The 50 Sluttiest American Apparel Ads of All Time
By Mike Payne
American Apparel Ads or Porn?: American Apparel Ads have gained a cult status of their own, just like the clothing brand itself. Unabashed in their sexuality, American Apparel‘s ads push the envelope of creativity, decency, and even the standards of advertising in the modern world and even hire porn stars like Faye Reagan to pose for them. Just recently, an American Apparel ad was banned by the ASA in London, for purportedly showing a partially nude model that was depicting an underage person. In our opinion, the ad in question is tame compared to the sheer body of beautiful work done by the AA ad crew. To celebrate their work, we put together a list of the 50 sluttiest American Apparel ads of all time. Please note, these ads are likely not safe for work (unless your job is awesome, like ours).
Editor’s Note– We’ve excluded any nude photos from this list, and American Apparel does have a handful. You’ll find no nipples, bush or booty holes in the gallery below, just pure American Apparel goodness. After all, we want you to maintain your delicate sensibilities while reading StyleCrave. What’s left of them, anyway.
American Apparel’s First Porn Star: Lauren Phoenix
In 2005, American Apparel decided to opt for a different genre of model to sell their latest socks. The ad copy here reads, “Meet Lauren Phoenix. 150lbs of magic. Actress. Director. Look her up on Google.” We suggest you don’t make that query at work. Miss Phoenix brought a prolific career in pornography to American Apparel, starring in these ads in a point-of-view fashion that she has plenty of experience with. No nudity, of course, but American Apparel proves you don’t need nudity to feel dirty. Dirty good.
Sexually Suggestive Advertising
This ad sells gray underwear. And sex. Out in 2008, this two-panel ad shows a lovely young model tending to the needs of the photographer in an oral fashion. Rarely does American Apparel feature men and women side-by-side in their ads, and never have they done so in such an unabashed fashion. Note to self– buy a camera, sell plain t-shirts.
Diamond Girl’s Sex Appeal
In a world where money is of no consequence, we’d all have one of these on our coffee tables. Miss “Diamond Girl” is showcasing little more than her flexibility and sex appeal– and that “little more” is a diamond-pattern mesh leotard. Leotard or no leotard, she beats any coffee table book I’ve ever seen.
How to Sell Panties
At this point, you’re likely asking yourself, “are these ads targeted to men or women?” The proper answer is “both”. American Apparel uses the Victoria’s Secret effect, albeit in a much more raw fashion. Basically, women know these ads turn men on. They want to turn their men on. Thus, they buy the clothing. It’s the same model Victoria’s Secret has used for over a decade. In short, this is a brilliant way of selling panties.
What Is This Ad Selling?
This ad sells pants. However, less than 25% of said pants are shown in the ad above. Instead, a lovely Latina model shows us just how comfortable those pants are. Slim Slack Pants: $74. Hand bra not included.
Coffee Table Trinket
Well hello there. We swear there was a different girl on that table a minute ago. But hey, change is good. This ad is a pair of stirrups away from being a pap smear, a full frontal assault on advertising standards. We support this assault wholeheartedly.
Faye Reagan With Clothes On
One of the Adult world’s newest stars also has her own ad in American Apparel. Faye Reagan, the red-headed sensation, has been in high demand in the porn industry, with a youthful look that has captured the “hearts” of many. Isn’t it right, then, that she should be in an ad for American Apparel? We’re a bit down on this ad though. If you’ve got a chance to snap a few photos of Faye Reagan, do you do it in a pose as boring as this? Unlike all the other ads on this list, this one is only sexually suggestive by the model it features– not by the content of the ad.
Find’m Hot, Leave’m Wet
So the image in this ad is only mildly hot, somewhat suggestive. The ad copy, however, flips the script completely. Just what do they mean by “find’m hot, leave’m wet?” Any way you interpret that, you wind up with a mindful of dirty deeds. With that, American Apparel’s mission is clearly accomplished.
You Too Can Be a Star
Meet Yanyan, an LA-area retail employee who loves American Apparel ads. She loves them so much, in fact, that she wanted to star in them herself. Yanyan snapped a series of photos of herself wearing American Apparel gear (in brand-appropriate poses) and sent them on to AA. Naturally, YanYan became American Apparel’s next top model. Yumyum.
The Booty
The Booty. We hope for your sake this image isn’t on your screen when your boss walks by. This ad from 2007 shows just how good these tiny panties can look when mated with a perfect posterior. You think this ad is hot? Just imagine having to type out this entire description with one hand.
