It was cool how we all brainstormed this. Its a pretty radical statement because it calls out Abercrombie and Fitch for their idea of what beauty is. Most of the models used for A&F are blond haired, blue eyed, white people. They are usually portrayed in situations of romance on the beach. This dude is just chilling and adds sort of a back hand insult to A&F. What occurred to me when I saw this picture was that I noticed that this ad doesn't really lack anything more as it exposes A&F. They market their merchandise to people who look or would like to look like the A&F models. That is why they use their certain types of models. This ad basically says that anyone can be beautiful as long as they wear A&F. You don't have to fit the ideal mold to get the same message that A&F promises. Most regular A&F ads don't reveal the message that if you wear their clothes you can be beautiful. They just convey it through their perspective of what beauty is. This ad also exemplifies the age old expression, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
I think our ad did a great job of manipulating the ethos of the company (kudos to j.schaber). The ad is obviously a spoof on Abercrombie&Fitch. When readers see A&F ads usually they are young males age 18-24 with washboard abs and model faces. This appeals to male and female shoppers in different ways. First of all the teenage girl population is obviously going to be attracted to the model and secondly the male population is going to think, "If I wear this brand's clothing, I will look that good." A&F appeals to young teens that want to look good because of expensive clothing and most of the time A&F is successful with thier ads. Young models representing the population as a whole and stating that you will look this good if you wear our clothes is thier business statment. What we did with this ad is describe it in a different view, the average person's perspective. The goal is to get consumers to realize that it is not the clothes that make someone look like a model, it is the person. We want readers to see our ad and hopefully think twice about buying A&F clothes. The main point is, Abercrombie & Fitch clothes do not make you look like supermodels if you wear them. Our ad is an average person wearing thier clothes and this is how people look. Not everyone can look perfect by wearing A&F.
All advertisements usually have a common goal relating to pathos; attracting the interest of the consumers. Depending on the company obviously, companies use different visuals for different audiences and purposes. With Abercrombie and Fitch, common advertisements usually include some kind of mix of suggestive touching, abs, “pretty” faces, perfect bodies, and Abercrombie clothes of course. Usually it’s a male model with a “perfect body”. Using models with physical features as such, attract the interest and awe of the teenagers and young adults. Guys may take the ad as that they can look as good as the models wearing Abercrombie clothing, even though Abercrombie’s advertisements don’t come out and say that. It is definitely put into our heads with the successful use of models. Girls are obviously attracted to the models and clothing as well, because of the models; which correlate with how guys feel the clothing makes them look. With our spoof ad, we don’t have someone that looks like the typical model. We have a big guy lounging in a chair on the beach wearing a pair of Abercrombie and Fitch shorts. The text “everyone can be beautiful” displayed on the advertisement. The text and the picture go hand-in-hand. The text is explaining exactly what it says and the picture is showing an example of what isn’t usually considered pretty but because of the Abercrombie shorts, he looks as good as a model. The text plays a bigger role in the spoof ad. Without the text, the ad would probably be confusing. The text helps to understand our spoof and get the point across. That everyone is beautiful when you wear Abercrombie and Fitch. The text is definitely the strong part of the ad but using the big guy in the shorts definitely helps the spoofs significance.
I think this ad is definitely appealing to the pathos of the viewer. In todays society everyone is becoming increasingly obsessed about their physical body image and their weight. In a world where being thin more socially accepted than being curvy or bigger, this ad would definitely grab the attention of many people, large and small. Someone who normally could not fit into the select sizes and styles of Abercrombie and Fitch clothing would for sure see this ad as a forward step for the company and might even consider trying to shop there. This ad appeals to emotions by portraying to the consumer that you do not have to be a size two model to be beautiful. People viewing this ad could possibly assume that wearing A&F clothing means that you are beautiful INSIDE and OUT. The text and the photo in this ad work very well together. One without the other would not be very convincing. However, in my opinion, if the text was pictured without the photo, the result might be a little more effective than if the photo was pictured without the text. If someone saw the photo alone, they might be confused about why a large man is sitting in teenage swimsuit. And they might not even notice the A&F moose logo on the swimsuit itself. However, if only the words were pictured, the image of the fat man in the bathing suit would never ever cross anyones mind. If I read this text without the photo along side it, the first thing that would come to my mind is a blue eyed, blonde haired, gorgeous, extremely muscular teenage guy. The photo and text work very well together to say that beauty does not have to be exactly what companies such as Abercrombie and Fitch always portray it to be.
