Police seized photos from an Abercrombie & Fitch store in a Virginia mall over the weekend, citing obscenity.
Adam Bernstein, a police spokesman, said the seizure and the issuance of the summons came only after store management had not heeded warnings to remove the images.
Bernstein confirmed that one depicts three shirtless young men from the back, walking through a field. The man in the lead appears to be about to pull up his jeans, which have slipped down enough to reveal his upper buttocks.
The seizure was “prompted by several customer complaints, and the management of Abercrombie & Fitch was notified of those complaints.”
Our thoughts? Did A&F go too far to sell sex as part of their advertising campaign?
37 Comments
Are you kidding me? It is because they are men! Everytime I turn on the television, open a magazine, or drive by a bill board all I see is half naked women. This is obscene? Yah sure….. Just like in movies how they never show a naked man but there are boobies flying around everywhere. It is just another example of sexism yet again.
The cops wanted it gone because it probably made them horny.
considering a&f catalogs come wrapped in paper and are considered porn to the gay market - yes, they did.
oh. so sex. I have saw the photo at millionairefriends.com. Many people are discussing it there.
I don’t think it’s sexism… It just shows how embarrassingly prude the US are.
GOOD for them. I think both Abercrombie and Fitch and Victoria’s Secret are way out of line. I gagged when I walked by that store in the mall. It reeks of cheap car salesman cologne….haaaaak. Victoria’s Secret in my mall has 10ft tall posters on the windows of their “Angels” all whored out with belly piercings and body glitter. I try and not go by there with my young daughters. My oldest one who is seven asked “what store is that?!” I told her it’s called Victoria’s Secret but as you can see she has put her secret on display for the whole world. I personally think they need to keep the hooker shots on the INSIDE of the store. It’s a mall for crying out loud, there are children there. Naked women in body glitter does not send a good message to the young girls of America.
I was in A&F and heard a little girl ask her Mom….Why are all their pictures naked if they are trying to sell clothes?
*prudISH, sorry
Americans are so conservative, this shot would be on billboards in europe! probably without any complaints.
And anonymous, I can’t stand people like you.
You gotta understand that young girls do not act in a certain way because of ads/media/blahblahblah, but just cause they’re stupid in the first place. They’ve got a brain, so if they’re not able to take decisions by themselves, they’re just plain retarded.
^If having repect for women and myself included makes me a prude then so be it. Maybe it is that Europeans are whorish. Ouch!
I agree with you M2C 7:46am. Half naked Kate Moss meandering around Mark Walberg in his underwear for Calvin Klein didn’t garner this much attention. She had no freaking top on and only covered her tits with her arms! Get a grip assholes!!
I actually thought it was quite a beauitful and artistic shot.I agree with my2cents, its ok to whore out women but not show abit of male bum cleavage.They are all adults in the photo whats the problem?is it because it m,ight have a hint of homosexuality to it?
And OhPlease! it would so be accepted in europe.I never new america was so prudish.
^^^^^opps…Knew.i should start reading it through before i post.
I WISH I KNEW WHERE THAT FIELD WAS! HAHAHA OK SERIOUSLY I THINK THAT ADD IS NOT OBSCENE LIKE EVERYONE IS MAKING IT OUT TO BE, I LIKE IT AND I THINK MOST OF AMERICA WONT SEE IT AS A PROBLEM~ WHAT ABOUT ALL THE PETA ADDS WITH CELEBS COMPLETLY NAKED? THIS IS JUST ANOTHER DOUBLE STANDARD AND WHAT A WASTE OF POLICE EFFORT IN VIRGINA.
Makes me wonder if that was a shot for Victoria Secret and featured women if there would be an outcry. Maybe it upset people cause it is all males and they are homophobic.
I think it is trashy and disgusting. A&F sells to pre-teens and teens so this type of marketing is aimed at children. What happened to protecting our children? It is no wonder all of Hollywood is knocked up and proud of it. The message is getting to our kids-sex will make you cool. Can’t wait to see how bad the next generation will be. Say what you want about me but think about the children for just a minute. Please!
IS it a childrens store?do they do adult clothing?I thought they did! I dunno im not american!
Americans are such prudes. Showing violence on tv and gore on the 6 o’clock news is ok, but showing a bit of butt cleavage and women in underwear is not?? WTF! Are Americans ashamed of the human body?? Do they love to promote violence? Is it ok to show THAT to your children??
I agree with the comment made by my2cents 7:46, as well as the consensus that they objected to the ad because of hints at homosexuality (which of course would offend the homophobes– looking at a picture might turn you gay, oh no!). There would not be such a big fuss if it was half-naked women. As to sex in advertising in general– I agree that these stores need to re-think who they’re targeting their products to, as well as re-considering putting their more sexy ads INSIDE of the store.
^Poster #20 was not me… although I agree with the first part of your post (with regards to my2cent and the homophobic thing). However, I have to agree with MBS in that– if people find offense in sex in advertising, why not with gore and violence on tv? We’ve gotten to a point where films and games whose storylines consist entirely of torturing its protagonists is considered acceptable entertainment. There have been studies linking television-watching (and its subject matter) to increased aggression in individuals. But no, lets instead focus on the audacity of showing a hint of butt cleavage. And hell, I’m just happy that in this case the tables have turned and it is the men who are instead being (slightly) shown as sexual objects (I mean, come on– lets not limit it to the ladies!).