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So what about the other 50? Here, in all their glory, are the best of the rest, all 50 of the sluttiest American Apparel ads in the company’s history. Repeating above, we’ve excluded any nude photos from this list, and American Apparel does have a handful. You’ll find no nipples, bush or booty holes in the gallery below, just pure American Apparel goodness. Before closing, we’d just like to salute American Apparel, their ad team, their photographers, their models and their clothing designers. We love your brand, we love your message– and we entirely adore your advertisements.
Friday, September 4, 2009 11:30AM
haha .. looks like everyone is stuck around #32
totally awesome ads. always makes me want to buy … is it because i am male??
Friday, September 4, 2009 4:05PM
That’s nothing, I saw an animated ad for American Apparel on Last Night’s Party or something where the girl was masturbating.
Friday, September 4, 2009 9:18PM
All of there adds are always slutty. Thats what they are known for. Thats why we love A.A.!
Saturday, September 5, 2009 2:40AM
Woah, so hot!!!
Saturday, September 5, 2009 5:54AM
sexually suggestive advertising? for fashion?? WHY I NEVER
Saturday, September 5, 2009 6:02AM
can't believe the sasha grey ones were left out. although i'm kind of glad all the adult starlets didn't automatically get included. making sexy films does not a slut make.
Saturday, September 5, 2009 7:37PM
Yeah, they're great. 0 _ 0
Saturday, September 5, 2009 8:42PM
Hate these ads, hate this company.
Where's the beef, for heaven's sake!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 8:58AM
its the portrait of the american slut
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 12:41AM
Im a Beautiful educated young female and i think these adds are offensive. it teaches young women to be sexuality proactive. Not appropriate for a clothing store who's client's might be young women below the age 18. This is what society is teaching are young girls. I think they should be banned. They look like begging stages of porn. There is ass showing. If i had a daughter i would not want her to buy from this company.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 1:44AM
Wow. The Coffee Table Trinket is really bad…
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 2:45PM
Well, I'm aroused
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 5:31PM
As a young woman, none of these ads makes me want to spend money. They make me want to cry because I'll never be like these models.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 7:49PM
For being such an "educated" female, you sure can't spell and use grammar correctly.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 9:54PM
Um, Patricia, as a relatively young woman myself (early 30's) I think it is a little offensive the way you say "it teaches young women to be sexuality proactive." (I am assuming you meant provocative?) American Apparel was not around when I was in my teens and 20's but there were plenty of sexualized images of women from other companies, of course, and as an intelligent young women I knew that I was free to make up my own mind about what I thought of them. Also, your comment about banning these ads is quite ignorant (did you not learn about free speech or other constitutional rights?) and in general your comment is full of grammatical errors and misspellings. Instead of trying to tell other people "what society is teaching" (as if they are not smart enough to see for themselves!) worry about your own education a bit more!
My view of these ads is that they are ok. I do have a problem with men who behave stupidly about womens' sexuality but these ads are not to blame for that — their mom and dad and the other people who raised them are more responsible. And I do like that the ads feature more diverse women than other ads, and the women look like they have personalities — they are not cookie-cutter, and they are not all classic beauties. And yet they all look confident and great.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 10:03PM
I bought those thigh-high socks because of the sexy ads. I thought, maybe my legs will look sexy in those socks too! But instead they just made me feel fat. I think you need to have a drug problem and/or an eating disorder to wear their clothes.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 12:28AM
Be thrilled that you may never be like these models. They are dirty trash and have sold their souls for the 'looks' that their parents gave them. They have actually earned nothing of their own. Be happy young one, beauty is only skin deep and all skin wrinkles in time.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 1:02AM
in regards to Patricia's comment…..you say you're an educated person but yet you improperly use words. "adds" instead of "ads"….."are" instead of "our"…i dont' know….and you seem to be one of those type of people that doesn't have anything better to do but protest against everything you don't like…..
as to the ads…i think they're fine….you see ass like that on TV….its not pornography….some people really gotta stop thinking like they're still in the 50's where everything is prohibited and women gotta be covered up….wake up…its a new world out there….if you don't like it…move to the middle east or something where women must be covered up….
Thursday, September 10, 2009 3:21AM
you should really learn how to spell.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 7:36AM
by there you mean their. or did you skip elementary school?
Thursday, September 10, 2009 7:45AM
they probably made you feel fat because you are fat. there are millions of beautiful females out there who can pull off those socks without an eating disorder or a drug problem. But yes, most of them wake up in the morning and go for a run instead of going for them dozen donuts in the fridge. the clothes are never gonna make you skinnier (which in most cases is also healthier). your personal effort is.
Thursday, September 10, 2009 11:43AM
I love American Apparel ads, wish they would advertise in the uk though! make my day seeing something like that plastered on a massive billboard
Thursday, September 10, 2009 1:59PM
If you were beautiful you wouldn't be saying that, you'd be wearing AA!
