MARKETING

CAMPAIGN

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AMERICAN

APPAREL 

x MARSHALL

CRENSHAW

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Group Project

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Idea Generation

Visual 

Visual Thinking

In a team of three, we were briefed to create a concept and produce imagery and campaign material for American Apparel, inspired by the album cover of Marshall Crenshaw.  After deconstructing components of the album cover and American Apparel, we looked at the similarities between the two to see how we could interpret the album cover to create an advert that appeals to the American Apparel consumer. The main connection we made between the two is the attitudes of the youth generation in the 1980s and today. As the baby boomers were growing up they were dubbed as the “Me” generation with, ‘self-realisation’ and ‘self-fulfillment’ being cultural aspirations. This was reflected in the rise of teen films by John Hughes which signified their new found importance. This links to the album cover with Marshall Crenshaw exhibiting a self-important attitude by the way he is wearing a suit and sunglasses in a café.

 

Cause a scene’, the name of the campaign and the main copy on the advert is taken from the lyric ‘And she means to cause a scene’ from Marshell Crenshaw’s song, She Can’t Dance.  The copy relates to the narcissistic youth culture and ‘selfie’ generation of today, suggesting a new way they can ‘cause a scene’ and standout against their peers whilst fitting in with American Apparel’s usual short and snappy taglines.