Ethics in Ads

There is a lot I don’t know about advertisements but I do know that they have to catch my eye and I want to engage in to the story or concept they are coming up with. In the world we live in we know that clothes is a necessity, running around naked would put us behind bars. As I have a true love for fashion I always look at the advertisements that deal with clothes, makeup, handbags, or shoes. I always think about what process a company goes through when they want to sell me a five hundred dollar hand bag that is so small it would only fit my lip gloss in it. After years of looking at these advertisements I do see the appeal to what message they’re trying to portray. Of course if it looks good on the model and it has a catchy slogan I’ll be hooked in to buying it. But I always got to remember that fashion is a world of art, and some people push their limits when it comes to presenting it to the consumer.

“Some people in the fashion world say that they aren’t intending the negative stereotypes or anything and that the problem is the sensitivity of everyone and society about these racist or gender stereotypes.“ (photo/quote source: http://camouflageculture.wordpress.com/2008/12/14/most-offensive-fashion-ads/) This blogged does bring up a valid point; sometimes they do just think about the clothes and not what they’re bring out as an advertising campaign. Sisley is a very well know brand for those who are in to mod look. But when they brought out the ad for Sisley Fashion Junkie is not only controversial but its just so tacky. I’m not going to deny that their has never been any drug use in the fashion world, that would make me a hypocrite. But to display this as an ad; two girls who look high and who are “sniffing” a dress is so tasteless and makes the brand look like a bunch of drug addicts not a bunch of “fashion junkies” as they are so saying. If I was to bring up a brand and my target market was for the mod victims, I wouldn’t want my brand to imaged as a drug addict kind of world. Sisley could have used other ways to use the term “fashion junkie”. Put the models in the clothes trash a house that looks like a fashion hoarder would live in and have them stand on it or make them look like they’re being crushed by it. I don’t know, anything but that. This not only makes their brand looks un-classy but it makes the world of fashion look dirty.

When anyone thinks about dirty fashion there is one brand that comes to mind; American Apparel (at least for mine) I used to walk passed their store when I worked in a local mall and it gives off a soft porn feel to it and it just screams scandal! Please don’t get me wrong I do like American Apparel, but their campaign needs to cover up a bit more. You can see from this ad that the girl is laying down on her bed in her underwear and then in the next picture below she is doing unspeakable things to a man in grey underwear, by the way that’s the product they’re trying to market. As it is a good ad and it’s pretty much saying that if you buy this underwear a girl like this can be in your bed every night; its something that shouldn’t be showcased in the malls. As pre-teens stray away from the norms of Justice or any other preteen store there is they’re going to go to American Apparel or H&M. And when you’re a preteen becoming a teen parents are going to pay. As a future parent I wouldn’t want my child to buy from a store like that until they’re at least 18 years old.

It’s a bit sad that everyone else is going with the dirty theme. And it seems like Puma did the same with their shoe advertisement. Here we have a girl on one knee, in front of a man. Anyone over the age of 18; or at least I hope over the age of 18 would know what this ad is suggesting. The white liquid on her leg is also a given on what is going on in this scene. What is the message here that if we honestly get these shoes this will actually happen; maybe in some alternate universe but in this one it just doesn’t work. Its shameful to know that an ad like this would actually represent Puma. Everyone wears Puma they have such a large demographic that even the creative team should have thought of something more tasteful. This is just smut and trash that shouldn’t even have been published. It ruins their image and it shows that they didn’t put thought in to what the public would see in this type of ad. (Photo source: http://psdcollector.blogspot.com/2010/05/advertisements-100-controversial-ads.html)

It makes me wonder what goes through the mind of a creative director when they come up with some of these advertisements and what they’re true message is. I question credibility to some ad companies because if they think they can come out with an advertisement as racy as these they might as well be in the porn industry or selling drugs. I mean that’s what it looks like they’re advertising for; drugs and sex.

Some of the advertising companies as well as the brand want to save face and say that they didn’t mean to do it but in all reality they did want the campaign to turn out that way. This makes you question who you can really rely on when you come out with a product and you know what you want to represent but they really don’t deliver and in the end they put a negative image on your brand. In the near future I’ll keep in mind to keep my image clean and to keep it simple while I try to engage the viewer. That way I know I’m guaranteed to be talked about.