8. February 2010
American Apparel are looking for the best bottom in the world. Have a look at the site here. Be warned that I had to sit through quite a lot of NSFW pics before the one above happened by.
It fits perfectly with the brand. American Apparel are 'vertically integrated' which means they do the design, own the factories and do the production, and they own the retail stores. They also make their own advertising and much of it is focussed around causing debate - they speak about the brand being 'telegraphed' from one customer to the next. Often controversial, the advertising work, it seems, is loved or loathed. Whilst it tends to show models (often commissioned in store) 'warts and all' - a real people, sort of vibe - they're all very thin and very young. It's a 'youth' brand, but we all know not all teenagers and twentysomethings would slip into a size 8.
Whatever the debate about the tactics, here is a campaign that has oodles of 'brand integrity'. They're known for underpants, and are searching for the best bottom in the world. They're know for using customers in their ads and here's your chance to star on teh interwebs with your own posterior posted up for all to rate. Unsurprisingly it seems to be a huge success. People love to rate things, and what's better than reviewing and rating bottoms?
It turns out to be much harder than you might think to get people to submit UGC. Perhaps people are less embarrassed to post their bottom than their face? As well as a sense of fun there's an anonymity about posting your bum, and a frisson of risquéness to enjoy. But this campaign talks directly to one aspect of UGC - fame seeking. We all like a bit of praise. Increasingly we all buy into the dream that we can be the next Bee Gees or Pamela Anderson or Brad Pitt. Or the next most famous bottom ever. That said, not many fellas have got their bums in gear for this, yet. And fame seeking is certainly not unique to the girls.
Overall we have some questions about this. We're not
sure who the campaign is aimed at, or how it's meant to spread
or 'telegraph', or if its having the desired effect among the desired
people. But one thing is certain, its innovative, brave and remarkable. And almost no-cost to try out. Brands like this are extremely good at iterating. They're fast to market with both products and ideas. And they're quick to iterate to find the ones that work. It's more than just a fashion thing, it's a lightness of foot that's geared for a 'social media' tempo.
It's worth reading up about American Apparel on Wikipedia. It's a great brand with a super story and a well defined philosophy.
We just did a straw poll and 17% of CMW bottoms are currently American Apparelled. A figure that's set to grow, apparently.
Bottoms up!