Tuesday, 07 July 2009
-
Why I Don't Like American Apparel Ads
If you buy a flute, you own a flute. So why is it that when you buy a camera, you're a photographer?
I like American Apparel. There’s one about to open on Grafton Street in Dublin, and I’m looking forward to having somewhere to buy my basics. But the one thing that has always put me off are the store's ad campaigns:
The lookbook shots are tacky and poorly taken, the lighting is awful, and many of those girls should not be wearing those outfits!
It actually makes me uncomfortable to look at them. I can see where they’re coming from: real girls in real clothes and all that. But I avoided the store for a long time because of the slutty-and-tacky-fashion-victim factor.
There have actually been times where I’d look at something in the shop and say, "Oh there’s a possibility", and then I see the modeled picture beside it and be completely put off the purchase!
I’ve come across tons of fashion blogs where the authors photograph their own outfits in basic, beautiful shots that make me want to buy the clothes off their backs! So why can’t a big chain store manage that?
I don't know, they’re fairly popular so maybe it’s just me with the problem.
What do you think? Are the American Apparel ads catchy or tacky?
Guest blog submitted by A Chick Named Hermia
-
recommend
- recs 1
-
share
-
email
- sent 39
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to lovelyish's Lovelyish Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in lovelyish's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: chicknamedhermia
- About Me: I have given up trying to get this blog to go in a definite direction, so I basically blog about whatever takes my interest at that time. It’s a My Head Blog, so it’s a mix of movies, music, make-up, fashion, photography, general observations and pretty things! Plus some other bits and pieces! My Site: http://chicknamedhermia.wordpress.com/
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 38 Views: 0 63710 Comments: 0 2661 View all posts by chicknamedhermia
Comments (223)
They're meant to look that way.
the fact that this is the 34 billionth blog about the tackiness of their ads, I would say they served their purpose, they have people talking about American Apparel.
Personally, I love the ads, the only thing that would make them better would be cheap wood panelling in the background...oh yea, Calvin Klien pulled that one about 15 years ago.
"If you buy a flute, you own a flute. So why is it that when you buy a camera, you're a photographer?" Dude I love that ! So very true.
i don't like their ads. i only have american apparel tee shirts, because they have band logos on them. hahaha.
xo
Someone wrote an article about how their ads had too much nudity... pssh. Their clothing is alright, somewhat overpriced, some of their ad campaigns in the beginning were better but I think they are getting desperate =/
The way they put outfits together makes the clothes look much worse than they really are.
And, American Apparel is too expensive. A plain white shirt for $20? I could get the same thing at Charlotte Russe for $5.
my and my friends have hated american apparel's ads forever
I like some of the clothes they have, but the ads need some major work.
i like the dress
love the clothes
hate most of the ads, although there are a few instances on the site where the model actually looks good in the outfit
The clothes in their ads are quite ugly as well
I like that purple dress, but I think that most of their ads are rather tacky.
I've never been a fan of American Apparel. I can buy my basics somewhere else with higher quality, and probably less expensive. They have a terrible marketing team on their hands.
i never really was fond of their ads, or the appearance of the stores and what not
but looks can be deceiving. there are a lot of clothes that you could buy in this store past all those ads and tackier looking clothes, like the gold shimmery spandex xD . they do have good stuff :), very simple and vibrant colors :D
I think American Apparel is very overrated. It's merely just another store with merely normal clothes. Not to mention, some of the clothes are considered extremely plain.
AA ads look like ghetto porn stars from the 70s the best ones are when they wear sheer t shirts where you can see the nipples YUCK! I think their ads are completely tasteless
i'm pretty sure it is meant to look that way. if they wanted them to look like supermodels, they would use models. they use their employees. their advertisements stand out to me. attractive? not necessarily. but they're different and attract my attenion when flipping through magazines.
Haha, it seems like the ads try to hard to be quirky. I suppose they do kind of stand out, but that doesn't mean it makes me want to buy the clothing...
Tacky; I don't need to see their models wearing nothing under mesh outfits regardless of how in shape they are.
I just read this article on what a perv AA's CEO is. Tacky apparently trickles from the top down.
The thing that struck me about these models is how unnatural the poses feel. In the typical "sexy" pose, other elements make it feel as though there is movement in the photo. These just feel....static.
The kitsch factor makes these ads a little bit endearing.
I always felt that those ads were kinda weird and off putting. With that they made me look at them, but just in a confused, "Whats happening here?" or just a "What?" way. I've never been to a store, but the clothes I've seen the ads are just things I don't think I'd ever wear.
*** statements subject to subjectivity
lawl.
i don't see the hype in AA clothing and i agree that the shots are poorly taken