I don't care if the recording is a fake or not. That Walt Whitman is shilling for Levi's is appalling, and that Seth Stevenson finds it appropriate brands him as a whore. Is no one with any taste left at Slate? What a waste of pixels.

I disagree. He's at least right that this ad campaign is the most emotionally arresting series of 2009. And normally I'm turned off by companies adulterating cultural icons for their own profit. But it seems less blasphemous with Levi's doing it b/c they've been around since the 1800s. As for the effect, I find the ad campaign depressing. I'm a grad student struggling to find work, and reminding me of the Depression and hard economy doesn't exactly get me in the mood to go buy jeans.

But you need something to cover your ass, even in a depression. Levis are good jeans. They've gotten people thru hard times before.