Sexualisation Of Schoolgirls In Advertising

[sp1814]

With Rotherham and Yewtree still in the headlines, are American Apparel simply just trying to garner a bit of free publicity?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/american-apparel-ads-banned-by-watchdog-for-sexualising-schoolgirls-9706904.html

This is obviously gratuitous - or it it? That's just my opinion.

Is there anyone who thinks that this advert is harmless?

[sp1814]

Also - adverts on television, radio, print and cinema have to be submitted to the ASA...but it appears that online adverts can simply slip through, get a bit of notoriety and then be withdrawn once the 'job is done'.

Or is that *me* being cynical?

[Old_Geezer]

Dunno. A big black rectangle seems to cover anything some might be offended by.

[ummmm]

You think that's suitable to advertise schoolwear?

It should be banned.

[Retrochic]

No its not harmless. To you or I it may be , but to a pedophile its fuel to the flame. there is no need to show a young lady's crotch to sell a skirt -ridiculous!

[mikey4444]

Its obviously gratuitous SP but whether its offensive of not I'm not sure. The photo isn't obviously a school girl. It looks like a prostitute leaning a punters car window to me...she could be any age I suppose.

[sp1814]

Colinandjess

I suspect the model would certainly be 16 or over...but if they are made to look like school age girls, it then becomes at best 'icky' and at worse, 'sexually provocative'.

There should be no link between school kids and sexuality in advertising in my opinion. It just seems wholly inappropriate.

[sp1814]

mikey4444

The thing is - it was part of their schoolwear promotion.

So therefore, it is logical to assume that the image is of a school girl.

[Sqad]

For God's sake......who doesn't know what is under the black square, what it looks like and what it feels like.

You only have to see the girls on holiday in the Med or a Saturday night in Nottingham to see much worse.

Gratuitous?......maybe.

Pornographic......certainly not.

Naive poster.........;-).........maybe.

[andy-hughes]

It is gratuitouss, and it has a seriously nasty atmosphere about it.

As advised, the pose resembles a street prostitute talking to a kerb crawler, and the fact that this is used to promote school uniform is indefensible.

Some people's idea of acceptable images are just breathtaking.

[andy-hughes]

Sqad - "You only have to see the girls on holiday in the Med or a Saturday night in Nottingham to see much worse."

But those ladies are not advertising school uniforms are they?

[mikey4444]

SP...I have very little idea of what American Apparel sells, never having the slightest inclination to wander into their stores to find out. But are they selling school uniforms now ? It just looks like a plaid skirt to me...a little short perhaps but girls and women today seem to like showing plenty of flesh, even though for some of them it isn't always very wise.

[kvalidir]

It's a mile away from child porn but it's a mile away form good advertising either.It's tasteless and sensational and designed to get a ton of publicity ( which it has). Girls that age want to appear sexy, so it will actually appeal to the very girls that other people are worried about being exploited and they'll sell truck loads. Should it be okay to advertise school uniform like this? I think it's in dubious taste to say the least and I'm not unhappy they've bee asked to take it down, so I'd err on the side of not really okay if pushed.

[RATTER15]

I agree, I have no issues with anybody using this type of advertising to sell any product but leave the school kids out of it!!

SICK!!

[Retrochic]

Colinandjess - I am not suggesting the image will be used by pedophiles for sexual gratification, but 'normalizing' these sorts of images is dangerous and unnecessary.

[kvalidir]

//It is gratuitouss, and it has a seriously nasty atmosphere about it.

As advised, the pose resembles a street prostitute talking to a kerb crawler,//

I think she's actually just reaching into her car to get something andy- people drive in the states much younger than we do- I imagine it's being protrayed as her car.

[ummmm]

It says in the article that it's to promote its “schoolwear” campaign.

[andy-hughes]

I know nothing of the firm, but it appears that it is not sellingactual uniform to schoolgirls, but this is a fashion line designed to exploit the age-old stereotype of sexually aware school children.

That makes it even more sleazy and unacceptable than ever!

As far as kvalidir's point that the model is reaching into her own car, and therefore provokes the essential reaction of taking a picture of her knickers - that remains grubby and unpleasant, and as an advetising campaign, it leaves much to be desired.