When scrolling through my Instagram I came across this post from American Eagle advertising their new product under Aerie. This is a store owned by American Eagle that sells pajamas, underwear, and workout clothes. I, at first, thought the long haired individual was a women but when he turned around I was surprised to find out that he was a man selling men underwear.
*click video to view commercial*
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1qtgSW14kE[/youtube]
This video first caught my attention because Aerie is both advertising male and female undergarments, whereas many stores you can just find one for each gender. Another aspect of this video that caught my attention is the model in the video. In the TED talk “Looks Aren’t Everything: Believe Me I’m a Model done by Cameron Russell she talks about how she won in the genetic lottery. She also states that models are taught to be a sexy girl. She also states that we, as a society, has define beauty as being tall and slender. It was very refreshing to see an underwear model that was not the “typical” model. This model had a bigger butt, bust, and does not have a thigh gap. I know this commercial is about Aerie making men underwear and it’s great that this company is not just targeting women, but its also great that this company is using “normal” body figures in women and men.
What do you think?
Hey Drew,
I’m a huge fan of this commercial. Although its a little awkward, I feel like that was the message they wanted to convey. For me, it’s always awkward seeing men in Victoria’s Secret stores because the sexualization of undergarments in insane, but with Arie, it’s very calm and neutral between the two. Another thing I appreciated about the commercial was the size and weight of the woman, they were clearly talking to several audiences in this commercial including men and women and bigger women and smaller men. I think this commercial is genius, just wish it wasn’t so awkward!
Thanks,
Meghan
I also saw this commercial and it for once changed my perception of models and advertising. I too thought that the person on the left side of the screen was a woman before the man turned his head. I think it gives people a sense of hope to not be ashamed of their bodies. I also love that the woman in this photo is not your average underwear model. She has curves, is an average size, and looks happy in her body. The commercial is letting people know that it’s okay to not look like a model, because quite frankly most people don’t look like that. This commercial is displaying Aerie’s new men’s line, but I also think it is making great strides for positive body image within the clothing industry.
Drew,
When I saw this video, I too was surprised that the person on the left that turned around was a male. Why did I expect that person to be a woman? It is because of the gendered norms we associate with a woman regarding their body. We think of women as being slender and fit, with long hair and pretty skin. If women do not meet these expectations, are they considered not pretty? That should not be the case. The advertisement Aerie showed was a good representation of how men and women’s bodies often are in life, rather than showing a typical male model and female model that we often see in other ads. As comical as this ad is to me, it is nice to see this company breaking gendered norms.
Hi Drew,
I have never seen this before until now and I find it really interesting. I like how they are giving men clothes in arie and had a curvy model. We are so used to having stick skinny models for ads and commercials so to have a curvy model is nice to see. I know young girls look at commercials and feel like they have to look like them and now by have this curvy model gives girls the idea that they don’t have look a certain way. Even though the commercial was very short it packs a message that they can have men and women underwear clothing line and have different models.
Drew,
This is such a great ad. It is refreshing to see a popular brand reaching out to break the norms of underwear advertisements. It is nice to see them trying to incorporate men’s underwear in a less sexualized way. On top of that, it is even better to finally see an ad with a girl that looks more like the average woman in today’s society. It is a more realistic depiction of what the underwear will really look like on someone.
I think that American Eagle is genius for this. Not only will this ad stir up some great conversations amongst viewers and other companies, but it may also start a trend of creating more simplistic underwear ads for men! They are reaching outside the box to include the male demographics into their store, Aerie. I believe that this will also generate more customers who are female that are more “curvy” than others because they may it see as acceptance from Aerie, that they too are being included in the creation of their underwear/clothes!
Hey Drew! I saw this ad on instagram a week or so ago as well. I’ve shopped at Aerie before, and over the past few years they have come out saying that they do not touch up any of their models and they also have more models, like the girl in the advertisement who aren’t stick thin the way most models are. My favorite thing about Aerie now is that when you shop on their website you can shop by your size only and the model will be the same size as you so you can see if the item you want will look good on your body. This feature is really helpful for women who have a big bust size because I know from hearing from my friends that it is hard finding bras that look good and are comfortable when you are a DD or a DDD, and this new feature will help women see if the item they like will suit their bodies.
Hey Drew! I hadn’t seen this one from Aerie yet, but I have seen their campaign for women who do not portray the model body type! So, I was already really impressed with the Instagram posts that I’ve seen from Aerie, but this is even better! So happy to see that model on an actual commercial! I think she breaks gendered norms within the media, as she is not “large,” but is larger than your typical angel model. Seeing her continue to be publicized is very refreshing! Aside from the woman, I think targeting men is a great tactic used by Aerie that they could potentially largely capitalize from. It certainly looks like they are trying to appeal to everyone, which I love!
Hi Drew!
When I first saw this commercial I was really surprised at first, and then I got really excited. I love aerie as a brand, both for the things they make and for what they stand for. A major part of aerie’s brand personality is the idea that all women are beautiful no matter what shape, size, and color they are, and that they should feel beautiful and comfortable with their bodies in the underwear they wear, regardless of what society says is the “ideal woman” even though we all know such a woman does not exist. I got excited for this commercial because I felt like aerie was continuing their all-inclusive attitude and creating a section for guys, and when I learned that this commercial was actually an April Fool’s prank I was really disappointed. I definitely think that aerie should consider the idea of including guys in their brand, because men have insecurities about their bodies just like women do, and including men in their target audience would not only get them more customers but it would also build their reputation as a company that is all about inclusiveness and loving who you are regardless of society’s standards.
Hey Drew! I was actually curious to see who would post about this commercial first. Honestly I really thought it was just another Aerie commercial for women I had no idea that was a guy. But I think it’s very interesting that Aerie is now targeting men, you never really see companies targeting men for underwear, it’s more popular for women. Not only that but that fact that they had a women who was curvy and then a man who was slim, which in today’s society is not that “ideal” body type. But for a popular company among 14-19 year old, definitely creates an impact and changes the image about beauty and physical appearances for them.
For American Eagle they have always been a company I have enjoyed because they placed any type of physical appearance pressure on teens unlike Holister or Abercrombie and Fitch. Because of this commercial I not only think this is going to make a positive impact on Aerie and the American Eagle Brand, it’s going to start a positive impact on teens. If more companies like Aerie did things like this, the issue of physical appearance and beauty wouldn’t be as serious as it is. Thanks Drew for writing about this, I really enjoyed contributing to the discussion.
Hi Drew! I found this commercial to be interesting as well and the points you made in your posts are definitely relevant. When first watching, it did look like a girl at first, but when he turned around, it was cool to see a male modeling off the underwear rather than it being just a girl doing so. I also thought it was cool that they chose a skinnier guy to be next to a curvier model. In today’s society, we usually see the females being stick thin, while the guys are big and strong. I think the way Aerie went about advertising their underwear was unique and also more appealing than normal to their viewers due to advertising in such as different way compared to other designers.
I am someone who wears Aerie clothing so I think from a girls perspective, this commercial will help draw in more guys to their store because of the more inclusiveness they are bringing to their advertising. The girl in the video is still just as beautiful as someone who may be stick thin. Looking at a curvy girl modeling off a pair of underwear makes me (someone who doesn’t have many curves at all) appreciate these type of women since they feel comfortable and confident with themselves. I think this was a great post and topic to discuss!