The primary claim of this ad is playing on the stereotypical toned gorgeous bodies that A&F normally use to advertise their clothing. The ad is promising that if you wear A&F clothing you will be beautiful no matter what size you are. It possible to be beautiful inside and out by wearing A&F clothing. Visually, the ad pictures a large man chilling out on a beach wearing and A&F swimsuit. The ad says everyone can be beautiful. This can be taken several ways. Someone might look at this ad and say its saying that you can be beautiful on the inside by wearing this clothing because it would make you feel better about yourself and make you feel awesome. Another person might look at this ad and say its claiming that you will be beautiful on the outside no matter what size you are if you wear A&F clothing. No one can deny than a middle aged fat man is not the average model for a company like this. By showing this huge contrast in body types and images, the ad opens its target to a much broader audience.
I thought this was really, really well done. As long as you’re wearing the product, it doesn’t matter what you look like. But we all know that it does because that’s what the ads tell us visually—who wears their clothes and what these kind of people look like. I liked how Anthony put is as “calling them out”—they’re making a particular kind of “promise” about their product, which clearly doesn’t always deliver. I also like your point about giving new meaning to the saying ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’ Jordan characterizes your group’s approach as manipulating A&F’s ethos—yes, well said. That’s a good way to describe it—as well as the ad being the average person’s view. Joshua discusses the pathos of the appeal—our desire to meet the physical ideals of our culture (young, in prime physical condition, white (yes?), blonde, etc). And the text and image absolutely go hand-in-hand to reinforce each other—your argument is explicit. Here your message is primarily visual (hence the assignment) and your text enhances and supports your visual. Erin also discusses the relationship between text and visual in detail. Overall—really effective. We should send this to Adbusters.
Abercrombie&Fitch Spoof
nice
ReplyDeleteThis is great. Really good job.
ReplyDeleteIt was cool how we all brainstormed this. Its a pretty radical statement because it calls out Abercrombie and Fitch for their idea of what beauty is. Most of the models used for A&F are blond haired, blue eyed, white people. They are usually portrayed in situations of romance on the beach. This dude is just chilling and adds sort of a back hand insult to A&F. What occurred to me when I saw this picture was that I noticed that this ad doesn't really lack anything more as it exposes A&F. They market their merchandise to people who look or would like to look like the A&F models. That is why they use their certain types of models. This ad basically says that anyone can be beautiful as long as they wear A&F. You don't have to fit the ideal mold to get the same message that A&F promises. Most regular A&F ads don't reveal the message that if you wear their clothes you can be beautiful. They just convey it through their perspective of what beauty is. This ad also exemplifies the age old expression, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
ReplyDeleteI think our ad did a great job of manipulating the ethos of the company (kudos to j.schaber). The ad is obviously a spoof on Abercrombie&Fitch. When readers see A&F ads usually they are young males age 18-24 with washboard abs and model faces. This appeals to male and female shoppers in different ways. First of all the teenage girl population is obviously going to be attracted to the model and secondly the male population is going to think, "If I wear this brand's clothing, I will look that good." A&F appeals to young teens that want to look good because of expensive clothing and most of the time A&F is successful with thier ads. Young models representing the population as a whole and stating that you will look this good if you wear our clothes is thier business statment. What we did with this ad is describe it in a different view, the average person's perspective. The goal is to get consumers to realize that it is not the clothes that make someone look like a model, it is the person. We want readers to see our ad and hopefully think twice about buying A&F clothes. The main point is, Abercrombie & Fitch clothes do not make you look like supermodels if you wear them. Our ad is an average person wearing thier clothes and this is how people look. Not everyone can look perfect by wearing A&F.
