In the new American Apparel's campaign, the brand honours certain women: those who work for the company. A clever way to reorientate their borderline image.
© refinery29.com
The American Apparel "school girl" stirred up controversery last September with a picture of a teen girl's buttocks wearing a mini skirt, where we could see the butt cheeks. Indeed, this campaign of the American brand - often known for their provocation - made a major "bad buzz" and probably wanted it. The label was critisized because of the image of young ladies it was showcasing with sexist ideas, for example. Ex-director, Dov Charney, has been invaded of complaints after sexual harassment cases. He had to be replaced by a woman, Paula Schneider. Since then, she became the cornerstone of American Apparel.
September's campaign
© mydaily.co.uk
The brand seems to slowly apologise and redeems itself with a more glorious image and a new campagin called "Hello Ladies". The women who take place in the adverts are all American Apparel's employees and do not pose wearing a thong...
A woman nominated as director, will it be enough to repair the damage the brand has already done?
According to them, no. American Apparel has been putting a label on women as sexual objects for years, yet Paula Schneider is trying to humanize women who helped her getting that position. The aim of the campaign is to show that these ladies are happy to be working for American Apparel. It even goes further saying that woman is at the heart of the brand's success: 55% of their labor is feminine and most managers are women, "which is really rare in the business world" said Paula Scheider for wwd.com. Certainly too easy, but it still is a good start to restore a damaged brand's image.