"The Parable of the Ring Around the Collar"

After looking through several magazines I found the advertisements for Calvin Klein Jeans to be the most unforgettable. I found several advertisements for Calvin Klein Jeans that all have the same motto, “sex sells.” The ads I viewed all showed girls and guys wearing nothing else but jeans. They were in positions that were excessively sexual and in very provocative poses. One of the advertisements had more than one couple in this position and a young man lying next to them. Why is Mr. Klein promoting this type of advertising as a way to sell jeans? How are these ads selling jeans? Are they trying to show that if you buy and wear Calvin Klein Jeans you will be young, good looking, and sexy. Why does it take skin to sell jeans?

I wanted to see more of Calvin Klein’s ads, so I viewed a web site that showed his advertisments for underwear, perfume, and jeans. I was surprised to read several negative comments posted after the ads. Several parents and young ladies commented on how they find these ads offensive and could not get over the fact that they appear in magazines that are read by many young people. I realized that young ladies and parents posted the comments, but there was no comments posted by young men! One father of two college aged girls said, “I am contemplating on dropping my daughter’s subscription if these type of ads continue to appear in this magazine.” He went on to say, “The ad encourages risky behavior. Teenage sex can lead to unwanted pregnancies, complications & tragedies. DO THE RIGHT THING AND REMOVE THE AD! Not worth is Mr. Klein.” I do not think that Mr. Klein will remove the ads because he knows that his ads do push the envelope when it comes to advertising with the use of children and young adults and see nothing wrong with this. I read about the history of his ads and was shocked to read that Mr. Klein’s ads have been known to have sexually evocative poses as a recurring theme, but the “must have” attitude of the consumer keeps the company profitable.

Why does the use of sex in advertisements sell the products, even though the product being sold does not have any connection to sex? The use of sexual imagery in advertising draws consumers in and has taught designers such as Calvin Klein that this type of imagery increased consumer interest and then their sales. As consumers we have the power to stop this use. If we do not buy these products, hopefully the designers will get the message. We need to teach designers and advertisers that they need to stop using sex to sell their products and display their products in an appropriate manner.