"Occupy" violence fetishized by Tyler Shields

Okay, so this is weird.

Fashion photog Tyler Shields made an artistic statement against police abuse of Occupy protestors in the United States and Great Britain by having models abuse guys dressed like cops while the media watches. Francesca Eastwood and her friend even got out the pepper spray.

Shields says, "It’s easy to be the bully but it’s not so fun when you’re the one being bullied. Stand up and fight for what you believe in a dream can only die if you let it…"

More pics here.

That's one powerful bra!

Marc shared a post from Adformatie, which showed this bus shelter campaign for push-up bras from HEMA, a Dutch retail chain:

Those of you who are very familiar with the weird and wild world of fashion are now exclaiming, "That's a man, man!!!"

And it is. Andrej Pejić is the androgynous European model of the moment.

Source

So, you see, the bra's so good, it made you ogle a dude's moob cleavage.


Credits:
Agency: Doom & Dickson
Concept: John de Vries, Rene Verbong
Art director: John de Vries
Account: Frieda Ulsamer de Waard, Karin van Dalen
Photographer: Wendelien Daan, Unit
Client: Rosa Arents, Caroline Turennout (HEMA)

Thanks to AdFreak and Copyranter for the linkbacks.

H&M and the curious case of the cyborg models

Look at these two models, from the H&M online catalogue:

Here are three more:

Notice anything... odd?

According to Jezebel, "The bodies of most of the models H&M features on its website are computer-generated and 'completely virtual,' the company has admitted. H&M designs a body that can better display clothes made for humans than humans can, then 'dresses' it by drawing on its clothes, and digitally pastes on the heads of real women in post-production."

In other words, they're just digital paper dolls. Pick a skin tone, add an outfit and photoshop in a real head. Why a real head? Well, humans have pretty fine-tuned facial recognition software in their heads. We tend to be freaked out by fake faces that are too close for comfort, pushing us into the uncanny valley.

You will notice however, on this pose, that they re-use the same headshot over and over again as well.

And in case you're wondering, they have cyborg male models too:

What do you think of this tactic? Its advantage is consistency in showing off the clothes; after all, models are supposed to be mannequins. Plus if they were a little more overt about it, with a disclaimer that "models bodies are computer generated — do not try this at home" then maybe it would help to overcome the whole dysmorphia and eating disorder issue with both models and their followers.

After all, there was a time when fashion was usually sold by illustration.

Is this any different? I'd love to hear your opinions. (Well, those of most of you anyway.)

These ads were created by a bunch of heels

From the submission to Ads of The World: "High Heels are uncomfortable and inconvenient. So how does Deichmann convince women to wear them? Prove to women that men over 180 cm are more successful and that they should wear high heels to keep up with the guys."

As a short guy, I have three reasons to hate this campaign.

The first is the manipulative sexism. For years, I've been complaining that painful fashion is something women have been imposing on themselves and each other, and there is no patriarchal conspiracy behind it. This campaign seems to indicate otherwise.

This one also offers some awful German-to-English translation.

Second, the ads claim that height is essential to success. I've always thought being a mere 5'7" has been a big part of my success, because it forces me to compensate with a big personality.

Third, I don't want women to be tall! It was hard enough finding partners of my scale when I was single, without pressure for them to be taller...

Thank God for short women!

Ugly boots: There's a vaccine for that!

Not really, but "Uggcitrine" is a pretty good parody of clichés in big pharma marketing for birth control and STI drugs.



Via Illegal Advertising

Scientists develop tool to measure Photoshop Disasters

Via Wired

Scientists in the United States have developed tools to quantify the amount that an image has been digitally manipulated — but only of they have access to the original image.

While Wired talks about the breakthrough as a way to regulate image manipulation in advertising, at a time when some jurisdictions are cracking down on altered images, Nature says the system was developed as a way of combatting image fraud in scientific journals.

Nature also quotes developer Hany Farid, a computer scientist who studies digital forensics, wo points out that this system is no magic bullet:

"The requirement for both original and retouched images is an obvious flaw in his system, admits Farid, as researchers can’t always find their originals. But, in his opinion, it is impossible to get an accurate score for the extent of manipulation without the original image. Moreover, for both scientific journals and popular magazines, the very act of requiring original images to be provided could act as a deterrent against manipulation, he says."

In advertising and the fashion industry, therefore, the system will only work if media or regulators institute a scale of manipulation and insist on access to unaltered images. Which won't do much to deter dishonest marketers, who are not bound by the same honour and reputation system as scientists.

