American Apparel: Hipster Porn In Our Collective Unconcious
American Apparel doesn’t do high gloss sexy like Abercrombie or Calvin Klein. There’s no silicone or collagen or Botox. There’s no major Photoshopping or retouching the models. It’s a reflection of our idea of what sexy is as a society.
The perfect blonde on the beach is leaving our collective fantasy; our idea of sexy isn’t defined by film or by print anymore, it’s defined by the internet. Our generation has unprecedented access to smut, and it’s infiltrated our definitions of beauty and our everyday fantasies. Gonzo porn is our sensual fantasy now. Set in some freaks house as a 19 year old meth-addicted girl with low self-esteem knocks on the door. “I’m here for the party.”
Hott.
Arguably, both American Apparel and Calvin Klein ads show the same amount of skin. AA’s ads are so much more intense because they remind us of the filthy business we look up late at night. That’s why they’re so successful. These are the images we associate with sex now, and American Apparel copies them perfectly.
We’re jaded to all the Calvin Klein ads set in tropical locations and shot in sepia. We need real color regular girls who look like they’re about to have sex. We need barely legal.
Check out the ads:
Popularity: 55% [?]
54 comments
Some of these adds seem too sexy for main stream America’s Advertising…
Hey at least they arent like Abrecrombie & Fitch and just display naked guys and girls when they are a CLOTHING store.. still makes no sense to me
Wow, utter filth.
Personally, I don’t approve of this style of media. I don’t believe “sex sells” but rather images coerce us into buying these items, not some primal carnal nature stirring up from the sight of it.
However, I’ve seen similar ads on billboards in India, which is a highly Muslim country, whose people are OFFENDED at scandlous clothes (they don’t even show leg, let alone half a breast) and this is the reason why they have the stereotype that Americans are either loose or gay.
This type of marketing sends the wrong signals to youth around the world, not just American teens. The thing is, our kids know it’s just marketing, they know it’s not really like that; the kids in Turkey who watch American and European shows and all they see is skinny half-nude women will only see more of this trash.
This is crazy, scantily clad w0men have always plagued marketing, but porn pics?!?! How do you explain the positions and flirtaciousness to a younger individual?
Wow, redefining beauty if fine with me. Those bitches are hot.
Vito – on the money 100% here. I’ve been arguing this very point for months now that AA is basically pushing out quasi porn in a very VERY smart way. I don’t think this campaign is gaudy or even pushing the border too far, but the presentation is genius. If not what we look up late at night, but the AA ads almost have this 70’s ‘dirty Polaroid picture’ feeling to them as well. I say bravo American Apparel!
Christ those are horrible
Hipster… lolz. As long as I do exactly what everyone else doesn’t do, I’ll be cool! Just like everyone else who does it!
If it offends you, do not buy the product. Let the market speak to marketing.
But honestly, I think these ads are beautiful and will probably help sell the products.
Whether or not you personally believe it to be moral, reality and personal morality rarely meet. You’ll have to learn to adjust.
How surprising! Most of the people who have had problems with these pictures are women.. Makes you wonder..
Sex sells and it always has. I have no problem with sensual ads at all but these ads (not the women, the ads themselves) are ugly. I realize they’re trying to be unique and edgy but it ends up looking like they were all shot on a $50 budget with a light bulb and point & shoot camera.
I like ‘em. Nice pictures, sexy girls, the product? who cares! welcome to modern advertising!
Personally, I love the ads. America is too tighly wound and needs to shed it’s ‘conservative’ manure… and it’s ‘conservative’ politicians.
Can’t wait to see their childrens line of clothes!
i’d hit that
Oh please, calm down.
All advertising is trash by definition, it’s a vile profession and everybody involved in it should be thoroughly ashamed. These ads are no worse than anything else out there.
You all seem to hate these ads because they make you think of sex. Does sex make you feel shame? Are ya’ll christians?
Grow up.
Oh baby these girls are hot!!!
Fuck this stupid “girls are too hot for mainstream america”
Its pure censorship. What happened to our rights?
I guess its thanks to all pretentious bible sucking anal god loving/ fearing religious cultists who bitch so much about blocking stuff like this. When I take a walk outside my freaking building I want to see this stuff. Screw anyone who says otherwise.
i don’t really care about the ads so much but American Apparel’s clothing is shitty. maybe they should put more money into design & quality of their garments than into their advertisements.
I like it!
Bring on the sexy/cute scantily clad gals, the more the better!
Won’t someone please think of the children!!!!
I don’t know about you guys, but these ads are pretty hot. Since we’re all forced to wear clothing in public by puritanical laws, and forced to buy brand name clothing instead of homemade clothing in order to fit in at work or school, why not buy clothing from brands associated with being hot and sexy?
gWallet, you are a tool. There is nothing clever about using your ad banners to censor porn or using provocative poses. That’s why they invented the term “provocative pose.”
