To Calvin Klein…It’s sexy, but we don’t lack that …
Just one year after Calvin Klein‘s ads with FKA were banned in the UK by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) who “found the ad was likely to cause serious offense by objectifying women”.
Calvin launched a new similar advertisement, but a little bit different this time, they use a male celebrity — — Jeremy Allen White.
And this ad generates a lot of positive attention on the Internet. At the point of writing, the video has garnered over 8.9 million plays, 197k shares, and 8.4k comments.
“Whoever did the lighting for this ad deserves an award”
” This deserves an oscar honestly”
” Every day I wake up, I eat breakfast, I watch Jeremy Allen White’s ad, I go to sleep. Repeat”
That was crazy!
I must admit from some aspect it’s a great ad, no matter with the lighting, cinematography or Jeremy Allen White’s body shape. But does it truly resonate with Calvin Klein’s brand value?
Hard to say.
According to their own words Calvin Klein is one of the world’s leading global fashion lifestyle brands, and the brand’s minimalist and sensual aesthetic drives our approach to product design and communication, creating a canvas that offers the possibility of limitless self-expression.
Just from the product prospect, Calvin Klein indeed embodies sensuality in its aesthetics as well as the minimalism of its products. However, what makes Calvin Klein a world-famous brand is not only its products, but more importantly, their value.
Calvin Klein announced in 2017 that it signed the Women’s Empowerment Principles, a joint initiative of UN Women and the UN Global Compact, comprising a set of seven areas in which businesses can take action to promote gender equality in the workplace.
Although the previous ban from ASA is a marketing crisis for Calvin Klein, but can also be a chance.
The regulator ruled the “image’s composition placed viewers’ focus on the model’s body rather than on the clothing being advertised”. And FKA Twigs herself issued a response to the ban saying that she does not see in herself the “stereotypical sexual object” that the organization claimed.
However, when it comes to Jeremy Allen White’s ad. Even if people still talking about his glamour body, no one views it as a problem as FKA’s ad — the focus being more on the “models’ body” than the clothing, yet Jeremy is showing more skin than FKA twigs in his campaign.
There is obviously the double standards for men and women’s body. The male gaze, and the way in which society is set up, would have us believe that any sexually autonomous and body-confident woman must be objectifying herself.
However, when the ad shows up to the public, the gazing starts. Calvin Klein has the power and also the duty of using marketing methods to change at least influence the public’s mind.
Choosing a famous sexy masculine male celebrity as their new model is a safe choice, but not enough. We’ve seen plenty of times from Calvin Klein where celebrities and model alike are filmed flouncing around in the brand’s recognizable underwear.
Even though “sex sells”, and this ad captivates a lot of the public’s attention, but doesn’t have any substantial influence on building brand value in a long term compared with challenging the traditional bias.
It’s a beautiful ad, but we don’t lack ad like that.
