Blog Post #1

In this advertisement, we see an overly sexual use of imagery for a clothing brand, Abercrombie and Fitch. This advertisement shows that it is less about the clothing itself, but more about using sex appeal to draw in their consumers. The outdoor background is blurred out, while the man in front is in clear detail. Even though the company’s name, Abercrombie and Fitch, is displayed above, the man is covering half of the words, so it shows that the company itself is not even the main focus of the advertisement. This leads to the thought that Abercrombie and Fitch are more geared towards selling sex appeal, rather than promoting the style and quality of their products. Upon viewing this ad you will most likely be drawn towards the muscular torso of the man. Taking out the face of the man creates the idea that anybody could have a body like this. The company purposely does this so that men are lead to believe that wearing these jeans will make their body look like this or that they have to attain a muscular body in order to wear this brand. Not only are they trying to attract a certain demographic of people to their stores, but doing this means that they only want “muscular” or “fit” people to represent their clothing brand. It is apparent that in order to really wear this pair of jeans, you have to have this unrealistic body type. The audience, specifically younger people, will have an ill-advised mindset on sexuality. The semiotic tactics used here create a skewed image for younger people, and Abercrombie and Fitch promotes an overly sexual message, rather than just promoting their clothing.