wreaking havoc and seeking revenge on her two-timing husband. She crashes right through the roof of her house, which could be viewed as a metaphor for breaking the boundaries of 1950s housewifely repression, but probably wasn't. The film was remade by HBO in 1993 with Darryl Hannah, improved special effects and a more feminist slant to the story. Nevertheless, it all still hinges on Hannah's chance encounter with a UFO, which leads her to grow 44 feet and again go on a mission of vengeance against her absolute jerk of a spouse.Lee's update goes with the times, in that Natalia is a single, sexy, available gal who just happens to have a size-90 shoe. It's a simple girl-meets-boy story. And she's working the babe thing—hence no B-movie-style sci-fi, no Godzilla- or King Kong-like rampaging agenda at all. I'd love to see her try out for The Bachelor—they could make a special hole for her in the ceiling to take part in the "most dramatic rose ceremony ever." The visuals and the music work perfectly together, and the special effects are expertly done. Actually, Natalia has a blog—www.dontflinch.us—that isn't quite as clever or sophisticated as the idea of the spot. (Ditto the message on the answering machine when you call the phone number.) The story part of it doesn't really add up, and her legs—not the jeans—are what leave a lasting impression. But as a spot with a powerful central image, I give it two Statue-of-Liberty-sized thumbs up. A graceful transition is not possible here, but still I'd like to express my sadness at the passing of Debra Goldman, a wonderful colleague and friend. I think fondly of her blazing blue eyes, full of light and fun, and her towering intellect, which made her columns so searing and thoughtful. She will always be treasured and remembered.Lee Jeans AgencyFallon, MinneapolisCreative directorDavid Lubars Creative dir./art directorDave Damman CopywriterBobby Pearce Agency producerJoe Grundhoefer DirectorPaul Goldman/ Partizan Editorial companyTerminal, Los Angeles EditorJonathan Del GattoVisual effectsA52, Los Angeles

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Barbara Lippert's Critique: Lee Jeans Grows Up

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Barbara Lippert