New Jimmy Chin/Jared Leto collaboration for Gucci and North Face ad. Leto climbs that hard?!

T Legowrote:

Climbers are weird. Each and every person in this thread would accept 2k to stand in the background of some fashion photo shoot at a crag. So why do we hate on Jimmy for using his skills to further his career and better do what he loves?

I don't really think Jimmy is in a position where he needs to further his career by doing these sort of embarrassing, cringe-inducing shoots. He's already a pretty well-known name, having carved out a decidedly enviable niche in and outside the industry shooting rad stuff for decades. While he's free to do whatever he likes, these needless crossovers only serve to cater to yuppie cultures which have no interest in anything beyond high-priced superficialities, and which trivialize and exploit 'fringe' cultures for their apparently subversive value. 

I honestly don't know what I would do if my climbing partner showed up dressed like this. Probably just go boulder instead.

A V wrote:

lol mr.moneybags here - we get it, you have an actual job

Personally, I'd take that 2k in a heartbeat... thats an entire seasons worth of food and gas for no actual work... climbers who are chronically underemployed will always sell out cheap, and I am no exception. Seriously wouldn't even begin to care what the promotion is for - just that all I have to do is only show up and get in the background of some shot. It could be for active senior incontinence products, idgaf - just pay me 2k for the shoot and I'm your guy in the background. 

I can't blame Jimmy/et al. for cashing out with this stuff - and I think blaming the media for the crowds at JTree is a bit of stretch. It's next to LA. It makes sense that it's crowded. 

Its a National Park in an era where National Parks are becoming wildly popular. Joshua Tree is not like some low key local haunt. Its a National Park in driving distance from the second largest city in the US.

Also, if my partner rolls up to the crag dressed like this, you are damn sure Im belaying them and probably also throwing some shade. It'd make for a memorable day out tbh. I dont pick my partners based on their choice of clothing.

This is styled as a "streetwear" collaboration, it benefits Gucci and Northface.  Gucci gets to look younger, Northface gets to look higher fashion.   This is geared towards younger adults that like to spend $150 on a "limited edition drop" of a cotton T-shirt.  It's capitalism at it's finest (worst?).  This isn't geared towards climbers.  None of us cheap or broke ass climbers are going to buy this stuff.

And some of y'all are on your moral high horses, hating on Jimmy Chin and Jared Leto.  Because they did a fashion shoot in Jtree you think they're contributing to "city folk" to come and trash the place?  Give me a break....  Maybe next time they can do a photoshoot wearing recycled potato sacks in a back alley, that pays zero dollars.  Jimmy Chin can make a living off of Instragram likes for passing your purity tests.  

Message to Jimmy Chin:  If you want to pay me $2000 a day, I'll gladly be in your next photoshoot of Louie Vitton and Mountain Hardware.  

Jimmy, if you're reading, I'll sell out for 1.9k. I also have long flowing hair and you don't have to pay to photoshop the rope out...it would give my mom a conniption anyway. 

I work for an outdoor brand that did a high-fashion collab a couple of years ago. I can personally guarantee you that nine out of ten high-fashion customers will NEVER venture more than 100 meters outside of their urban comfort zone. 

North Face and Gucci:
"We will pay you lots of money to go do what you like to do, in a place you like to be..... BUTTTT some people on the internet will call you cringe"

Chin and Leto:
"Alright the bank routing number is..."

For context, The North Face is owned by Vanity Fair, Inc. For a long time. So if you own any TNF gear you are part of the machine and you must now submit to Jimmy Chin. Post a TR! Remember no photo, no summit.

I love my Gucci sliders.  I work from home in them every day.  

All I am saying is that its not cool, or ethical, or genuine, or smart, its not helpful to the climbing community (the community that incubated Jimmy’s career in photography), to promote free solo climbing in a target market that is not informed enough to understand the dangers, using photos of fake photoshopped free-soloing. The riggers, model and photographer all decided against a real free solo yet decided it would be OK to market it as such. Not OK! 

slimwrote:

this video kind of makes me embarrassed for jimmy.

This video makes me embarrassed for all us climbers.

Marketeers and advertising agencies will exploit whatever cultural hook they can if they think it will sell product or gather buzz.  So there is nothing unusual about the ad.

The fact that North Face is doing a Gucci collaboration is, to me, rather bizarre, coming from a company that makes mostly function based products.  If you don't like this as a direction for the company, send them an email telling them you find the product and the ad offensive, and that you will be taking your business elsewhere.  It won't take any more time to do that than making a post on MP.  Mass consumer response CAN impact a company's direction.

it's no Bronco ad

phylp phylpwrote:

If you don't like this as a direction for the company, send them an email telling them you find the product and the ad offensive, and that you will be taking your business elsewhere. It won't take any more time to do that than making a post on MP. Mass consumer response CAN impact a company's direction.

It might be more effective for them to be ridiculed online. Quite a few people trashing the campaign in the comments here, with sponsored athletes and influencers like Nina Williams coming to the defense: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJG5coMgw4g/

Same post from Gucci's account has a much more enthusiastic comment section, I guess we know who the target audience is: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJoZQLxDvUl/

Frank Steinwrote:

There you go...

This is awesome. I kinda want a framed print of this for my man den.

Clea T Royal wrote:

Jimmy was willing to film a friend falling to his death for a paycheck, and have another friend die of a stroke for an FA. Not surprised that he’d photoshop out a rope for Gucci

Seems a tad cynical.

Shit, I've seen Camp 4 rats do worse for a 6 pack of Old English.

Sam Cieplywrote:

I honestly don't know what I would do if my climbing partner showed up dressed like this. Probably just go boulder instead.

That dude (?) is bangin'.

John Tuttlewrote:

That dude (?) is bangin'.

Yeah he looks great for 49. His 26 year-old girlfriend looks pretty youthful too.

Spider Savagewrote:

Gucci is cool stuff.  Don't take their freaky advertising seriously.  It's high fashion.  Freak-show stuff.  Grabs attention.  Good for Jimmy. The bigger he gets, the more climbers he can hire to play his games.  A river of cash into the climbing community.

trickle down economics got refuted, didn't you hear?

Auden Alsop wrote:

Seeing him walk around on a parking lot in those brand new TCs hurts my soul

Try to think of it as really low-angle slab.