Calvin Klein has proven to persuasively influence the consumer culture.
This means that "persuasiveness is used throughout academia as an index of advertising's power
to stimulate demand, to manipulate behavior and to manufacture meaning" (McFall 35). Not only does
advertisement deal with visual images that carry meaning that then influence a culture, but then
that image can have a way of persuading the consumer into a certain meaning that not only
influences the consumer culture but can manipulate any behavior or meaning the manufacturer
chooses. Jib Fowles says that "advertising aims at changing behavior, where as the function of
popular culture is not one of change but one of maintenance" (Fowles 13). So has Calvin Klein
changed or helped shift popular culture? From the interview the subjects discussed how just by
looking at cK ads you could see the shift from a simpler, conservative feel to a much more
"sex sells" subject (Interview 11). Because of this it could be said that cK has helped to shift
popular culture into a more sexually centered culture, but one can't say that it has changed it
because there still exist ads that don't focus on sexual content or nudity. In the interview the
group discussed how Figure 9 was "sexy in a simple way"(Interview 9). Subjects A and B described
how even though it's a half dressed woman she is wearing underwear that covers the important parts
so she's being sexy just in her attitude the her heels without showing off her body entirely
(Interview 9). Subject B describes how "black heels are sexy simply because you know when a woman
is wearing black heels she means business and it's sexy" (Interview 9). In the interview they also
discussed how this image is completely different from that of Figures 6a and b. They talked about
how Figure 6a is less sex oriented as Figure 6b because the woman in 6a seems "uncomfortable" to
take off her clothes, while 6b is standing with her legs open and the logo is emphasizing her
crotch (Interview 7). This proves how there are ways that underwear can be advertised without
degrading a woman or making her the object of a man's sexual desire.
However, because nudity and sex are being used more and more
the "norm" is being redefined to include this phenomenon of nudity and sex. Once this
redirecting of what is the new "norm" has taken place, advertisements like that of cK will not
be seen as controversial but instead as just another way to sell a product. It is already obvious
that the boundaries are being pushed for what is acceptable and what is not. Tom Ford, a brand
that is compared with Calvin Klein for the rebellious attitude towards advertisements has already
produced advertisements that go beyond that of anything cK has ever published. Tom Ford has slowly
introduced popular culture to the idea of complete nudity in advertisement. While the US has not
fully accepted this type of advertisement, Europe has published many of his banned ads and because
of the commotion that the brand has caused; their intention of getting their new brand known
is quickly catching on. This in itself is just another example of how persuasive imagery within
the visual image setting can not only prove to give a meaning to an advertisement but can also
aid in attracting the consumer culture to buy the product-which is ultimately what everything will
always revolve around.
