I know very little about advertising, but there are plenty of commercials out there that are, frankly, ridiculous. Especially when it comes down to fashion and perfume ads, often the visuals have very little to do with the brands being sold to you. After all, there are only so many ways you can tell someone that something fits well, looks nice, or smells good.
Advertisements targeted at men are often the worst of these, as they feel need to make every beauty or cleaning product seem ultra masculine and aggressive for some reason. Even amongst the strangest stuff out there, however, there are some common features you can spot.
For one, sexuality or romance of some sort tends to factor in. How many times have you seen a Dior ad involving a man locking eyes with a woman from across the room, or a Calvin Klein commercial where a man and woman embrace? It makes sense that seeing as it's 2018, these ideas should be taken to new places.
So if men can be sold something with the promise that it will attract women, why should this exclude those who aren't attracted to women?
SuitSupply, a Dutch menswear company, has released an ad campaign that shows same-sex couples kissing and embracing recently, but the response hasn't all been positive. In fact, the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad reported that the company had lost over 10,000 Instagram followers since the campaign began.
SuitSupply's CEO, Fokke De Jong, said:
"The attraction between people is an important part of fashion advertising. A campaign featuring the attraction between men was long overdue and particularly relevant for our brand.
“We do believe there is potential for negative impact, especially in countries where we have a significant presence, that are known for contrasting viewpoints.”
Due to this response, the photos of men kissing will not be shown in some companies, it has been revealed.
Jong believes that countries with bad records with LGBTQ rights, such as the United Arab Emirates and Russia, would force the immediate closure of their outlets if they were to advertise with those images.
You can see the accompanying video for the campaign below:
SuitSupply have stirred up controversy before, but for a very different reason. Their Spring/Summer 2014 campaign was criticised for being sexist.
The advertisement featured a man, fully-clothed, with bikini-clad women surrounding him. An option appears on your screen to see an 'uncensored' version that removes all of their clothes.
"The result is an ad campaign that only a guy who still idolizes Stifler could appreciate," PolicyMic's Elizabeth remarked at the time.
On top of this, the company had to remove certain photos from their Facebook after they were deemed too offensive for the platform. These photos portrayed male models showing off the brand's latest suits as women were displayed, often with their skirts pulled up or their shirts pulled down.
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