From the two images we were given to carry out this task, I decided to choose this advert from the popular clothing brand American Apparel as personally it caught my attention more so than the one form Duncan Quinn. The advertisement that was presumably used in various magazines, bus stops, online etc.  shows a fairly young girl laid back on a bed holding her legs apart in the air with a pair of tights. It can only be assumed that the tights are the ‘product’ they are wishing to highlight in the campaign as they appear to be the only item of clothing in the entire image. However they are far from the main focus of the image, the position of the model and the pose she has taken is very sexual with the brands logo being the only thing to cover her modesty.

There are several ethical issues surrounding the image, one would be of course that because the image is so sexual and provocative it is deemed by most consumers as unsuitable for public advertisement. This however has been choreographed in such a way that the brand knows the reaction they will get, at the end of the day all any company wants is publicity good or bad and releasing campaigns such as this one does exactly that. Gossip equals exposure and exposure ideally equals to sales. American Apparel is a prime example of this and has been producing such material since 1995.

Another angle would be that it is unsuitable for the public as American Apparels main demographic is impressionable young adults/ teenagers and an image such as this and the message it sends, that if you shop this brand you’ll be just as ‘sexy’ and ‘desirable’ as the model, is very controversial. On the one hand it can be argued that showing a young woman in such a compromising situation, that it is okay to objectify and see women as nothing more than tools to make products sell. On the other had even though the models pose wouldn’t be considered natural it is obvious that she is in full control over her body and the way she is using it. There is nothing about the shot that suggests any force or uncomfort on her part, her expression and posture seems at ease so it can also be argued that in this age of growing feminism and unsqueamishness towards the human body that as long as it is all consensual there is no problem.

“The scandal-ridden teenage fashion company.” As it was reported by The Guardian newspaper online in 2015, the company had filed for bankruptcy as sales in that year continuously dropped. Followed by serious sexual harassment lawsuits against Dov Charney the company’s founder (not surprising seeing the kind of material he used to promote his brand) along with years of banned and risqué campaigns things looked worse and worse for the struggling business. I firmly believe that the controversy that followed the brand name was a definite factor in their downfall.

Bibliography:

Esquire.com (2016) The NSFW History of American Apparel’s Ads. Available at: http://www.esquire.com/style/mens-fashion/g2442/american-apparel-ads/ [Accessed 1^st December 2017]

TheGuardian.com (2015) American Apparel files for bankruptcy. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/05/american-apparel-files-for-bankruptcy [Accessed 1st December 2017]