September 4, 2007
Seen on the Corner of Allen and Houston, Take Two
If you like butts and you cannot lie, Allen and Houston might be the place for you. Then again, maybe the butt and legs pictured in American Apparel's new billboard aren't your cup of tea. Astute readers (or LES residents) may remember the "beaver shot" that previously adorned the corner.
Some neighbors are actually fed up. Reader Jessi tells us, "Many of us on the Lower East Side and East Village are very opposed and irritated to put it mildly, that we have to stare at this new 50 foot billboard every morning and night...This billboard is too much damn much Many of us have emailed them, and have been told they will discuss it. But enough is enough."
So, what's more offensive/eye catching/brilliant/sexy, the "beaver shot" with the thigh-highs or this image that doesn't even mention a product. Up next, we expect a totally nude picture of an American Apparel model fellating Dov Charney in the space.
After the jump, there's a tighter crop of the advertisement in question.
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hot! we need more ads like these. fuck the prudes.
"that we have to stare at this new 50 foot billboard every morning and night."
I don't understand. If they don't like it ... why do they stare at it all day long????
I'm sorry, is there a zoning rule regarding side boobage on outdoor signage?
Not that I'm defending American Apparel. Their models make me want to throw up... and not so I can look like them.
If shit like that offends you, maybe you should move to Tulsa.
So these are the new voices of the LES? Corporate billboards and prudes? I'll take any of the old versions of the neighborhood please, complete with crack addicts and knishes, thanks.
Allen Houston was a great shooter, but it's really sad what happened to his knees.
Maybe they should draw a little smiley face on the woman's buttocks. That's what got the Times Square ad taken down.
I used to buy their clothes because they were (supposedly) sweatshop free. Now I feel embarrassed to be seen wearing their garments.
my kitchen window view is so much better since moving away from that horrible intersection. it's so obnoxious to impose shit like that on everyone, especially in such a one-way manner, out of the reach of spraypaint and stickers and moustache-drawing black markers.
i would love to see their ads feature ordinary folks wearing fallen-apart, shrunken american apparel clothes (which happens after 2 months of washing at any nyc laundromat).
Much as I hate oversized billboards and advertising as a whole, I think I'd still take them any day over whining prudes.
LOL, I love how the US is basically a country of prudes.
If it was a huge billboard of a guy holding a gun, nobody would bat an eyelash. But suddenly its someone's behind and they are gathering their torches.
Tacky, yeah. Big deal, no. Im probably more offended at the exploitation aspect then the while nudity aspect.
Its nothign about beign a prude. I am personaly tired of useless products putting titilation in front of me constantly. I know most of you enjoy the US Culture of Masturbation but frankly I'm sick of it. I'm tired of women's genitals being used to try and sell me useless product. The unwanted subtext of this image are that American Apparel products are ASS!
Itsn ot about being a rude. Its because I am a healthy adult ad am just sick of corprates trying to sell me useless products based on some titilation factor. You may like the American Culture of Masturbation but I outgrew that as soon as I left home. The subtext of this photo is that American apparel is ASS.
I don't know what's more pathetic... marketers using sex to sell, or us falling for it...
So, what's more offensive/eye catching/brilliant/sexy, the "beaver shot" with the thigh-highs or this image that doesn't even mention a product. Up next, we expect a totally nude picture of an American Apparel model fellating Dov Charney in the space.
HAHAHA. well you know, any given model involved in any of AA's ad campaigns probably HAS blown Dov Charney. what a disgusting little troll he is. and AA clothing is complete CRAP! who cares about vertically integrated sweatshop free labor when the shit is constructed so poorly?
I would think the complaint would be a billboard only 20 ft above street level is lit up 24 hours a day.
I think #12 was a better version than #13, but it's cool to see the revisions; gives more insight into the creative process.
Thank God it's almost tights weather again.
I have a couple of their t-shirts; I wear them frequently, wash them frequently, and they've lasted over a year now. They're okay.
The ads do what most ads in the world do; use an attractive person to target a certain audience. I probably wouldn't want to go on a road trip or to a museum with any of the models, but I probably won't ever have to, so I'm happy to look at them instead. And I don't begrudge them their .05 seconds of fame.
