Critical Analysis of Media Blog Post Example

Monday, November 5, 2012

How are women being portrayed in American Apparel Ads?

American Apparel has long been the center of conversations regarding very racy ads featuring women in more than compromising positions.  For example, in the ad above, the woman is advertising the socks while laying very suggestively across a bed.  This sexual innuendo portrays women to be very sexually submissive as the camera snags a portion of the woman's derriere.  This sort of portrayal is not new, but rather commonplace for the company.  Though he has been praised for one of few "Made in America" businesses where all products are made in his Los Angeles factory, company creator and CEO Dov Charney has long been under scrutiny for his very sexually explicit ads.   His response is that the girls are simply personifying their "natural beauty."  In an interview with ABC, he states,"This person looks like a girl you would meet. She looks like our customer."  Charney may be on to something as hundreds of young girls flock to AMerican Apparel to sport the latest in today's fashion.  In September, the company's total revenue was $51.1 million.  Aside from my personal observations from seeing many young girls and young men with these "looks," numbers don't lie.  It is clear that the reception of these ads have been more than positive despite growing concerns behind women's portrayals.  As an adult consumer, my wonder though is how will this affect young women's perception of what it means to be sexy.  I cannot help but wonder, does visual perception of other women affect your personal definition of sexy?

ABC Article - http://abcnews.go.com/Business/american-apparel-ceo-dov-charney-tarnished-hero/story?id=16229958

American Apparel Revenue - http://finance.yahoo.com/news/american-apparel-september-sales-figure-132831289.html