By Mike Witham
American Apparel is no stranger to leveraging sex in advertising. Their latest contest titled “Best bottom in the World” gave another example of how the brand is managing to build its identity by pushing the envelope.
In the contest, American Apparel invited women and men to submit photos of their butts, which were rated by viewers on a five-point scale. Two winners will be flown out to LA to participate in an American Apparel photo shoot.
The contest stirred up controversy with women’s activist groups who called it demeaning to women. However, this is not the first time American Apparel has created controversy over its advertising tactics. In 2007, billboards in Manhattan were taken down because of the overt sexual imagery.
American Apparel is not the first company to use highly sexual photos to sell their product. Abercrombie & Fitch was strongly criticized for its catalogs that featured semi-nude models. A&F tried to downplay the scandalous content with black and white artsy photography and only allowed individuals 18 and older to purchase the catalogs.
In contrast to A&F, there’s something refreshing about how unconcealed American Apparel is about their brand identity. American Apparel makes no attempt to run from their sexually explicit reputation that has helped the company thrive as a global brand. This speaks to CEO Dov Charney’s dedication to authenticity—even if the messaging is offensive to some. From a marketing standpoint, the contest is right on strategy for American Apparel—whether we like it or not.
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Mike Witham is a blogger at Vitamin IMC and a student in the Masters in Integrated Marketing Communications program at Northwestern University's Medill School. She can be reached at michaelwitham2010@u.northwestern.edu.