It’s a simple formula that has been used since forever. Push the boundaries, act surprised about the backlash, instant publicity.
btw wtf is “we look up late at night.” is this supposed to be some kind of audible simile of “we hook up late at night?” This is the only page on the internet that has used the term. Hey whatever brings you hap-penis omg I’m so genius.
Human beings are sexual beings. Nothing to complain about here.
I see nothing wrong with any of this. If you are a parent and you don’t want your kid wearing this stuff *GASP* DON’T BUY IT FOR THEM. Don’t let them wear it. Let them know it looks trashy. Whatever! Just PLEASE stop expecting the world to raise your kid for you.
The dirtiest one to me is the sock chick with all her O faces. The one with all the legs is barely porn at all, it’s just a cool image. I agree with gWallet that they are going about this is a very smart way. The one thing I like most about them is that they are natural girls n guys: not a whole lot of fake tits, blue eye shadow, and unnatural-seeming muscle builds. I applaud that. However, these ads show what great socks & underwear they have…but doesn’t tell me a thing about they’re shirts, dance-wear, etc.
Lauren Phoenix is a total cum-whore……she is awesome
I think these ads are great. How do you explain them to a younger person? Trying to protect your children from sexuality is clearly a recipe for failure. If you think these images are pornographic, you’re clearly going to have to ban them from using the internet permanently.
Holy Shit I NEED TO BUY THOSE CLOTHES NOW
awesome <3 i guess some people just aren’t comfortable with the female body… growwwww up
You have to look at it from a horny teenagers point of view. This stuff sells! The clothing is marketed at young people, and since they’re all horndogs well its pretty much giving them what they want.
If it also appeals to 49 year old married men well thats not intentional.
Porn is mainstream now anyway. Those are good looking women in good looking ads.
Err, Jenkins, I think that if you look in a book (ie one that doesn’t jsut talk about the US), you’ll see that India is not a “highly Muslim” country. It is officially a secular republic and most of its inhabitants are Hindu. Which is not Muslim.
Funfact: The Company CEO and Photographer, Dov Cherney, has face five accounts of sexual harassment on his models.
wow. dead on. those girls are hott! can’t wait to see more ads. and yeah, they look like pictures your daughters are posting on myspace and facebook
I love america.
It’s funny how “shocked” and “offended” some of your readers were by these ads, none of which shows any genitalia or even a nipple. I wonder if they’re equally shocked and offended when they see 10 murders a night on network TV? My guess is no.
i don’t shop there anyway lol. I hate their clothes. They are boring.
Sex sells…ugh. so they have no other creative ideas?
did you notice all these girls are white?
Brilliant. A campaign that is raw, challenges peoples views, creates discussion and doesn’t care if everyone’s on side. Personally as a photog in Oz, I’d be proud to shoot for them. About time we step away from over processed images. Give it to me RAW!
Seriously.. this are great shots!
There is way too much sock shown in these ads. I find all that sock and cotton reprehensible.
-DT
SWEEET…more more more… sex DOES sell and I will buy!
These are absolutely horrifying. Would I want my teenage daughter thinking this is how she should dress/behave/pose? I’m disgusted and I’m a pretty liberal 29 year old woman.
i guess american apparel has to do something to convince people to spend over 40 dollars on one pair of tube socks.
dammit, not one male in the bunch…give us more male ass and penis
this looks like porn, but i cant jerk off to it…
The comments are better than the article.
[...] few months ago I wrote some words about American Apparel’s style of advertising, and how I think they’ve really tapped in [...]
the models are mostly boobless and ass-less prepubescent white girls. I just think that if they’re going to build a campaign using non-plastic/stereotypical models, there’s a plethora of hot “real” girls out there to choose from. Why stick to just one type? isn’t that just doing the exact same thing as the Abercrombie-like brands, just on the other end of the spectrum?
there’s no way that they’re not all 18. they all look at least 18. i don’t understand why people think they look young. how old are models supposed to look? p.s. that dov charney ad is a fake.
anyone who complains about these ads is fat and/or ugly.
In Germany, no one complains about these ads. Young ppl love em (except some frigid, unsatisfied girls), mid say “oh okay, like in 70s” and old say: “Oh, wouldn’t have had this in the early days”.
I personally think this has more to do than the actual advertising. Children will see these ads all over the place, more importantly, the young impressionable prepubescent girls will see these images! What kind of image are you sending out to them? That like-able girls are the vulnerable, young, and barely-clad in clothing. Wouldn’t you have more clothing on your models if it’s a CLOTHING ad?
These are all a bit cringy, definitely proof that irony doesn’t exist in the US. Jack Wills does border-line porn much better.
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