ReplyDeleteAll advertisements usually have a common goal relating to pathos; attracting the interest of the consumers. Depending on the company obviously, companies use different visuals for different audiences and purposes. With Abercrombie and Fitch, common advertisements usually include some kind of mix of suggestive touching, abs, “pretty” faces, perfect bodies, and Abercrombie clothes of course. Usually it’s a male model with a “perfect body”. Using models with physical features as such, attract the interest and awe of the teenagers and young adults. Guys may take the ad as that they can look as good as the models wearing Abercrombie clothing, even though Abercrombie’s advertisements don’t come out and say that. It is definitely put into our heads with the successful use of models. Girls are obviously attracted to the models and clothing as well, because of the models; which correlate with how guys feel the clothing makes them look. With our spoof ad, we don’t have someone that looks like the typical model. We have a big guy lounging in a chair on the beach wearing a pair of Abercrombie and Fitch shorts. The text “everyone can be beautiful” displayed on the advertisement. The text and the picture go hand-in-hand. The text is explaining exactly what it says and the picture is showing an example of what isn’t usually considered pretty but because of the Abercrombie shorts, he looks as good as a model. The text plays a bigger role in the spoof ad. Without the text, the ad would probably be confusing. The text helps to understand our spoof and get the point across. That everyone is beautiful when you wear Abercrombie and Fitch. The text is definitely the strong part of the ad but using the big guy in the shorts definitely helps the spoofs significance.
ReplyDeleteI think this ad is definitely appealing to the pathos of the viewer. In todays society everyone is becoming increasingly obsessed about their physical body image and their weight. In a world where being thin more socially accepted than being curvy or bigger, this ad would definitely grab the attention of many people, large and small. Someone who normally could not fit into the select sizes and styles of Abercrombie and Fitch clothing would for sure see this ad as a forward step for the company and might even consider trying to shop there. This ad appeals to emotions by portraying to the consumer that you do not have to be a size two model to be beautiful. People viewing this ad could possibly assume that wearing A&F clothing means that you are beautiful INSIDE and OUT. The text and the photo in this ad work very well together. One without the other would not be very convincing. However, in my opinion, if the text was pictured without the photo, the result might be a little more effective than if the photo was pictured without the text. If someone saw the photo alone, they might be confused about why a large man is sitting in teenage swimsuit. And they might not even notice the A&F moose logo on the swimsuit itself. However, if only the words were pictured, the image of the fat man in the bathing suit would never ever cross anyones mind. If I read this text without the photo along side it, the first thing that would come to my mind is a blue eyed, blonde haired, gorgeous, extremely muscular teenage guy. The photo and text work very well together to say that beauty does not have to be exactly what companies such as Abercrombie and Fitch always portray it to be.
ReplyDeleteThe primary claim of this ad is playing on the stereotypical toned gorgeous bodies that A&F normally use to advertise their clothing. The ad is promising that if you wear A&F clothing you will be beautiful no matter what size you are. It possible to be beautiful inside and out by wearing A&F clothing. Visually, the ad pictures a large man chilling out on a beach wearing and A&F swimsuit. The ad says everyone can be beautiful. This can be taken several ways. Someone might look at this ad and say its saying that you can be beautiful on the inside by wearing this clothing because it would make you feel better about yourself and make you feel awesome. Another person might look at this ad and say its claiming that you will be beautiful on the outside no matter what size you are if you wear A&F clothing. No one can deny than a middle aged fat man is not the average model for a company like this. By showing this huge contrast in body types and images, the ad opens its target to a much broader audience.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was really, really well done. As long as you’re wearing the product, it doesn’t matter what you look like. But we all know that it does because that’s what the ads tell us visually—who wears their clothes and what these kind of people look like. I liked how Anthony put is as “calling them out”—they’re making a particular kind of “promise” about their product, which clearly doesn’t always deliver. I also like your point about giving new meaning to the saying ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder.’
ReplyDeleteJordan characterizes your group’s approach as manipulating A&F’s ethos—yes, well said. That’s a good way to describe it—as well as the ad being the average person’s view.
Joshua discusses the pathos of the appeal—our desire to meet the physical ideals of our culture (young, in prime physical condition, white (yes?), blonde, etc). And the text and image absolutely go hand-in-hand to reinforce each other—your argument is explicit. Here your message is primarily visual (hence the assignment) and your text enhances and supports your visual. Erin also discusses the relationship between text and visual in detail. Overall—really effective. We should send this to Adbusters.