Lighten up.
the topless women in the calvin klein ads a couple of blocks away are nearly the same, so i hope that the junior ashcroft brigade doesn't overlook those in their haste to reach a detente with AA.
I'd prefer to look at the ass of a girl who eats more than celery and ice myself but I'm not offended.
18) I know. Is it knee length or minis for the fall?
It's no holy rebbe:
http://gawker.com/news/woody-on-allen/american-apparel-wants-the-jewish-dollar-260664.php
me likey..
y'all are retated, the guy is fair to his workers, on a larger scale than has been done in years in this industry. So he takes the pics himself, and lights it like s---, and it ends up looking like 70's porn, get over it. Any CK or any underwear ad has the same content, but with lots of money can be made more subliminal and acceptable. give the guy a break.
tear it down!!!
throw some corrosive on the whole damn thing!
take it into your own hands and fight back if you don't like it!
Why do people wait around for corporations or the Cops to fix things?
RIP THE SHIT DOWN YO!!!!
You call that a booty? Shot by little white guys, no doubt... hehe. BTW this is the LOWER East Side, right? Since when do these people have any say in ANYTHING? LOL
Yes, no one cares what hipsters and ghetto mamas think! LOL
To guest who says take it down. If we do, we get thrown in jail, while whats-his-name gets to sit back with his 100million dollars from the sale.
and re: this is the Lower east side, right? that's righ, we don't have a say in our own neighborhood. Money grubbing millionaires like American Apparel can do whatever they want here, no matter what we want. Kinda bullshit
More pathetic is the losers that fall for it. Everything looks like crap in there.
Jesus, what a bunch of whiny assholes. I just wish it was a hot, yummy, scruffy boy leaning over in undies. Dov? Equal opp, please?
who cares, it's just a covered ass. this is 4 blocks from my house and i didn't even notice it til i saw it on gothamist.
more importantly, where are all the striking taxis gonna park when they fill up the street on 1st st near the taxi food joints. will there be food specials?!
#[27] you need some "Me time" . To all whom don't like the Billboard don't look at it ! Personally, I see nothing wrong with it, It's just a woman's ass ! Geez, You all make it seem like she's "Buck naked riding a horse, Eating a hamburger" OR something ! Get a life people ! Posted by; "Still Not Amused"
There's bigger things in the world to get upset about.
it is a REALLY nice butt. i applaud american apparel for their good taste in derrierres.
"those of us on the LES and East Village are very opposed and irritated..."
So move the FUCK back to the midwest. I've had enough of your stupid Iowa/Ohio/Illinois/Utah accents already. You cunts won't be happy until NYC is all Cheescake Factories and American Eagles. You don't like it? Go back to Main Street USA.
[11] wrote:
I'd guess action movie billboards sometimes feature that and nobody complains.I wish I had one of those (billboards) hanging outside my window... More AA billboards!!
Bravo #37. I agree completely. NY for NYers!!!! I absolutely hate douchebags who move here and then want to change the place. Go away!
And BTW, bravo as well to American Apparel for putting hot chicks in ads. I love hot chicks.
I personally feel that the female body is a beautiful thing to behold. I do not find it tacky or perverted at all. What is with you people? Lighten up and learn to enjoy the little things in life! If you are that offended then don’t look!! Pretty simple.
i think #6 has the best comment here.
Agree with #11. This distinct brand of American prudishness is the reason the rest of the world hats us. We are so quick to push all sorts of gory imagery, but if you show a half-naked hottie everyone gets so indignant. Cut the hypocrisy already or just move back to Utah and enjoy your religious beliefs far from here.
Dear #41 and many of you,
I agree "the female body is a beautiful thing to behold." But I don't agree that American Apparel, or Calvin Klein, or whoever, should try and sell me products based on a disembodied ass on a giant billboard.
I mean, shouldn't we find this sort of offensive? I’m not annoyed by it because it’s sexual, I’m annoyed because it’s using a faceless woman’s body to try to sell some lifestyle or aura I’m supposed to associate with clothes.
