American Apparel’s campaign marketing has always set themselves apart from other clothing companies with their captures of soft pornographic images. Many court cases have developed over American Apparel’s advertisements yet they continue to market their products with such controversial images. It is questionable why American Apparel is taking this route of commercializing to sell their clothing lines; could it be that American Apparel is selling the idea of sex rather than their products? In American Apparel’s “Meet (insert name here)” campaign the company uses many young regular women discovered on the streets instead of assigning models for their campaigns. They attempt to display their free-thinking and liberal beliefs by accepting young …show more content…
regular women and even porn stars in this campaign. In spite of this, American Apparel is communicating rape culture or the normalization of rape due to their attitudes towards gender and sexuality with these soft pornographic like images. American Apparel uses these controversial and scandalous images of everyday women to appeal to a new rise of young generations. This clothing store mostly consist of accessories and items that young urban hipsters wear. Therefore, American Apparel is trying to connect with their target audience by displaying liberated beliefs that are independent of tradition. American Apparel conveys how the average teenage body is natural and is also considered as beautiful body type for their magazine advertisements. This company displays how they accept everyday people walking on the street even if they have a scandalous past. However, American Apparel is also conveying the controversial social issue of rape culture more strongly than selling their products in the “Meet (insert name here)” campaign. In the campaign’s advertisement, “Meet Lauren Phoenix” there are many evident signs of sexual indications. These indications are triggered by the use of the three pictures on the left hand bottom corner. It is clear that these pictures suggest pornographic like actions and behaviors. The print advertisement also states in big captions, “Safe to say she loves her socks.” This caption contains a sarcastic tone hinting that Lauren Phoenix is so turned on during this sexual foreplay that she cannot even take off her socks in the process of the enjoyment. The use of American Apparel’s overtly sexualized images and references of Lauren initiates many questions regarding what is being argued and how the company is selling these socks through this print advertisement. More likely, this clothing company is marketing the idea of rape culture rather than selling the socks because the main highlight of the advertisement is Lauren and her scandalous images. American Apparel’s advertisement maintains its focus on Lauren Phoenix more willingly than the line of socks selling in their stores.
They introduce Lauren as if we are meeting a friend of a friend. They continue to describe Lauren as “150 lbs. of magic,” which influences the audience to be more similar to her because she is the definition of thrilling “magic.” The advertisement also states to “Google her” and as soon as the reader does they come to the realization that Lauren Phoenix is a Canadian porn-star. Why would American Apparel so explicitly tell their target audience that their model is a woman that would usually not receive approval from society? Is American Apparel truly making the effort to sell their merchandise of socks? American Apparel uses Lauren Phoenix and her reputation of sexual performances to subliminally convey that all women will always agree to sex especially if they want to be considered as magically as her. American Apparel also attempts to sell their merchandise by telling woman that they will be magically and thrilling in bed if they wear these red and white stripped socks. These comments are prompting the impression that all women want to be considered as a magically sexy individual and that they will always agree to partake in sexual activity. This American Apparel advertisement encourages rape culture because their appalling approach regarding women promotes the idea that is a social norm for women to be okay with sex. American Apparel’s is showing their target audience that it is okay to impose sexual activity on a girl “would want it anyways” with all of their controversial campaign
advertisements. American Apparel is not taking the right path by continuously using naked images of women in their campaigns. These images in the “Meet Lauren Phoenix” advertisement are not acceptable to use in a social platform that can encourage rape culture in young generations. Companies such as American Apparel are communizing the portrayal of women and their “turn-ons” in sexual activity. Their approach towards women is displaying the normalization of the idea that women are “happy” victims of all sexual activities. American Apparel is promoting rape culture by continuously feeding images and sexual indications into the minds of the younger generations.
