An overly sexualised ad for on online men’s suit retailer is causing a stir, with some pundits predicting it’s a harbinger to the future of post-pandemic advertising.
The ad’s for online men’s fashion retailer Suitsupply and comes with the tagline “the new normal is coming” and features a host of rather attractive people – both straight and queer – seemingly crawling over each other and licking each other.
The Dutch-based retailer has a long history of using racy and hyper-sexualised imagery in its campaigns.
Now marketing and advertising commentators have latched on to the new work, arguing that during COVID the advertising message was “we’re all in this together”; however, post-pandemic it will become more decadent, self-important, a “we survived, let’s party” vibe.
Commenting on the controversial new work, Suitsupply’s latest work, the company’s CEO Fokke de Jong told Business Insider: “Post-pandemic life is on the horizon. Social distancing for extraordinarily long periods of time has conditioned us to fear proximity of others and that is perfectly justified. The campaign is simply a positive outlook on our future where people can get back to gathering and getting close.”
However, men’s fashion magazine Esquire went so far as to label the campaign “gross” and “jarring”.
“Honestly, there a lot of ways to read the images. Some are pretty positive, like de Jong says. Others delve into darker territory. But it wouldn’t be the internet if folks didn’t take this opportunity Tweet and meme the fuck out of it. And thank god for that,” Esquire’s style director Jonathon Evans wrote in an editorial.
Even the irrepressible Cindy Gallop was asked her opinion of the campaign and, judging by a tweet over night, she appeared to it give the thumbs up.
I think @suitsupply has a point 🙂 https://t.co/5TKXdLF3iP Will hit ’em up for a partnership with @makelovenotporn #realworldsex #socialsex #socialsexrevolution #sextech #makesuitsupplylovenotporn #suitsupply
— Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) March 4, 2021
Social media reaction to the campaign was mixed, with many lauding it for being daring and provocative given the global pandemic of the past 12 months. While others suggested it was just more of Suitsupply’s long history of using sexy imagery to flog its suits to young, impressionable men.
Check out some of the better reactions below:
We’re going to start seeing ad campaigns for a post-vaccine world. Suit Supply just sent this out under the heading, “The New Normal is Coming.”
Too soon? Not soon enough? Thoughts? (And let’s keep it clean, folks.) pic.twitter.com/rHuA9iZ42x
— Andrew Ross Sorkin (@andrewrsorkin) March 4, 2021
I did not know about the Suitsupply company this morning and I wish I still didn’t know about the Suitsupply company this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/eDZvx5IZRx
— CaroLent Sc😷field (@NewsCarolyn) March 4, 2021
I thought the fucking suitsupply ad would be the worst thing I’d see today. https://t.co/jFnarlLsgS
— Gal Dagon #EndSARS (@gal_dagon) March 4, 2021
ppl are mad at this ad, but this looks like one of the healthier ways to show sexual imagery in fashion, an industry that often uses sex to sell clothes (e.g. tom ford, ck, susu). previous uses look non-consensual, but this looks consensual and even has gay couples in the corner? https://t.co/2z9HTWvacS
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) March 4, 2021
ppl are mad at this ad, but this looks like one of the healthier ways to show sexual imagery in fashion, an industry that often uses sex to sell clothes (e.g. tom ford, ck, susu). previous uses look non-consensual, but this looks consensual and even has gay couples in the corner? https://t.co/2z9HTWvacS
— derek guy (@dieworkwear) March 4, 2021
Welp looks like a buncha folks are about to learn about Suitsupply’s history of horny problematic ad campaigns https://t.co/DDFKV6pToO
— cbr™️ (@cbenjaminrucker) March 4, 2021
