American Apparel Uses Adult Industry Pros for Authentic Sleazy Ads

Often described by journalists and bloggers—and rightfully so—as bordering on soft amateur pornography, American Apparel fully embraces the reputation with a new wave of ads that feature women from the adult industry as models.

American Apparel CEO, Dov Charney, must have figured that it’s best to use the professionals in the campaign. First of all, they can’t sue him for sleazing them up; secondly, it adds an authenticity to the ad.

This ad we’re featuring here has Canadian pornographic actress Lauren Phoenix wearing long socks with a copy that reads, “Safe to say she loves her socks.” The copy is a cheeky reference to her as an adult star and male organs.

Like it or not, the campaigns are working well when it comes to numbers. While most businesses are suffering, American Apparel reported a 3 percent sales gain in December alone, with a forecast of a 10 percent same-store sales gain for the full Q4.