Puhleeze. I would, personally, NEVER EVER shop in AF (due to their very obvious racist hiring and marketing practices), but in their defense, I just don’t understand what the hullabaloo is all about. As many near nips and exposed butts I’ve seen in some campaigns featuring female models, this AF ad is completely tame and not even worth mentioning. If I had to throw a “Jane” theory out there, I’d deduce that some (probably) very insecure, and perhaps even homophobic men (and maybe a few conservative hag-chicks with no lives) had a problem with it. I’ve seen simulated sex, a woman attempting to piss in a guy’s mouth, pseudo-celebs eating sushi off Adrienne Curry’s formerly flat breast while she sat on a table completely naked and even Denis Franz’ naked ass (~shudder~) - all on network TV, but a tiny peek at someone’s very well-toned butt crack inside a store is a problem? Yeah, something about this just wreaks of ignorance!!
I agree with JaneSays completely. I will never shop there and I hate everything about A&F but this is a First Amendment issue and what A&F shows is so tame given what else is out there.
Its about time something is being done about this out-landish form of behavior , all this gay stuff has got to go!!!1!!
it’s because of things like these that I feel extremely grateful to be European. Geez. What is this, the 30’s??
Here in Sweden we used to have a beer comersial on the TV showing naked med jumping of a jetty into the beautiful ocean. There was never any talk about sex in relation to this commersial because everybody can relate to skinny dipping with your friends. It is all about Swedish summer and experiencing nature with all your senses. And pepping at each other naked of course, that’s why it’s so nice…
I think this photo is a little bit the same. I see one woman and three men running towards an open place, perhaps the ocean. It is really hot and the guys are not wearing any underwear. It will be wonderful for them when they reach the water, and I would very much like to be there too!
(Did you know that in some public indoor baths here in Sweden it is allowed for women to swim topless, as a result of feminist wishes to see female breasts as “neutral” instead of sexual objects. Of course breasts are sexual objects to a lot of people, but they should not be treated as such in the law, male breasts are not!)
what? i don’t find anything about the above shot offensive. it’s very tame compared to pictures of women. so breast cleavage is ok but men’s butt cleavage is not?
mom…as a former A&F employee i can tell you that they are not marketing towards teens and preteens. the breakdown of a&f and their affiliate stores go as follows. Hollister - for high schoolers, A&F - college aged kids, Ruehl (which most people havent heard of) - for college graduates.
on another note, i met my best friend working there, and she is black.
that being said, i see absolutely NOTHING wrong with that ad. its like 1 in (maybe!) of butt crack. i see more of that daily when people bend over to pick things up. i also dont see the hint of homosexuality in this picture either. is it considered gay just because they are men and not women? a few years ago the poster in the entrance was 3 guys in jeans, no shirts, from the shoulders down. it ended up being the “wallpaper” on one of the walls in my apartment for over a year.
i think most of you need to just calm down, you are the part of the reason america is so screwed up. sex and sexuality should not be a taboo subject. thats part of what makes girls so self conscious and hating their bodies. eating disorders anyone? they are taught their whole lives that sex is bad and nudity is bad. of course they are going to hate their bodies.
i slightly agree with Ouch! its NOT the media that messes childrens brains up, its the lack of parenting. any child that is taught right from wrong, decent from indecent, and is trusted to make the right decision, usually will. i know my siblings and i do. hiding things makes them even more appealing. its a proven fact.
anna-i did not know that, the swedes are really cool!!!
I love the US, but I hate how we have such stupid prude and over conservative people living here. It makes me so embarrassed to be american!
These images are what make A&F what it is and different from the others! Only an idiot would go into the store and be outraged. Stick to shopping at Walmart you prude Christian hicks!
Yeah, bring on the nekkid men! Turnabout is fair play.
if it was a woman showing her cooch no one would say anything. thats a fact.
I’m sorry but how is there anything wrong with this! The photo is hot and there are guys walking around the mall with their jeans lower than this, although their bodies aren’t as hot a lot of the time unfortunately haha. Seriously lingerie stores are worse…have a lot at some of the posters in Agent Provocateur! And A&F target teenagers who I’m sure have seen a butt crack or two in their life. People need to chill out.
I believe most people don’t have a problem with it until they have young children - then it becomes offensive not because they are prudish but because it simply doesn’t belong in a family environment.
Sorry, 6:00 p.m. not Stephi but Brandi ^
Sure, maybe it doesn’t belong in a family enviroment, but I fail to see how this could be worse than tonnes of ads with naked women.
Ouch, it’s called “marketing” and it influences. There are a million things that influence kids and yes if they have a strong family unit they will do fine. I feel big company’s need to be more socially responsible to what is plopped out in everyone’s faces. Just like marketing cigarettes to kids with a cartoon called “camel joe,” (get them hooked while they are young and impressionable). But hey, if a guy wants to show his ass off that’s fine with me, we just don’t need to see it on a 10ft tall poster next to the toy store. Save me the sex talk till they are at least teens.