Ok, sorry for the sexist post, but I just felt like a had to do it.
Friday, September 11, 2009 8:27PM
What was the point of that? I mean really? Go be a loser else where, if all you ever do is correct people on their grammar.
Saturday, September 12, 2009 2:57PM
Where's your "shift" button? Is it broken?
Monday, September 14, 2009 12:19AM
I didn't even know the first chick was a porn star, considering she doesn't look skanky and isn't built like a stick with two melons taped to it.
Monday, September 14, 2009 11:27AM
I'm definitely not an educated female and therefore I really liked this page. Certainly made my day more interesting! I like the Slim shack ad the best, not quite sure and the clothing is ok, just like it!
Monday, September 14, 2009 3:38PM
I'm a female engineering major. And I'm really turned on by these ads.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 2:07AM
You haven't shown any men!!! Pick up a copy of Butt Magazine and you should find some studs to add to your collection. : )
Sunday, September 20, 2009 4:45AM
I feel sorry for these models. Many of them surely don't have any dignity.
To the reflections above that people who don't like these ads should move to the Middle East..an ignorant comment indeed. I don't have anything against nudity. It's all about how the pics get taken and are later presented. And that is the problem — many of these ads do teach young women to think of themselves primarily as sexual objects, who should "better" look their best in order to attract men. So yes, wake up women. Your bodies are not the only thing you should be proud of and the only thing you can use to your benefit. There is also something else. It is called — your brain.
Monday, September 21, 2009 9:43PM
I think you meant to say "I'm a beautiful educated young female, and I think these ads are offensive." Although I agree with some of your points I think you should do the bare minimum to show you're smart by using proper grammar and spelling.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:49PM
I don't think they are offensive at all, you might be right about their buyers being young girls,
but how can you say they personally offend you?
I mean, the girls choose this path of life themselves so there is nothing disrespectful towards women, and society changes anyway, wether you ban american apparel or not.
Anyway, even if there are young girls visiting the stores, they choose to do so themselves.
If you don't like this company, just don't buy anything from them.
I'm a woman myself, and I don't think these ads are offensive.
I think they show beautiful women, in a more promiscuous way than in ads from other companies, but still on a quite decent level. And, as I said, the girls in the ads weren't forced to pose like this, they choose to do so themselves, so who are you to hate the things they do? Because you don't like that, because they show a bit of skin? Being naked is natural, clothing is something we humans invented. Sorry, I just don't understand why this offended you.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:51PM
Don't forget Photoshop,
these models get photoshopped big time
Anyway, don't have such low self-esteem, and learn to appreciate yourself.
If you think you look pretty, you'll be confident and you will be judged as 'pretty'.
Trust me, it works.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 3:52PM
touché.
Thursday, September 24, 2009 5:16PM
Wow, somebody posts that they find these ads offensive and others rush to reply that they have no problem with them (including many self-declared "women"). What a shocker.
It's like, the minute there's any hint of feminist sentiment, boom, people get defensive and they have to go out of their way to make excuses for sexist bullshit to show they're not one of those crazy feminazi bitches. Overcompensating much?
Friday, October 9, 2009 8:13PM
Advertising for genuine grownups. If you can't handle open and honest sexuality, your immaturity disqualifies you from the label "adult". For too long in american culture and in human cultures in general, the immature have been allowed to dictate almost without restraint how "healthy adult behavior" is defined. Companies like American Apparel seem to be saying "enough is enough" with childlike minds censoring what the more mature can or cannot do. I salute the company and the young women who seem to be making it a hit despite prudes in america.
Saturday, October 10, 2009 12:39AM
Christ, you guys. Just because someone disagrees with these ads doesn’t mean she is a backward prude, and it certainly doesn’t mean she’s ugly (which is an accusation that you would have to be an idiot to seriously make). Just as it isn’t healthy to repress one’s sexuality, it also isn’t healthy to never question the psychological impact of imagery we are so very often bombarded with.
More importantly, what the fuck is up with this anti-feminist hysteria? It’s completely rampant these days. It’s just as irrational as the so-called “feminazis” that some people despise so much.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 4:55AM
These adds do not make me want to buy their clothing in the slightest.
Saturday, October 17, 2009 2:59AM
love the american apparel ads. Could of done with a mix of guys and girls in here though. AA guys can be just as slutty!
Thursday, October 29, 2009 4:24AM
I have a hard time taking women seriously looking at that… no wonder men treat us like a piece of meat.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 2:12AM
I don't really mind these ads, even the nudity, but the ones similar to the one where the model looks like she is about to perform oral sex on the photographer is a little creepy. If you want to watch other people have sex, rent a prono. It's not something I really want to see as part of an advertisement!