Advertisements are constructed to be compelling; nonetheless, not all of them reach their objective and are efficient. It is not always easy to sway your audience unless your ad has a reliable appeal. Ads often use rhetoric to form an appeal, but the appeals can be either strong or weak. When you say an ad has a strong rhetorical appeal, it consists of ethos, pathos, logos, and Kairos. Advertisers use these appeals to cohere with their audience. Nike is known to be one of the leading brands of the sports shoes and apparel. It holds a very wide sector of followers around the world. In the Nike ad, Nike uses a little boy watching other basketball players play, and as the kid keeps growing, his love for basketball keeps growing. Eventually, he
Within an excerpt from, “The United States of Wal-Mart,” John Dicker explains that Wal-Mart is a troubling corporation. Dicker begins his article by discussing why the store is so popular within the news in an age of global terrorism, coming to the conclusion that Wal-Mart has a huge scope in the United States and that it has more scandals, lawsuits, and stories than any other supercenter. Continually, he goes on to explain that Wal-Mart outsources jobs and their companies demands makes it hard for employees to have livable wages and good working conditions. Furthermore, Dicker addresses the claim that Wal-Mart provides good jobs, by destroying this perception with statistics showing how employees live in poverty and that their union scene
Everyone wants to be on top of the world and have the opportunity to have it all, but not everyone will work for it. Under Armor’s brilliant commercial does a great job of getting their message to young, aspiring athletes all over the world. Their commercial starts with a young boy in the middle of a field listening to the ground. The narrator, famous Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, is whispering “footsteps” and the boy is listening to them. As he listens, the commercial goes on with the showing of various athletes training such as Cam Newton, Tom Brady, and a few crossfit champions. Throughout the commercial the viewer can see how hard they are training using different kinds of under armor training shoes. The commercial then wraps
The warm summer evening. The butterflies in the stomach. The determination and desire to win. This is a moment that many young men experience - Little League Baseball. But, unfortunately, schools lacking funding are looking to cut costs by getting rid of youth sports. That is when Dick’s Sporting Goods, a company with resources to bring attention to this problem, steps up to bat. Their message is effective through the emotional and ethical tie it creates in the audience through the story of a young man who overcomes tragedy through succeeding on the baseball diamond. Relying heavily on pathos and ethos, this message touches the hearts of the audience, calling them to step up as well.
In the book Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer wrote about Christopher McCandless, a nature lover in search for independence, in a mysterious and hopeful experience. Even though Krakauer tells us McCandless was going to die from the beginning, he still gave him a chance for survival. As a reader I wanted McCandless to survive. In Into the Wild, Krakauer gave McCandless a unique perspective. He was a smart and unique person that wanted to be completely free from society. Krakauer included comments from people that said McCandless was crazy, and his death was his own mistake. However, Krakauer is able to make him seem like a brave person. The connections between other hikers and himself helped in the explanation of McCandless’s rational actions. Krakauer is able to make McCandless look like a normal person, but unique from this generation. In order for Krakauer to make Christopher McCandless not look like a crazy person, but a special person, I will analyze the persuading style that Krakauer used in Into the Wild that made us believe McCandless was a regular young adult.
The way young girls dress today can be, so say, disturbing to most people and many parents. In Lianne George article, “Why Are We Dressing Our Daughters Like This?” She writes about “the marketing of the clothing and its potential impact of little girls.” She explains the impacts sexual clothing is having on young girls and their parents. She goes on to answer the questions: When did this start? Will it continue? Is there any way to stop it?
In the 1997 article Listening to Khakis, published in the New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell effectively paints a vivid picture of the thought and science that goes into advertising campaigns. Gladwell begins his paper by focusing on the Dockers’ advertising campaign for their line of adult male khaki pants, which he labels as extremely successful. This campaign was the first line of successful fashion advertisements aimed directly toward adult males (Gladwell, 1997). This campaign was cunningly simple and showed only males wearing the pants being advertised with the background noise filled with men having a casual conversation (Gladwell, 1997). This tactic was used because studies showed that Dockers’ target market felt an absence in adult male friendships. (Gladwell, 1997). The simplicity of the advertisements was accentuated as to not to deter possible customers by creating a fashion based ad because, based on Gladwell’s multiple interviews of advertising experts, males shy away from being viewed as fashion forward or “trying to hard” (Gladwell, 1997).
