SuperNews | May 16, 2008 | Comment on this video (61)

American Ap-perv-el: a funny video about the world of Dov Charney and American Apparel

SuperNews
Do you love Dov? Dov Charney is the man behind the company American Apparel, which he thinks represents the American Dream. But does it? SuperNews investigates the man, the company and the philosophy behind Dov Charney?
  1. groups:
    Entertainment,   Art and Style,   Comedy,   On Current TV,   11 more
  2. tags:
    Entertainment,  Not News,  Art and Style,  Comedy,  15 more
  3. credits:
    Super_Josh Producer, Super_Josh Starring, heliarc Editor, more
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61 comments // American Ap-perv-el // Video

  • Lynn_Nevins
    • 0
      Lynn_Nevins  

    • I wouldn't have SOOOO much of a problem with the ads, if AP showed an equal number of MEN in sexual poses. But no, it is grossly skewed. Almost ALL his images of women....er, girls. are sexual, and many are quite suggestive/graphic. Whereas most images of the boys are rather innocuous.

    • 2 years ago
  • Lydster
  • ny_nj_soulchild
  • benirose
  • mawkone
    • 0
      mawkone  

    • Niche marketing at its best. I wish you mention the perverse methods some companies use to gather their sea shells. accchh(sister company of af)hhhoooo
      Your perception of values, and debating on whether or not they are socially acceptable is something that should have left with Bush.

    • 3 years ago
  • geebz55
    • 0
      geebz55  

    • I always thought American Apparel was pretentious. I appreciate what there doing by not outsourcing but the concept besides that is bogus. Selling plain clothes at a ridiculous price (which I understand is part of not outsourcing). AA use to have classy, natural advertisements with REAL looking people, now it's just a bunch of bustier/skinnier "models". They really do look like hipster messes.

    • 3 years ago
  • samiam18
    • 0
      samiam18  

    • Although I have never been inside of an American Aparrel store, I fully expect it to look EXACTLY like this. Nicely done, Supernews!

    • 3 years ago
  • SnakeEyez
  • Superviewer
  • oddpanda
  • s0und0FF
  • helloimcat
  • Psychedelic
  • SnakeEyez
  • SnakeEyez
  • SnakeEyez
  • SnakeEyez
  • Psychedelic
  • ahtom
  • middle_east
  • holy_ten_42
  • eastvillageboy
    • 0
      eastvillageboy  

    • I think you'll find numerous US corporations that are considerably more exploitative, more profitable and more corrupt than AA.

      How about:
      Exxon
      Haliburton
      Monsanto
      Mc Donalds
      Starbucks........

      If you don't like Don, or AA advertising...which incidentally is approved by the Adverting standards authority don't buy their products. Go buy hanes or FOL and support poorly paid employees in developing economies whilst simultaneously filling the pockets of the self interested U.S fat cats that continue to expand the divide between the haves and have nots.

    • 4 years ago
  • MizPiz
  • steev
    • 0
      steev  

    • This is so great. I'm glad that Current is stepping up to help spread awareness of the creepiness and exploitativeness of American Apparel. I was hearing rumors for years and then when the Clamor magazine expose about AA came out a couple years ago that was the clincher. And since then their ads have just gotten more extreme and disturbing. I hope more hipsters, bands, and activists learn the truth about American Apparel and its sick founder, and stop using their shirts, thinking that they're being all cool and ethical when it couldn't be further from the truth.
      see
      http://clamormagazine.org/issues/38/aa/straub.php

    • 4 years ago
  • eastvillageboy
    • 0
      eastvillageboy  

    • Ok, so we've established that lots of people, like yourself think Don Charney is a pervert. So???

      And this is supposed to be 'Supernews'

      Embarassing, judgemental nonsense is what i call it

    • 4 years ago
  • saskia
  • average_joe
    • 0
      average_joe  
    • Image

    • Hey, I like boobies as much as the next guy, but this is really advertising for clothes?

      You've gotta admit it's a bit more sexual that it may need to be at times, and Dov Charney is clearly a sex-crazed nut. (He's been sued for sexual harrassment 4 times, and reporter Claudine Ko talked about how he masturbated and engaged in a sexual act with an American Apparel employee in front of her!)

      Anyway, the point is that the SuperNews guys are obvious not "religious fundamentalists" and are just poking fun at Dov and the fact that retailers use so much sex to sell clothes.

      You asked "Have the people behind this never opened a fashion publication, or been to a mall??" Umm, yes I'm sure they have, which is exactly why they though it would be funny to do an episode about this.

      I thought the episode was hilarious, entertaining, made valid points, and was in no way "DUL DULL DULL", as you put it.

      Just sayin'...

    • 4 years ago
  • eboknee
  • MizPiz
    • 0
      MizPiz  
    • average_joe:

      I'll give Dov one thing, he's at least straight forward with the sexual references. Unlike Hollister, A&F, and AE, who only hint at having sex with an underage girls/having sex with another guys.