Monday, December 7, 2009 4:52AM
Thank you for posting such a well voice and clear opinionated comment. A lot of the comments I saw on here just made me so sad. It's all about how the pics get taken and are later presented. And it's not so much the ads themselves that bother me, more the way that A.A's CEO exploits his models and workers and no one ever seems to call him on it that troubles me more.
Monday, December 7, 2009 11:35AM
this article should be renamed the 50 most plagiarised photographs of all time. dov charney has made his career from biting yasumasa yonehara photographs since day one. fuck this shit
Friday, December 11, 2009 11:18PM
This is my first time to see these ads! I think they would be the most appealing to the twenties and under crowd. Or the crowd that is really into porn. Is that the target market audience here? I don't see sexual sophistication here its almost in your face like a xxx magazine with the poses and sexual postions. The company might make more money if they thought about the other 80% who are sexually classy and attracted to sexual sophistication. So, I'm afraid I have to say Eewwww! I don't want to think about some woman's crotch while I'm buying my cloths! Nor see her face while see is touching her privates. I want to think of my new clothes as being clean!!!
Friday, December 11, 2009 11:46PM
Well said! People are labeling people who don't want to ditch their morals or sexuality, or taste in art for that matter. I don't believe these ads represent the majority of the women in America that's why I don't like them. Marketing and word of mouth is everything for a product. I think these ads are for a very narrow target. I do think the ads would do just fine in someone's night stand. To me these just don't seem to make the clothes look clean, kind of the same way I look at a public bathroom. I want to be the sexy one in my shorts! Not buy them because someone had sex in them!
Sunday, December 13, 2009 4:45PM
Ads for a company owned by Dov Charney. You know…the guy who masturbated in front of a reporter who was interviewing him. The same guy who has had multiple sexual harassment suits brought against him from employees. Did I mention he will stroll through his stores in only his underwear to "promote the product"? I've also heard unsubstantiated claims that most of the models on these shoots have to have sex with him as part of the deal. Seriously, don't believe me? Google on it.
I guess these are all complete coincidences and that these ads are completely innocent, despite being for a company run by a man who says that slut is a "term of endearment".
PS, not a woman. Also not a prude. It doesn't take a stunted view of sexuality to see that Dov is a misogynist, employee-fucking skeeze.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 5:31PM
The CEO of American Apparel is known to be a "creep and a sexist asshole" in the words of many of my (male and female) ad world friends. The ads are very sexy and provocative – mainly because the "girls" are so young – verging on pedophilia, and the way they are shot reflects the amateur YouTube/Facebook trend of people photographing themselves in provocative poses to post or send to lovers. As a photographer, I think they are generally pretty good. As a sexual male, I find the images pretty damn hot. As an intelligent, educated person, I know this is advertising – selling basic cotton and lycra clothes at fairly high prices. Go back to young Brooke Shields in her Calvins in 1979 to see some historical reference.
Monday, December 28, 2009 4:31AM
I guess their ads get in women’s magazines. I wonder why so sexy though? Are they trying to turn on lesbians? Men don’t read that crap.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 2:11AM
Wow, I wish I hadn't scrolled down to the comments section. Are there still people whining about pictures of women? Guess what, no matter what you try to believe, men are attracted to women who look good, and woman want to look good to attract guys. We are all biologically fixed that way and no whining about it is going to make us one day say "Oh, gee, I see the error of my ways, I'm going to go ask out that 300 lb, stinky feminist, wearing men's clothing and no makeup."
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 3:01AM
While these ads don't incline me to purchase their products, I will look at the publication the ad is in and thus will be exposed to other advertisements though my page flipping. It is quite possible that other products profit more than the product with the sexy ad.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 5:08AM
lately if I look around when there are young girls 12-13-14 around, I often see that they dress and act way too sexual for there age. I'm 21 myself and those girls show more flesh on a schoolday then I would do when I go out. I agree that there minds get brainwashed -> you have too look smoking hot, and do everything guys would like you to do or else no one will respect you. and when they get older they loose there self esteem. I think it's sad. those ads are "trop" too much, if you want to look at stuff like that just buy playboy, don't put them on the streets.
oh I'm flemish so excuse the typo's
Tuesday, February 2, 2010 2:28AM
You mean Texts From Last Night? I saw that too and I was like "How the hell did an ad like this get approved?"
Monday, February 15, 2010 10:28PM
I think they are just a bit too much
I like their clothes
but pornstars shoud not be glorified
and as for the one licking a hairy guys balls, wtf
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 3:20AM
i<3american apparel ads