With a prime parking space at the corner of Lafayette and Houston, in New York City, this Spring/Summer 2009 ad campaign for Calvin Klein is causing a bit a commotion.
Some are saying the billboard is so raunchy it'll turn you Republican- but seriously, what's the harm? OK, the ad may seem to be promoting promiscuity and group sex, but do you see how good they look in their jeans? My point is, although the ad may be on the opposite end of tasteful and traditional, it is a natural evolution in the marketing world which supports the fact that "sex sells". It's been selling for decades and it's not about to stop. Remember the hubbub over Cindy Crawford's "racy" Pepsi commercials? I drank Pepsi a couple of times as a kid and I didn't wear daisy dukes and mid-drifts. Better yet, I drank a couple of Pepsis in this decade and I haven't turned out to be like Brittany Spears. Just because you wear these jeans doesn't mean you have to go have sex with the first three people you see on the street. My point is that the ad is not promoting sex, it's promoting a product- making wild claims that it may come with orgies, but we're all grown up enough to know that's not true. Ask the nearest geek who uses Axe body spray.
Many are asking for the billboard to be taken down and the ad banned. The television spot has already been banned in the U.S., but will air in France, Italy, Spain and Germany. If parents are afraid these ads will set a bad example for their youth, then balance it out by teaching them that the depiction is not based on everyday reality (for most people). Rather than trying to censor anything that shows a bit of skin- making kids think that sex is wrong- teach them what is realistic. Must we forget that the best part of sex when you're young is that it's against the rules? Take away some of the taboo and crush a bit of the desire to go against the grain- then it's just left to how well they can handle their hormones.
Photos: courtesy of Maggie Coughlan and the Calvin Klein campaign
Comments
You make a very good point about adults having to balance out what the media shows the young kids by teaching them at home too. It's true that teens will want to do what you don't let them.
I've passed by this so many times and fail to see what the big deal is when kids these days are exposed to so much more by simply going to school. They learn way more about sex from their peers than from lowsy billboards. My 12 y/o daughter has seen this ad and she knows that jeans don't equal sex. Leave it to the religious and republican freaks to want to tear everything down.
i also live in new york and i love being in a city that is more and diverse, like san francisco. i think most of those complaining about this campaign are from outside the city. it's a cultural thing and it target a specific group. this ad wouldn't be posted in a rural place or in the suburbs so if people want to keep their kid's eyes clean they shouldn't bring to an evil hot spot like nyc! LOL :D
I can only imagine what Calvin Klein ads will be like when my child is old enough to dress herself, yikes!
These ads aren't just about sexuality in advertising. They are offensive in that they show a young lady topless with 2 men. The intent is that a threesome is ok. Do we want our daughters thinking that is normal behavior? It is deliberate desensitizing a socity to right and wrong. Start looking at ads like this daily when you are eight or ten, and you accept it as "normal". Here in wisconsin we had a girl about age 8-10 give oral sex to several men at a party.....she obviously didn't know any better, hadn't had good role models in her life. I cried for her.....
Along with free speech comes responsibility. This ad is an irresponsible display of imagery that sends the wrong message to children and is simply a segway for increasingly lurid subject matter. When moral structure becomes fluid then it no longer has structure and it is no longer moral.
I think that anyone who thinks this ad is immoral has never been good looking and is jealous ahahaha! I think its probably inapporpoate for some people but like someone else said they wouldn't put it up in those places thats why it's in NYC.
Re: Jane R.
"Start looking at ads like this daily when you are eight or ten, and you accept it as "normal". Here in wisconsin we had a girl about age 8-10 give oral sex to several men at a party.....she obviously didn't know any better, hadn't had good role models in her life. I cried for her..... "
That is the point of this article I think. To raise some kind of awareness that parents need to educate their children and not leave it to the media solely. If this isn't "normal" then tell them. The writer here even states that the image depicted is not realistic and adults should tell their kids that. A 8 year old girl giving out blowjobs isn't the fault of just media, there are other issues that are being neglected and the adults in her life have failed to tach her the difference between what is appropriate and what isn't, especially age wise. She didn't learn how to give BJ's from a billboard. She probably picked it up from school and no one at home taught her any better.
I AM a Republican! And I could care less. It's just an ad. Ads like these do not make your children harlots. Is it appropriate for my three kids? Nope. That is why if they looked at it, I'd tell them WHY it wasn't appropriate. I'd make attempts to avoid them seeing it if I could.
But really, is this any worse than what is on TV or in magazines? If you don't want your child to see these things, don't give them access. If they do see these ads, make it a learning experience. Teach your kids right from wrong. Explain to them what you feel is safe and unsafe. In other words, BE a parent and you don't have anything to worry about!
"Leave it to the religious and republican freaks to want to tear everything down...."
Leave it to the worthless liberals and democrats to ruin this great country (ex. Obama). Sin is still sin, and wrong is wrong! I would like to see the kids of the parents that don't think this a problem. No doubt they will be ridden with std's and be a waste for future generations!
The add is wrong. If they want to promote it in the stores, on the internet, great and good for them, but my wife, my kids, and I shouldn't have to view it! We are better than that....we have what is called standards, morals, and somethings most people don't...a brain!
PS. It was our religion that founded this great country...look it up in the history books....before they have it changed!
religion smidgeon. it's up to us parents to ultimately teach our children right from wrong and it's up to them as individuals to decide for themselves what they believe. we can only hope that their morals will match ours if we've done our job right.
Totally inappropriate. I like porn as much as the next guy but it should be somewhere where you can turn it off when kids are around. And, it's a foursome, not a threesome. Everyone who thinks this is ok should start walking around and playing at the park with only their jeans on.
