controversial ad campaign
The ad 'Now Open' was released in 2012 by American Apparel to advertise their new store openings in Westerstraat, Amsterdam and Nederland.
The ad shows a photo of a young girl with her legs open, she is wearing a bodysuit so her legs are bare. Due to the models obvious pose when you first look at this ad you assume the slogan 'now open' is referring to the girl and her open legs. This is controverisial because it portrays the model as a prostitute. The model appears to be a young girl and looks like she is scared and unhappy.
With one of the store openings being in Amsterdam, where prositution is common, this ad is made even more controversial because the brand is promoting something
which is already a massive issue. As a large
brand with a powerful influence on consumers they should use their ad campaigns to promote women being strong and independant rather than degrading them.
As a female, ads like this one deter me from shopping in American Apparel as it seems like they do not have much respect for women and I do not want to support a brand which does not support women.