So, while this is pretty cool, we'll probably have to keep discovering image fraud the old fashioned way.

F'd Ad Fridays: Gaga sings "Happy Birthday" into a hoo-ha

This kind of thing is what the internet was invented for.



According to YouTube user "imyourhooker":

"Novemember 22, 2011 at the TERRYXGAGA book signing, I stuck my phone in my pants, while it was recording, told her what I did, and asked her if she could whisper happy birthday to my crotch.  

SHE DID IT, I LOVE HER SO MUCH."

I should hope so! It would feel weird to have someone you didn't love serenade your genitals.

 Via Buzzfeed

F'd Ad Fridays: Underwear models show off their intellect

This video Christmas card from Victoria's Secret isn't doing any favours for the dignity of the modelling trade.



What a bunch of boobs.

Via Illegal Advertising

F'd Ad Fridays: It's never too early to teach your daughter to whore

Jezebel reports that these thong underpants were part of the Kmart Girl Xpress line of clothing that markets itself to tweens in Australia:

They have since been taken of the shelves.

F'd Ad Fridays: Now with more Jordache than you can shake your ass at

I don't know if any of the rest of you clicked on the 1980 Jordache jeans spot that popped up as a reco after playing their '70s ad embedded in a previous post. I just now did:



Jordache was know in the '70s for being focussed on how tight they were on the bum.

Which is fine with adults. But translating the slogan and the ass shots to a classroom full of kids? And their teacher?

Times sure have changed. Although in the interest of full disclosure, I had myself a pair of those things on my prepubescent butt within a year after this ad was made.

Have a great weekend, all.

F'd Ad Fridays: Donatella Versace goes to H&M

While '70s designer jeans brand Jordache goes to Walmart, former high fashion label Versace is teaming up with middlebrow retailer H&M.

But current fashion house boss Donatella (sister to late founder Gianni) won't allow the fact that her clothes are appearing in a slightly cooler version of The Gap deter her from making a pretentious, high-budget, egomaniacal and downright baffling fashion video to promote it:



Via Adfreak

F'd Ad Fridays: Jordache is back to remind us that it was once a relevant brand

These retrospective ads for has-been brands can easily backfire, if they show a steady regression in cool factor.




From the chic disco divas to the People of Walmart? How the mighty have fallen.

F'd Ad Fridays: Nude Modelling Camp (sounds totally legit)

Photographer Beau Picasso is keeping the dream alive for short, creepy men everywhere. He has apparently found a way to convince women to pay him to take them to isolated locations where they strip naked and pose for his camera.

And it's not even a professional camera.

"Models are whisked from the airport to a reception at the roof top pool of the five-star Elysée Palace hotel, where they meet the other models from around the world. They are assigned to shared apartments (three models fit quite comfortably) and they start to get excited about the next morning’s shoot at Coco Beach. 

A relaxed photo shoot with Beau and his female assistants (who are also photographers) is sometimes interrupted by swims in the Mediterranean and sun tanning. Then, perhaps, a sunset picnic on the beach and an excited conversation about the next day’s shoot. 

Our camps provide shared apartment style accommodations with complete kitchen, wifi access and 24-hour security. We are only steps away from the beach, food, culture, and shopping. A 50% deposit is required upon registration and the balance is due before camp begins."

Here's one of Beau's softcore porn infomercials. It contains nudity and sleaze:


Beau Picasso Models: On the French Riviera from James Anthony on Vimeo.

Shamed be he who thinks evil of it?

Yes, I cover a lot of fashion advertising and marketing here. Because it's so sexually-charged, attention-hungry and pretentious, it usually provides interesting fodder.

Take this campaign from The Lake & Stars:

The anonymous models are mother and daughter. The younger one is 19. And the fashion brand has been accused of promoting incest with this pictorial.

Maayan Zilberman, co-owner of the New York-based lingerie and swimwear label, described it this way:

"...for our viewer to see these photographs, you're confronted with this feeling of 'who's the sexy one?' Because there's always someone who's sexier and there's always some kind of competition going on; there's always a tenderness going on; there's always a tension," she said. 

"We're opening it up to think about: Is it OK for a mother and daughter to feel tender toward each other? And what happens when they're in sexy clothing?"