To what extent is it acceptable, in an age of shifting morals and the increasing acceptance of sex and violence in entertainment, to use sex to sell to consumers? Does this definition of acceptable shift when the consumers are underage children and teenagers? We all know that "sex sells", but deciding where to draw the line is becoming increasingly difficult as what is acceptable is redefined with each new generation. When does a company's tactics move from representing progressiveness to having crossed the line? Well in Abercrombie & Fitches case they continue to push the envelope.
Advertisements are all over the place. Whether they are on TV, radio, or in a magazine, there is no way that you can escape them. They all have their target audience who they have specifically designed the ad for. And of course they are selling their product. This is a multi billion dollar industry and the advertiser’s study all the ways that they can attract the person’s attention. One way that is used the most and is in some ways very controversial is use of sex to sell products. For me to analyze this advertisement I used the rhetorical triangle, as well as ethos, pathos, and logos.
In “The man behind Abercrombie and Fitch.” An interview conducted by Benoit Denizet-Lewis displays a glimpse into the life of Mike Jeffries and his views of his company only hiring “good-looking” people and targeting “good-looking” people to wear his clothes. This has been done in order to force his audience to recognize that the issue of acceptance one’s peers and exclusion of a community mentioned by Mike Jeffries, is a result of cultural perceptions and individual self-image. Denizet-Lewis skillfully shows that while Jeffries remarks of not wanting the “not-so-popular” kids to shop in his stores, it poses a question to consumers asking what change in our attitudes will come or if there will be any change at all. Thus comes the issue of how consumers today have a shift in the reasoning behind why one buys clothing and the motivating factors that influence one to buy certain clothing. Denizet-Lewis also demonstrates the different messages that controversial advertisements and statements affect different groups of people and how what they project is really what people desire, though deemed by many people as unacceptable or inappropriate. The author also examines how in the news media, the image has become more important than the message and how images have taken precedent over actual issues and character. As a result of this, various communities have formed by the construct of selling to “beautiful people” and how popular appeal has become an extension of a person.
Nike, the cost for a certain logo on your clothing, this might be worth it for some while for others, not even a chance. Nike is known worldwide for their athletic clothing and shoes. But is the price of a 20 dollar headband or a 200 dollar pair of shoes with it for you?
In today’s society, we are bombarded with images telling us how to dress, think, act, and behave. As Ed Norton in the movie Fight Club says while looking at a Calvin Klein underwear ad, “is that how real men are supposed to look?” I decided to search for an ad that can be seen as controversial or even disturbing at that, and I was lucky enough to come across a Jimmy Choo ad in W magazine.
As a seductive young man looks into a camera a raspy voice, off camera, whispers, “You got a real nice look. How old are you? Are you strong? You think you could rip that shirt off? That’s a real nice body. You work out? I can tell.” No, it’s not straight out of a steamy romance novel, though it could be. This is just one example of how provocative Calvin Klein’s advertisements have been. Although the ads boosted sales for the Calvin Klein empire, it angered many parents, religious groups, and even the media over its message, its image, and its legality.
In many clothing advertisements, particularly jeans and lingerie ads, women are used as the main subjects to entice the viewer to notice the ad and most importantly, be excited about the product. In one photo, Calvin Klein Jeans promotes its clothing through what seems to be unwilling, reluctant sexual activity – rape. The advertisement displays the woman resisting the man with the palm of her right hand, and she is pulling her shirt down to cover her stomach with her left hand; yet he is still pursuing her and attempting to remove her top. Her body language and gaze – devoid of emotion – reveal that she is not interes...
Media has been filled with exaggerated scrutinies and trashed with unreasonable criticisms. It deserves a break. This is the generation of Information Technology. Danger is just around the corner, where a click from a mouse or a remote control and all sex-related garbage can pop out of the monitor. Truly, a vulnerable teenager can easily get lost to temptations. As an adolescent, I can empathize how these sweet girls feel about how horrible their body shapes are, how ugly their face is, and how brands in fashion seem to be worth more than anything in the world. Fashion labels, tiny bodies, and sexual activities are all characterized in Sex and the City. From th...