American Apparel Advertising

Words: 1076
Pages: 5

The smell of orange chicken invades the air. Constant chatter clutters over a loud radio song while people scatter for the biggest sales. The sound of Hollister bags clatter as teenagers explore for another place to spend their money. Children play on the indoor playground that smells like feet. An advertisement is placed in every corner of this place. This place is the cult of convenience, also known as, the mall. The mall is filled with stores to serve one main purpose; to make money. It is lucid that these stores are willing to do anything to persuade their consumers to buy anything, whether they need it or not. The mall has become a religion on its own and is one of the best places to study cultural behavior. Now, something more than intellectuality …show more content…
For example, Abercrombie & Fitch won’t sell XL shirts and jeans larger than size 10. Their CEO, Michael Jeffries says, “I don’t want my core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing my clothing. People who wear my clothing should feel like they’re one of the cool kids.” He claims that his pretty people policy is what keeps the brand in business. Other brands like American Apparel have adopted this pretty people policy and require that potential employees send in a full body photo of themselves. The mall can have negative effects on the community by persuading consumers that being skinny means being pretty. Most, if not all advertising photos used at the mall are photoshopped. They provide a false and unrealistic sense of beauty to persuade consumers to buy their product. These types of social advertising can lead to many life-threatening eating disorders. Brands like True Religion and Victoria Secret incorporate religious words with their advertising to make people feel like what they are purchasing is truly necessary. Buying products from Victoria Secret does not instantly make someone an …show more content…
Throughout the magazine, you can see unbelievably skinny women and muscular men wearing clothes and perfumes referred to as “bold, inspiring, and glamorous.” This magazine is a perfect example of everything I have been discussing. Their products are labeled after characteristics of a leader. For example, the words reserve, honor and loyalty are the names of their three men’s fragrances. They have made sure to use diverse models to appeal to all types of audiences. Although their models may be diverse, they are still one type of body shape. All of the wording in the magazine imply that if you wear their product, you will be “modern, edgy and sexy.” Religion does something similar as well. Lots of religions, such as Christianity, advertise themselves by claiming that it has saved them and made them a different