Swedes slam American Apparel over 'sexist' ads

[The Straight Story]

Swedes slam American Apparel over 'sexist' ads

The use of half-naked women by American Apparel to sell "unisex" shirts has sparked sexism complaints in Sweden, resulting in the US fashion retailer being reported to the country's advertising watchdog.

"I think it's totally sickening how American Apparel markets its clothes," Swedish blogger Emelie Eriksson told The Local.

"It shows they have a very degrading view toward women and I'm surprised they've been able to do this without facing any strong criticism."

On Tuesday, Eriksson, a 24-year-old student and part-time blogger, devoted a long post on her blog, "En blommig tekopp" ('A floral teacup'), to highlight how American Apparel marketed a flannel shirt branded as "unisex".

"Unisex. UNI and SEX. What is it really about?" she asked before posting several screenshots from the American Apparel website.

http://www.thelocal.se/47906/20130515/#.UZZzZEr4KSo

(Please note: since this is a story about an ad I am including the image they are talking about. I did not look at the human being on the right hand side for more than a second. I do not find that person to be better looking than the one on they left. They are equal and I would hold a door open for neither....whew....I think I covered everything better than a burqa)

[milestogo]

1. If you wear American Apparel it will make you young and thin and sexy.

NOT.

[dlwickham]

2. and how is this different from any other advertising campaign

[milestogo]

13. Same idea as much marketing, but they take it farther...

When you see the photos the idea that comes across is not so much what the model is wearing, but what she isn't wearing. She's just barely wearing their clothing line. So its even less substance, more sex than usual.

[MADem]

16. Apparently they've been doing this for YEARS. The owner is short on couth, apparently.

The guy has an attitude that Playboy and Penthouse poses by employees wearing the label's clothes are a selling point. He may have a point in terms of sales, because these ads aren't new--he's been at this for awhile. You generally don't continue with an ad campaign, tacky or not, if it doesn't work.

His ads are deliberately pushing a perspective, and the perspective is that the people who buy these clothes will find themselves in the company of women who look a certain way, wear scant amounts of clothing, and enjoy contorting themselves into oddball poses. Yeah, and buying a certain brand of beer will cause bikini'd models to drape themselves over one's car, too! It's "lowest common denominator" appeal, but then again, they are marketing to vapid people who actually think that Clothing Labels Matter because they will make them popular.

For those who don't like provocative ads, do not click on the link:

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/celebrity/news/american-apparel-ads-banned-england


Here's an article from 2009 carping about the same issue--so why is this "news" now? Because some Swedish blogger woke up and smelled the four year old coffee?

Again, people who do not care for tastelessly obvious "sexualized" advertisements would be well advised to give this link a miss, too.

http://english.mashkulture.net/2009/09/14/50-racy-american-apparel-ads/

It's a sleazy, but apparently lucrative, approach. When it stops working, they'll do something else, I'm sure.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

3. Shocking! Capitalists use sex to sell stuff?? Somebody call Don Draper!

[MineralMan]

4. I'm shocked! The ad is clearly designed to make

women steal their boyfriends plaid flannel shirts. It's happening all over the world, and it didn't just start in 2013, either. Even in high school back in the early 1960's I had a plaid shirt taken from me, right off my back, by my girlfriend, who was not even decent enough to wear it in private. She'd show up at school, brazenly wearing my shirt, with two buttons undone, too. And then she'd expect me to walk around holding her hand and stuff. I suggested several times that she let me remove that shirt, besides. She would not comply. She took my class ring, too. Girls!

It's still going on, too. I was hanging up clothes after doing the laundry last weekend, and what did I find? Nothing less than three of my plaid flannel shirts hanging in my wife's closet.

It's a crime, I tell you, and it's escalating, thanks to ads like these.

[MattBaggins]

11. Well you have one part right

wearing plaid flannel is a crime

[msongs]

5. their models always look like they are on the verge of death by starvation nt

[MADem]

6. Yes, because SWEDES would NEVER use a person's BODY to sell garments...

No, nay, never!! Check out this ad from this Swedish firm: http://uos.se/

Glass houses, and all that....

[DevonRex]

9. He has a handsome face. Men don't know this about women..

but we always start with the face.

[MADem]

14. I'll bet if he'd had a gut and a flabby ass he wouldn't have landed that commercial, though!

The face helped, but everything south of it sealed the deal, I suspect.

Advertisers are going to find any excuse to put nudity or near nudity in their ads; they want people to LOOK. And they'll always do the "sex sells" routine--the first time I heard that "clogged drain" commercial with the two manly gents showing up at a "house wife's" door (never the "house husband"--the market isn't there, apparently) to flush the pipe and clean the drain, or whatever, I almost fell off the couch. I said to myself, "Damn, that's NASTY for network tee vee," but no one batted an eye.

Standards have changed. I can still be astounded, but that's simply because I grew up in a different time.

I remember the days when the dancing brassiere was only shown during the "daytime soaps hours" when children were at school, or after the evening "family hour."

[DevonRex]

7. I will not buy anything from them until the male model is gorgeous and half naked too.

And I am very particular about what I find attractive in a man. And in what I find unattractive. American Apparel had better not blow it.

[redqueen]

8. Seems that few here notice (or care about) the difference in the way men and women are shown

in these ads.

And oh, look... more bullshit about opening doors.



Lather, rinse, repeat. Pathetic.

[MattBaggins]

10. I would hold the door for both

because I'm not an asshole.

[Nye Bevan]

12. ZOMG!!!! Is that a ........... NAVEL that is visible?

That is the MOST OFFENSIVE thing I have EVER seen on the internet!

[olddots]

15. They are killing girls and some of the guys

our daughter might not make it as some many before her have died.

[smirkymonkey]

17. I have always thought their models looked kind of skanky.

Like they hadn't bathed in weeks or something. I don't know, they just always look kind of dirty (as in "unclean" not sexually dirty) to me.