American Advertising.

After seeing the American Apparel ad pictured below, I have to say that I was pretty much turned off to ANYTHING that AA was selling, peddling, or pushing. The ad is strikingly reminiscent of Vaudeville and blackface, which struck not only me but many as racist and condescending.

Despite this complete FAIL on AA's part, I have been completely captivated and most importantly motivated by the many ads that AA puts out. They are not only clever, but extremely simple and straightforward as well, getting the point of the ad across effortlessly and in a way that is tremendously effective.

Although in my eyes AA demonstrates advertising genius, there are many people who hate these ads mostly because of their overly sexual nature and so called exploitation of women. Yes, AA does have some completely over-the-top ads, but SO WHAT...they work and work well for the product they are trying to sell.

Advertising and marketing is all about creating a brand, a name and look by which a company will easily be recognized. AA most definitely has theirs. Whether you agree with it or not is your problem. Their product will continue to sell to the crowds that they are marketed to and then some, blackface and provocative or not.

-Shanique.