Let's be honest, the problem is the fact that their is more then one man in the situation. Get over it. I happen to like the ad, and no, I don't have any STD's and am NOT a waste to the future of this country, as someone has stated. Why is America so scared of sex or nudity? Many other countries (where this commercial wasn't banned) show nudity on television all the time, and guess what, they don't have a high rate of people infected with STD's and Aids, in fact, USA has a higher rate of them. What does that tell you? If you are smart it will tell you a very basic and obvious thing, by sheltering our children from sex we are hurting them so much more then we can possibly know. There is nothing wrong with sex.
It would be interesting to see what the commotion would be like if it was 4 women in the ad......I bet it would be totally different.
I'm not gay, but I'm so sick of seeing homophobic nutcases ruining things. Can we please focus on more important things?
This ad is no different from any other CK add. Remember when Marky Marky posed for a CK add in 1992 in his underwear?! That was in Times Square as well and at the time was as controversial as this is today. CK is known for having racy ads and nothing is going to change. If you prepare your children for life then pictures like this aren't going to influence them away from a lifetime of strong and moral up brining.
I was 12 when Marky Marky was posted and I knew at that time guys shouldn't be walking around in public in their underwear. My daughters will know that group sex or orgies or whatever you think this picture is "approving" for teens isn't the reality in life. When they are old enough they will have the knowledge and guidance they need to make the appropriate decisions for themselves. Regardless of what is on TV, the internet, or Times Square.
Once again CK has "pushed the envelope" in order to make a buck - desperate times call for desperate measures. The fact that CK has approved these ads is unbelievable. Young people have enough smut in their lives without being subjected to these images. The message is obvious, I hope our young people are smart enough to see through this desperate attempt by CK to add to his empire, at the expense of morality. I have thrown out all of my CK products and will never purchase another item associated with CK again. Reprehensible!
I agree with BlueTiger.
While I am a conservative and agree that it is morally wrong for a company that has such a wide impact on our youth to put out an advertisement that is so pornographic, I also agree with those who say that as a parent it is our job to teach our kids about these things instead of hiding it. Educating them plays a big role on the decisions they make, not sheilding them from the world. This is all a part of the reality we live in today and we have to adjust to it if we want our kids to be able to as well.
If people didn't try to shelter their kids so much in the first place, things like this wouldn't be an issue. Kids should be taught to accept the diversity of lifestyle and what is appropriate behavior and waht is not. Breeding shame and unacceptance of things will only hurt them. If they see something like this ad, whether or not the raise questions, we as adults should already comment on it for what it is. It's an ad and not an example.
um, that ad is supposed to be about jeans? coulda fooled me! im not republican, and i still say take it down! i have 4 step-kids, and if the younger two saw that "momma, what are they doin?" "momma, why are his pants undone?" "why is she laying on top of him without a shirt on?" what am i supposed to tell them, "oh honey, youre not supposed to look at that, the ad is about pants"? even i dont believe that! i know kids ask questions, but when they start askin because of something they saw, be it in an ad, on tv, or the internet, at the ages of 5 and 7...im not sayin sex doesnt sell, because it does, but this is goin a bit overboard! please, someone remind me not to go to new york with my kids... ok, im sorry, but looking at the ad and the pictures again, if i were younger, this ad would probably tell me "hmmm, if i buy these jeans, ill get laid." kids dont need to see this, especally the younger ones...and i hate to break it to the company, but not everyone looks that good in your pants
Excelent campaign! you have to look the ck numbers this summer. Sex sells and that´s what it´s important to big fashion labels, the rest is irrelevant.
I wouldn't buy these jeans is the price was reduced by 80%. It's people and companies like this that have destroyed our world by implying that money and sex is all that matters. Suggesting that a threesome is ok is obsurd. Three boys and a topless girl? come on. This type of advertising should be against the law. If this were a real life situation what exactly do you think would happen, right, exactly what the picture implies and the OOPS! some young girl has a unwanted baby that the rest of us pay for.
I really like this article :D
Sorry, but again, What´s wrong with a Threesome?? Personally I found it very healthy and sexy, I´m 18 and I will buy this jeans in a NY minute!
And what exactly is the homosexual subtext? I don't see any of the guys making a move on each other, or even sending glances. This is NOTHING compared with the soft-porn of A&F.
Now I get it: these ads should be taken down so children won't ask questions.
It seems to me that the major point the writer of this article is trying to make is that society has the responsibility to educate its children. She's not saying that the billboard is okay and it has no effect, which is why some ignorant comments about how the image will turn 8 year old girls into prositutes is completely inappropriate. Why are people so afraid to talk to their kids anyway? Wouldn't you want them to learn the most important things in life from you and not a billboard, television or a magazine, not even to mention the crazy amount of inacurate information kids can find online. I see these kinds of things as an opportunity to bring up sensitive or taboo subjects instead of randomly picking a day to sit down and making it even more awkward. Sex is a part of life and no one should be uncomfortable with talking about it. To the person who mentioned that religion founded this country and things like this are a sin I say religion may have founded it hundreds of years...
....CONT'D
ago, but there are a diverse number of cultures now within this country that influence it so it cannot be expected that things would still be the same. If you'd like, you might be able to purchase a time traveling ticket online and go back to a time you may be more comfortable living in.
hmm...lucky girl!
just stopping by to tell you i read your article two days before anyone on the news mentioned it. you are way ahead of those chicks on the view! hahaha. i'm coming to you for current news now!
I agree parent's are responsible for teaching their children right from wrong. But every one young and old alike are influenced by the movie's, tv show's and ad's that are sexual. and little by little we show more and more. do more and more and soon it's the norm. It's not normal for foursome's if your a teenager or an adult.
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