I have decided to use American Apparel as my brand in my advertisements. This brand will be consistent throughout my three different forms of outdoor advertising. The LA based brand is an ethical brand that is particularly against the use of sweatshops and taking manufacturing out of America and into the Far East. At a moment when practically every clothes maker was offshoring to cut costs, American Apparel made its wares at a U.S. factory in which the average industrial worker (usually a Latino immigrant) was paid between $12 and $13 an hour and got medical benefits. The company had taken out ads in little arty magazines, noting that it was "sweatshop free." What makes American Apparel stand out from other ethical brands is the fact that its marketing strategies are not all about the ethical values that they hold. They have a more artistic and fashionable approach in there advertising that reaches a wider market. Dov Charney- the companies CEO has said in an article on fastcompany.com:
"building a brand solely around a company's ethical practices was not a good strategy for reaching masses of consumers. The ethical sell was too limiting. It was a niche strategy, at best. Which was why American Apparel was moving away from the ethical sell to something very different. You're not going to get customers walking into stores by asking for mercy and gratitude. If you want to sell something, ethical or otherwise, appeal to people's self-interest."
I think this is a strategy that has definately worked in terms of the companies expansion as it currently operates more than 285 stores in 20 different countries. It also operates a vertically intergrated system - so all of there clothing is made at there downtown LA factory. The American Apparel website has a section in there About Us specifically explaining what vertical intergration is and why they use it. They say:
"Why? We believe that having manufacturing under the same roof as design, marketing, accounting, retail and distribution gives us the ability to quickly mobilize all departments, to respond directly to changes in the market, and to have complete visibility over our product - start to finish. An added bonus - this business model is inherently sustainable."
The video above is actually on the American apparel website and talks about this vertically intergrated system, the company as a whole and there innovative advertising. Unlike almost all other brands and companies, American Apparel does not use high fashion models, photgraphers or locations for the advertising. The models are often employees or even random girls that have caught somebodys eye and then they are shot in low budget places- yet they still look really good and suit the brands image really well.
I found another video on Youtube from a sunday morning television show in America having an interview with the company CEO Dov Charney and it really captures just how the store runs and produces advertisements:
The video looks into the more controversial side to the companies advertising as some of them are really provocative and can sometimes be shocking. I think this could be an aim for Charney however, as its like the old saying sex sells and the controversy that his advertisements can cause do raise awareness of the brand and of course the issues that the brand stands for. However, is it doing more harm than good??
What I love about this video is the contrast between Dov Charney and the television shows presenters. The presenters are older and much more conservative Americans and Charney has an energetic and fresh look on everything including sexuality and advertising. I think this difference between the two attitudes reflects why some of American Apparels advertising has been slated as they aren't perhaps fully understood by some people.
Another thing I noticed is how even in the manufacturing houses and the canteens the American Apparel logo font is used on all the writing and the way in which it is layed out on the walls is consistent with the way in which it is used in their advertising. This is something I will have to achieve in my own American Apparel ads.
Another video I found where Charney is being interviewed about the controversy surrounding the advertisements is really interesting as it gives a real insight into his ethical views and his more creative vision for the company:
I actually love this video and I think it is the best out of the three I have shown here. It is showing the ideas that have built and continue to forge the company from the mind that created it. You've got to love Charney's enthusiasm for his business, especially when he talks about his fascination with bulbs and lighting- he is truly passionate about retail and merchandising and I think it shows in the success of the brand.
The fact that real models arent used in American Apparel's ad campaigns actually suits me in terms of my assignment really well. We did not use a professional model and we definately did not work on a big budget and this now ties in with my chosen brand. I feel much more confident with my brand choice with this information. I would not say that my images are shockingly provocative and they won't be making anybody blush anytime soon but not all of American Apparles advertisements are sexual they do have some more simplistic ones. Plus there are some outfits in my shoot that aren't necessarily really revealing but the ones such as the sheer droplet top with a black bra underneath and the leather look leggings is a really sexy outfit and I personally do not think that it would look out of place on an American Apparel advertisement.
No comments:
Post a Comment