Which is actually the creepiest thing about the pictures — the way she describes them. That aside, you can see these pictures in many ways: as a non-sexual intimacy between a mother and a daughter, as two stages of womanly beauty presenting themselves in a sexual context to titillate you, or as OMG HOT LESBIAN COUGAR INCEST NYMPHOS.

I really think it's up to where your mind is at in the first place. Where's yours?

UK fashion brand takes a ribbing over super-skinny model pics

Fashionista reports that the UK Advertising Standards Authority ordered Drop Dead Clothing to remove the above bikini photos of Scottish model Amanda Hendrick from their online catalogue:

“The ASA considered the model was very slim. We also noted that in the bikini and denim shorts images, hollows in her thighs were noticeable and she had prominent thigh bones,” the ruling said. “We considered that in combination with the stretched out pose and heavy eye make-up, the model looked underweight in the pictures.”

The Daily Record says Carol Sykes, of Drop Dead Clothing, has accepted the ruling but not the rationale.

"Amanda is not anorexic or unhealthy and eats a very good diet. She's just a naturally thin person. She's my son's former girlfriend and a family friend. She had modelled for us for three years and we'd never had any complaints. Do I think people should aspire to be like her? Yes, because she is a beautiful person and jets around the world earning £600 plus a day. She's got a successful career and no mental health problems. Do I think removing a picture of Amanda will stop people being mentally ill? No, I don't."

 Umm, OK. The curveless model still appears in some less revealing outfits at the DDC store.

For me, the question is not whether or not Ms. Hendrick has an eating disorder. It's why the brand thought she was the right type of shape to model swimwear. Generally, swimwear models are much more robust in the hips shoulders (etc.), to show off a swimsuit's waist- and breast-enhancing appeal. Seeing this skinny model in such a context is not so much appealing as alarming. It reminds me of the nude fashion show in Altman's film Prêt-à-Porter, in which you are confronted with the realization that high fashion models only look sexy with their clothes on — as they lack any prominent secondary sexual characteristics that would ruin the line or the drape of the look.

Anyway, Drop Dead got publicity, Amanda Hendrick got notoriety, and the ASA got its way. This "scandal" is probably beneficial for everyone involved... except for the young women consumers who are being told that visible ribs are a thing now.

But apparently, asses are "out".

That said, I still don't believe that the pictures should have been banned. As irresponsible as the portrayal is, I think we're better off exposing the cynicism of the brand and trying to educate consumers rather than regulating taste. But that's just me.

Killer jeans

As we get more and more saturated with sex and violence — both real and online — we apparently become harder to shock. So this long ad/short film for Australia's Billycock Denim & Co tries to lure us in with highly-sexualized psychopathy.



It's all very stylized and pretty average for the fashion industry. But will there come a point at which consumers won't want their denim brand associations to be about necrophilia and mass murder?

Dead sexy. (Ewwwwww!)

Via Illegal Advertising

Fashion ad celebrates lazy Sunday morning sex

Lots of nudity and sex in the adosphere today. This tribute to morning horning is for fashion/design studio Surface to Air. For what it is, the video is remarkably tasteful, if still focussed on the idealized female form. Beautifully shot and provocative, but it would have been better if they had kept teasing and stopped short of the fashion tit.



Via Illegal Advertising

Many snakes were harmed in the making of this fashion spread

Apparently snakeskin is a thing in fashion this year. I'm not morally opposed to the wearing of animal skin, but I find this spread by Giampaolo Sgura in Antidote unsetting. The wild harvest of pythons just for their skins seems wasteful and irresponsible to me. And naked Ashley Smith letting a live one slither over her sultry nude form as she wears the hides of its brethren is also a little ick.

Via Animal NY, where you can see the rest of the pics.

Monday morning Danish comes with a cup of sexual objectification

Helloooo, target market!

This softcore pornvertising video for Denmark's JBS underwear brand manages to insult men and women at the same time, by limiting (t)its appeal to adolescent boys. Whatever.



Via Illegal Advertising

Gap Kids sells sequined hooker shorts to tween and teen girls

PR Twitterer @woodlandalyssa shared a link to this item, from the Gap USA online catalogue:

Available only in sizes 12, 14 and 16, these "Sequined Party Shorts" have just a 2.5" inseam, putting them close to the realm of booty shorts.

Is this yet another horrible example of the fashion industry oversexualizing young girls?

Gap customers seem to think so. From the site comments:

Click to enlarge and read.

Cue the social media outrage in 3... 2...