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The naked truth. American Apparel versus the ASA.

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Brace yourself, I have some shocking news. An advertiser has used sexually provocative imagery to sell their goods. I know, it seems incredible, but I think you deserve the facts. Don't panic though. Fortunately the moral might of the Advertising Standards Authority has intervened to keep us safe.

The advertiser is the clothing brand American Apparel and the photographic work attacked by the ASA appears on their website. Calling the imagery ‘offensive’ and ‘overtly sexual’, the regulator pointed to one ad, carrying the headline ‘Bodysuits and Thigh-Highs’, which showed six pictures of a female model in a black lycra bodysuit and thigh high socks, photographed on a bed, kneeling and occasionally with her legs apart. A second ad presented a different woman, naked but for a large sweater.

Of course there's nothing unusual about the ASA getting into a lather over provocative images in advertising. Indeed, they would argue that is their role. But this particular instance does raise some interesting questions.

Purely in the interest of research, I've viewed most of these pictures (all still available at the time of writing) and, while I can see why they have attracted Authority's attention, they are remarkably mild. Although that is just my subjective opinion and clearly someone is outraged (the ASA only takes action if it receives complaints). So who are the complainants? You may be surprised to learn the ASA's judgement results from an objection by a solitary correspondent. That's right, one person. I'd imagine 'In The Night Garden' receives more complaints than that. Is it really fair for any creative campaign to be censured simply to appease a lone voice?

Admittedly the brand has form. There have been several ASA rulings against the firm - one for work which included topless models. So it's easy to imagine the parties concerned, locked in a battle of wills, each ruling provoking the retailer into another round of risqué advertising. Indeed AA's photo shoots are an inherent part of their identity. For instance, they are one of the few clothing labels to catalogue all their campaigns on their website. Obviously American Apparel know these images sell their products, and it's highly unlikely they'll tone things down any time soon.

It's also worth noting that AA never use Photoshop to improve the appearance of their models - a trick so frequently deployed by other brands,  and almost certainly more harmful than mild sexual suggestiveness.

There's one other aspect of the ASA's move I can't quite fathom is the enforcement issue. They specifically site the imagery on the AA website as being problematic. Fair enough, but how do they propose to protect the British public from the pictures? This is what they say:

“We considered there was a voyeuristic quality to the images, which served to heighten the impression that the women were vulnerable and in sexually provocative poses. For the reasons given, we considered the ads were likely to cause serious offence to visitors to American Apparel's website.”

Going on to plead with the brand to resist any further temptation to use anything ‘that was likely to cause serious or widespread offence’.
Which appears to indicate they are actually powerless to effectively remove the advertising they have found so unacceptable. Presumably because the site isn't hosted in the UK.

This is a massive problem for the ASA. Online advertising spend now outstrips traditional media receipts by some distance - if the Authority can only manage toothless appeals to online advertisers, their role is diminished into pointlessness. 

I'm afraid the ASA don't come out of this with much glory. Essentially, they have created an almighty hullabaloo about some relatively tame pictures, based on the complaint of one person, before revealing how little they can actually do about them.

In the meantime, we can be sure American Apparel are planning their next shoot with scant regard for the reaction of the UK advertising regulator. 

 

Magnus Shaw is a copywriter, blogger and consultant 

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