American Apparel Ads Finally Banned By Watchdogs Over Sexualised Images

The latest back-to-school adverts from American Apparel have been banned by watchdogs, after they deemed the images of a girl leaning forward to show her underwear as “pornographic”. Complaints filed against the company said the “school days” images, featuring young women posing in different school settings, has been banned for containing “underage porn”. Speaking out about their decision, The UK Advertising Standards Authority said the images were: “…gratuitous and objectified women, and were therefore sexist and likely to cause serious and widespread offence. “Furthermore, we considered the images imitated voyeuristic 'up-skirt' shots which had been taken without the subject's consent or knowledge which, in the context of an ad for a skirt marketed to young women, we considered had the potential to normalise a predatory sexual behaviour.” The adverts “had the effect of inappropriately sexualising school-age girls and were therefore offensive and irresponsible for that reason too”. American Apparel have fought back against the allegations, claiming one of the models in the campaign was 30-years old, while stating all models were “happy, relaxed and confident in expression and pose and were not portrayed in a manner which was vulnerable, negative or exploitative”. The adverts featured “non-airbrushed, everyday people, most of whom were not professional models”. The ASA have banned the adverts and told American Apparel to ensure their “future advertising was prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society, and that it contained nothing that was likely to cause serious or widespread offence.” Image via The Independent UK