Why is it safe to say she loves her socks? It might have something to do with the
obvious pleasure she derives from wearing them (signification), as demonstrated
in the series of three pictures at the left (signifieds).
This is an American Apparel advertisement that is
advertising socks, and sex. It exists in
a textual and narrative context, and blurs the lines existing within a generic
context.
It is a polysemic text that is anchored down by the brand
name – American Apparel (signifier). There are a series of other statements
(signifiers) in white, framing the image of the nearly-naked, yet sock-wearing
model. As mentioned earlier it states
“Safe to say she loves her socks.”, and on the bottom right “Meet Lauren Phoenix.
150 pounds of magic. Actress. Director.
Look her up on Google.”
Intriguing, especially if you’re a young male who may have previously
encountered Lauren Phoenix’s ‘acting’ skills in pornographic films. In any fashion, if you’re going to Google Lauren
Phoenix, you are bound to find out about her ‘acting’ career. This dialogic inference within intertextuality
and push for us to follow her life story or narrative, encourages the reader to
further link sex to socks (signification).
A bit of a leap? Tying
selling to sex is as old as advertising.
However this marriage of soft pornography and undergarments is a
narrative that American Apparel has been espousing in recent history. The brand is an American version of a Bond’s
style of clothing. Young men and women
may look to the brand to promote and establish their sexual identities. American Apparel advertisements don’t mess
around with subtlety when pursuing metonomy, as they blatantly state their
products are associated with sexuality.
With central image, the ‘come hither’ direct eye contact
Phoenix is making with the camera, the actress is appealing and attempting to
connect to those that are viewing the advertisement. If we delve deeper, it’s notable that this is
a common image that is portrayed in her media history, Phoenix deeply staring
into lens of the camera. It appears to
make up a part of the brand of ‘Lauren Phoenix’. Again, in the series of photos on the left
hand side of the advertisement, the initial photo involves Phoenix directly
looking at the camera whilst involved in some serious sock wearing excitement.
There are further anchors which tie this advertisement down,
including information about selling points, company contact information, and in
small print on the left hand, bottom side “Made in Downtown LA, Sweatshop Free
– Brand-Free Clothes”, as if the tagline is an afterthought.
When consuming this advertisement, it is hard to tell if it
is advertising, soft pornography, or informative in nature. The context is confusing and crosses many
genres. It has interactive elements
(Googling), visual elements, and facts to take in.
The strong metaphor here is wearing American Apparel will
make you sexier, or get you involved in the act of sex. CEO of American Apparel Dov Charney, apparently
certainly encourages this in his ‘hands on’ approach to photo shoots. Whilst under his command, the company has
been associated with multiple lawsuits involving sexual harassment. Charney has soldiered on through the lawsuits
and continued to apply a unique perspective to selling undergarments, creating
a sexual discourse through the American Apparel advertisements.
This sexual socks advertisement is pluralistic in nature,
that is, it offers an alternative or democratic view within the mediasphere. It assumes there is a choice, but if you want
to enhance your sexuality, this is the sock of choice.
Whilst building an advertisement from that age old ‘sex
sells’ formula, this text takes it to another level – showing Phoenix in what
it seems is mid coitus and somehow linking it to the socks she wears. It gives an entirely new context to the
saying ‘sock it to her’.
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