I'll keep that in mind.

ALL of our workers make at least $10 an hour and most start out at $14/hour.

That's why I wish these ads were illegal. I don't want the temptation around.

Anyone want to bet how many of the 'sex sells' and 'the human body is natural' prattling we'd here if Dov Charney sold all his products with soft-core peen shots?

@osiris73: If these were just celebrations of the human body blah blah blah, then there would be a few men in their underwear, striking poses on coffee tables. But American Apparel doesn't celebrate that kind of human body.

Baseline: Women are for sale. Men aren't. Fuck that.

@brandihendrix: If they're hiring that many illegal workers, you can be sure they're not paying them all legal minimum wage.

It's not 'art' or beautiful or in good taste. It's exploitative and just as close to porn as this company could get while still having the ads run.

I have an issue that American Apparel doesn't do it WELL. They don't discern between, say, practical clothing they have versus the non-practical clearly-intended-for-strutting-your-stuff "clothing." It comes off as trashy and somehow exploitative rather than artistic or well-done (I'm speaking as an artist and photographer here).

American Apparel sexualizes every single article of womens clothing, versus -showing you the clothing-. This ad, for example - [stylecrave.com] - I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE FIT OF THE UNDERWEAR IS. The only point of that photo is her ass. Which would be fine, but American Apparel doesn't call it what it is.

There's something else that bothers me too - look at American Apparel's mens section. Compare the photos from the mens underwear section with the womens underwear section.

Maybe it's just me, but there's a big discrepancy there.

If you're going to be sexual, DO IT RIGHT, DO IT HONESTLY, AND SEE IT THROUGH, DAMMIT.

(Hell, if nothing else, it's unfair to the ladies and gay guys out there who're looking for some steamy ads.)

I love my wife's body, it's one of the reasons I married her. I'm not against sex. But that's not the only reason I love my wife.

Porn has the effect of treating women as objects and not people. It rips apart families and causes unhealthy addictions.

Your statement about not being ashamed of the human body is stupid. Do you walk around naked in public? There is a proper time and place for exposing body parts, and advertisements aren't the place.

Hate what they stand for.

End result = window shopping

@halfcuban: Nice. I agree. I'd rather someone just look generally healthy, I guess. Nothing is more attractive than a man or woman who feels comfortable in their own skin, who might have more or less but who the frig cares.

The neurotic ones are party poopers.

And commentors need to stop being neurotic about weight issues. On one thread everyone piles on for people choosing to be fat, choosing to eat terrible food, and then when theres ad's of people being slim, everyone calls them anorexic. For God sakes the first photo shown on the site is of a girl whose 150 lbs. which no one would suggest is anorexic by any stretch of the imagination. So whats the ideal look for the Consumerist reader? The kind of dumpy, but not too dumpy girl and the guy with a slight paunch, but not too much? Jesus.

@Esquire99: F YEAH!! Just think about those girls in high school, blue balling every guy in sight... just, wrong.

@zonk7ate9: Lucky you. I didn't include the interwebs option because these were printed ads, and I wanted to compare the equivolent.

@MostlyHarmless: I don't mind growing older, but I ain't that far out of the loop YET!!

The nation's male youth runs to the bathroom with the Sunday paper?

Since when?

@brandihendrix: These types of stories require photographic evidence.

Honestly, what morons pay for porno anymore? Between free pic/video sites, your old sister (incestuous? .grin.) site fleshbot and bit torrent for any full length movies I want, I haven't paid for porno in the last two years except for the one time I rented one for a bacholer party limo bus.

If you pay regularly for porno you truly are one of the most pathetic people in the world.

At least now I know the right excuse "Baby! They're just American Apparel ads! It's not porn!"

I still don't know what I'll do if she notices the trannies.

Kind of reminds me of something that happened in Victoria's Secret a few years ago. I was trying on this barely-there little thing in the dressing room and I spin around to see...a HUGE poster in the dressing room of one of their models wearing the exact same thing, but so much better than me. It was a little disheartening and I wonder why they don't try and keep those things out of the dressing room.

I did not buy anything that day.

You guys are going to have to make that 51 sluttiest ads. With numerous outtakes.

...

As for the layoffs, I like how I.C.E. hit-up AA in downtown who actually pays a legal wage. How about hitting California's central valley and seeing how many of the field-hands are documented immigrants being paid a legal wage? I support targeting and fining businesses that hire illegal immigrants, but I would like to see the businesses that take advantage of those immigrants be targeted first.

Where's the journalistic integrity?

America needs to get the f#ck over it. It's such an embarrassment to be a member of a society that practically riots in the streets over a single tit barely-revealed for a couple seconds during a football game...or that complains about these ads. Or any ads. Or frankly, damn near anything having to do with body parts in general. Grow up.

Also, in a really lazy move, I halfassed my way through the original comment. (Imagine that, procrastinating at my procrastination.)

Anyways, it should have said something along the lines of "as a mom, you are now all mature and stuff, and therefore you have no idea how lame some of the not similarly enlightened folks can be."

I just cant find a way to say that succinctly AND make it sound funny-ish.

@MostlyHarmless: #1- How old you think I am?

#2- I'd rather buy my son a porno mag than this crap.

#3- If this is what my daughters aspire to become, put a bullet in my head. I'd rather they be a porn star themselves than this half assed attempt.

As far as the ads go, they are a business that is trying to sell their products, and business models have proved time and time again that sex sells. Do I wish it were that way? Not necessarily. I wish that advertising in general was a little less misogynistic, but I don't think we can lay blame solely on the company. They give the people what they want...and the people seem to want thinly veiled porn.

Whoever says "Sex sells anything"

IS DEAD WRONG. I'm ALL for a little sexy and presumptuous, but this is just a bit trashy in my mind. This is the reason why our nations male youth grab the Sunday paper and run into the bathroom... who needs playboy anymore?

Not cool, American Apparel. Just not cool.

Wow, those ads are well...damn, I am far from prude (I own a huge porn collection) but damn....that is like seriously soft core porn.