Give me nudity or sex or sexuality any day, but don’t associate all of those things with the products you’re peddling. We’re so used to this strategy in this country that we don’t even see it as problematic anymore.
And #43 - the world hates us because we don't like sex?? Are you kidding? We are inundated with images of sexuality all the time, selling every product imaginable. I don't like when images of nudity or sex are censored because people don't like it; if it's crap like the ad above, I think it's perfectly reasonable people don't want to look at it.
I like the ass better than the beaver shot. Other votes?
-ev denizen
#44:
I think you're missing the point. The reason people buy American Apparel is so that they will look sexy in them. Showing a photo of how a body looks in their clothing is exactly how one sells that idea. It couldn't be more practical or accurate.
If you want to criticize Campari for implying that Selma Hayek's astounding boobs have anything to do with the crisp refreshing taste of Campari, you're on much firmer ground.
You may not like the fact that many--to-most human beings look at each other and see body parts they either do or do not find attractive, but it will never stop them from doing it, no matter who you blame.
#25 Treat their workrrs fairly?
You might want to do a bit a research. The owner is/was being sued by a bunch of former employees for sexual harassment.
I'm female and I love porn. LOVE IT. Seriously. I still hate this fucking billboard.
Here's why:
American Apparel promotes itself as innovative and socially progressive, yet engages in unfair labor practices and masks it behind a goody-two-shoes public persona.
It makes full use of tired, sexist tits-and-ass marketing, but AGAIN - tries to make off like it's being innovative and different than the pack.
You want to show skinny models and beautiful people? Fine. Have fun!
Just don't assume I'm so stupid that I don't know exactly what you're doing.
#44 you're NOT on firmer ground. Campari is what it is and makes no bones about it.
They don't try to front or put on false airs like American Apparel.
Do some reading. I think you'll be surprised what you find.
I support AA, before them, hipsters could not get any employment elsewhere besides coffee shops.
I am the farthest thing from a prude, and those ad's make me throw up, those chicks are nasty!
Give me a break. This is NOTHING NEW in Manhattan, for F*&$sakes.
When I lived there back in 1997, there was a huge Calvin Klein ad of that long-haired Travis dude in his tighty whiteys encompassing the ENTIRE side of a building on the corner of Broadway/Houston. People who lived in the building complained that their window was contained in someone's 50-foot peter.
New York has been the advertising capital for decades...hello, Madison Avenue. To somehow think you are going to be immune from its influence while you have purposely CHOSEN to live in the city (as opposed to the outer burroughs) is absurd.
I'm so glad so many people are agreeing and seeing how distasteful it is. It's ridiculous.
Oh, and 51: some of us were born here. Didn't just live here for a couple of years like yourself. It's not your home.
I believe that Campari is what it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not something you wear to make your body look good, which is what american apparel is, which is why their ads should and do focus on how the body looks wearing the product.
That's why the campari ad is more inappropriately sexual, in my opinion, although it doesn't bother me in the slightest. I like the way she looks.
Not that anyone's still listening.
Hello?
...Sigh...
Then #52, I hope you wrote Calvin Klein as snotty of a diatribe back in the day. Or is an attractive "beefy" man in his underwear somehow less offensive than a girl in some tights?
Unless you are about 100 years old, even if you were born on the LES, you have seen advertising of a GRAND SCALE on the streets of NYC for ages. It's not a new paradigm.
According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, in fact, the outdoor billboard originated as a large "poster" (more than 50 square feet) in New York by Jared Bell when he printed posters for the circus in 1835. In the mid 1920's, the New York Outdoor Advertising Company was listed on the NYSE (the industry had become large enough to be recognized by the banking industry).
You cannot live in a city and expect to remain billboard-free. Unfortunately, this means you have to take the good with the bad, the silly with the unique and yes, the asses with the faces.
Some corporation is using porn to market cheap clothing, and people think it represents wild, free, dangerous old-school NY.
Wrong. Its a corporation. Filling your neighborhood with porn. So they can make money.
Will they keep doing it? Depends on whether ya'all be buying it. Your choice.
- LBNG