The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2009–2014
American Apparel had ads banned by UK regulators at least six times in three years
The UK's ASA banned American Apparel ads six times in three years for sexualizing young-looking models, including a 2014 campaign normalizing predation.
American Apparel · 2014-09
What happened
American Apparel's advertising leaned on sexualized imagery as a brand signature for years. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority banned its ads repeatedly: a 2012 press ad for 'inappropriately sexualising young women,' a December 2012 ad where a model 'appeared to be a child,' and a 2013 ad ruled 'gratuitous' for depicting models as vulnerable.
The pattern culminated in September 2014, when the ASA banned a 'Back to School' campaign showing a model in an up-skirt-style pose, ruling the ad risked normalizing predatory sexual behavior toward school-age girls. It was at least the sixth American Apparel ad banned in roughly 30 months.
American Apparel kept running similar campaigns despite the repeated rulings, treating each ban as a cost of the brand's identity rather than a signal to change course — the same advertising style that had built the brand's edge became a recurring regulatory liability.
Why it happened
- The brand's sexualized advertising style was treated as non-negotiable even as the same regulator kept banning it.
- No internal review process changed after each ASA ruling, so the same category of ad kept reappearing.
- Imagery that made models look underage crossed a line regulators enforce specifically because it cannot be waved off as edgy branding.
The lesson
A brand identity built on pushing a regulatory line does not get safer with repetition — a regulator that bans the same category of ad six times is not going to stop at six.
Aftermath
The ASA rulings became a recurring embarrassment layered on top of American Apparel's separate governance crisis and eventual bankruptcy. The company's advertising is now cited in marketing courses as a case study in how disregarding repeated regulatory findings compounds rather than dilutes reputational damage.
Sources
- The Guardian — American Apparel adverts banned for 'sexualising school-age girls'
- BBC News — Semi-nude model 'looked under 16'
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