• The Wall Street Journal, Monday, October 11, 2010 11:02 PM

In what could be called a race to the bottom, some denim companies are breaking language taboos, not backing away from using crude language to describe the backside. Susan Credle, chief creative officer of Leo Burnett USA, said she can't recall such strong language ever being used in mainstream advertising not specifically targeted at adults.

A current slogan for Levi Strauss & Co.'s Levi Curve ID women's jeans reads "All A-es Were Not Created Equal." The slogan, which doesn't bleep out the three-letter word for the behind, appears in store windows, on billboards and as part of a flashy magazine campaign. VF Corp.'s Lee Jeans brand has a television commercial in which Mike Rowe, host of "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery Channel, refers to his hindquarters as "butt." Gap Inc.'s Old Navy brand recently used the word "booty" in TV ads for a system to determine the best jeans for all sorts of behinds.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »