Levi's / Wieden+Kennedy FSA campaign to help Braddock, PA

There's a billboard atop a building on Broadway just south of Madison Square Park that I pass by daily on my walk home from work.  Currently, it features the latest advertising campaign from Levi's, the photography of which looks to be straight out of the FSA Walker Evans-Dorothea Lange archive:

(c) Levi's from Wieden+Kennedy's "Go Forth 'Ready to Work'" campaign.

Dorothea Lange/Farm Security Administration

Walker Evans/Farm Security Administration

I've really enjoyed the photography for this campaign, and I was even more excited to read on GOOD's website that proceeds from it are going to a good cause.  Levi's jean company is investing in revitalizing Braddock, Pennsylvania, a former steel town.

Levi's has helped to build a community center and urban garden in the town.  They've also teamed up with the Sundance Channel and IFC to create a series of videos on the town. For those of us who've read about Braddock but haven't visited, it's an affecting introduction to the town's actual sights, sounds, and people. The first episode provides an overview of the daunting situation.

 As GOOD says:

...some commenters are complaining that it's all just a marketing ploy. Well, of course it is. But it's way better than a marketing ploy that doesn't involve the construction of anycommunity centers or gardens (e.g. every other marketing ploy). If Levi's had Habitat for Humanity's mission, this would be a discouraging effort. For a jean company, it's awesome.

Cheers to a corporation that – whether or not it is actually making a financial dent – is at least using its clout to inspire others to try to make a difference.