    • 3 years ago
  • maffronti
    • 0
      maffronti  

    • ok eastvillageboy - I used to do business quite often with this company and have heard from several sources (employed and no longer employed with the company) that yes indeed Dov is a perv and he did have several relations withhis employees. . . there is nothing wring with the posters and ADs you are right, but it doesn't help his already pervy reputation.

    • 4 years ago
  • eastvillageboy
    • 0
      eastvillageboy  

    • i clearly watched this, my point is to quite obvious, but i'll try and spell it out to you Average Joe.

      What is the problem with a clothing brand using the allure of sex to sell its clothes? American Aparel is certainly not a pioneer of this tactic..As long as those featured in the ads are of age, and sign a consent form surely its OK?

      Yes Don Charney has been accused of sexual misconduct.....but this to my knowledge has not been proven. And although certain elements of America are keen to enact a legal system that is based on the principle of 'guilty until proven innocent' I am not one of them.

    • 4 years ago
  • christophsullivan
    • 0
      christophsullivan  
    • eastvillageboy:

      the problem with using the allure of sex to sell clothes is that 15 year old boys like me typically don't see that they aren't selling the shirts in the ads, they're selling the sex. When you say it out loud it sounds stupid, but you typically pay huge amounts of money for a shirt with pennies because of the status the ads have written. The 'popular people who are happy and having fun and always having sex with each other' are what's depicted in the ads. It just so happens that since they slapped on a specific illegitimate brand name on the shirts, they put a logo in the corner, and paste it into a magazine. They're not selling shirts in the ads, they're selling sex. Frankly, the people they use look like stoners.

    • 3 years ago
  • average_joe
  • eastvillageboy
    • 0
      eastvillageboy  

    • This is so dull, are we supposed to be shocked that the allure of sex is being used by a clothing brand to sell their products.....HELLO....WAKE UP... Have the people behind this never opened a fashion publication, or been to a mall?? Need i mention Calvin Klein??

      Or perhaps they are religious fundamentalists on some moral crusade to rid america of perviness, if so they should look closer to home and humor polygamists.

      If anything i do hope this production crew is carbon neutral, cos they are wasting energy and time.

      DUL DULL DULL

    • 4 years ago
  • TimmyG
    • 0
      TimmyG  
    • eastvillageboy:

      geeze EVboy stop being a total peice of shirt and acquire a sense of humor. Duh no kidding companies use sex to sell products. its only part why this clip is amazingly funny. if didnt live with your head in a tard you'd see that Dov is a perv and its damn funny to crack jokes about it. Once you can embrace humor instead of trying to correct everyone and everything you see you may wake up some day and find that this vid is pretty damn funny. If not why do you browse such a site just to get a mustache ride or what.

      If you don't like the vids which are incidently are approved by the First Admendment of the United States go to some other site and crap out your rhetoric diarrhea

    • 3 years ago
  • SnakeEyez
    • 0
      SnakeEyez  
    • eastvillageboy:

      Actually I think you kind of nailed it except for the religious fundamentalist. I think they are probably more kind of sexual hypocrites. I've been to both Abercrombie and Fitch and American Apparel. They both kind of have that youthful sexual undertone. While American Apparel advertising does resemble old style straightish pornography with teenager (which isn't necessarily immoral (18+) nor illegal A&F has been criticized for being kind of teenage gay porn (ditto). I am sure that I could find a lot more examples if I really wanted to. Of course since Dov had a bad write up in a defunct women's magazine he becomes public enemy #1. While definitely the greatest human being in the world Dov obviously isn't the worst.

    • 3 years ago
  • xenomode
    • 0
      xenomode  

    • That was 5 mins of my life that i'll never get back... i don't know much about Dov Charney but this was a pretty stupid parity either way. BooooRing.

    • 4 years ago
  • Greg_Bunker
  • maffronti
  • federicoharo
  • alexsimmons
  • paulisthefuture
  • clarity_kat
  • bonitaquetal
  • rambojesus
  • SnakeEyez
  • keeshii768
  • MizPiz
  • joebrilliant
  • regina
    • 0
      regina  

    • if i LOLed at this pod, does that mean i can't still buy various jersey products from this establishment? even if i only plan on using them for yoga?

    • 4 years ago
  • Dustball
  • Neghie
  • brad62
  • Humdrum
  • bakpa79
  • sustainablejohn
  • Dustball
  • helloimcat
    • 0
      helloimcat  
    • Dustball:

      Thanks for sharing this.
      At first I was really seduced by American Apparel and their No Sweatshop policy.
      But I am not ok buying my clothes from a sexist hustler that doesn't have a translator for his workers.

    • 3 years ago
  • saskia
  • lindsaytalbot
  • lindsaytalbot
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