When Marketing Crosses the Line: Calvin Klein

Recently, underwear brand Calvin Klein took to Instagram to post several images advertising its new campaign "I ___ in my #calvins." The image above is edited, as I didn't want to promote the offensive material found in the actual post. The unedited image on Calvin Klein's Instagram account includes an upskirt shot of the above model's CK underwear. The ad has sparked the outrage of thousands. Usually Calvin Klein's posts only receive about 100 comments, but this post is currently at 2,440.

An ongoing, heated debate has ensued social media over this post. With many protesting this image, a surprising amount are supporting it. The controversial ideas that come to mind are that of sexism, and prostitution. To those angered, the ad is making the model look like some sort of sex toy, and the upskirt angle only catches the attention of perverts.

Calvin Klein has gone all-in for the sex appeal in this ad. The upskirt shot gets the attention of a lot of men, but I'm not sure how this gets women to purchase the underwear. I can't think of many of my friends who would ever post an upskirt shot of themselves just to show off their Calvin Klein underwear. This ad could be trying to meet some women's need for attention. People will take notice if a person posts an image of themselves in their underwear, though I'm not sure if this would give that person a good reputation.

Aside form the obvious angle of the shot, the ad also utilizes subliminal persuasion with the filter and lighting that it uses. To some consumers, their aesthetic sensations may be satisfied by the light, gentle colors of the ad.

I personally am not too deeply enraged by this ad, but then again, I'm not the gender being portrayed. If Calvin Klein wants to continue a campaign that has upskirt shots of women, then I think that they have the right to do so. However, this doesn't mean that I support the ad. I love Calvin Klein's products, yet I don't think that they have to push the sex appeal so hard to sell their products. What this ad in particular boils down to, is those who are sex-negative vs. those who are sex-positive. I'm just interested to see how much farther CK will go in this sexual direction to sell its underwear, the publicity that will generate in response to it.