Equinox Defends Their Controversial Ad Campaign Shot By Terry Richardson.

You may or many not have read the glut of recent articles highlighting the controversy over the "skinny" models in the latest ad campaign for Equinox Fitness Clubs shot by photographer Terry Richardson. According to Fashionista, Huff Post and plenty of other blogs, gym goers expressed disappointment in the 'thin' physiques displayed in the ads.


above: the exterior of the Equinox gym in Beverly Hills, California

The campaign was meant to illustrate the connection between fitness and fashion, but comments and criticism on Facebook and other sites allude to the fact that some might prefer fit and healthy looking models as opposed to runway thin models in the ads.



The gym chain has since responded, defending not only Richardson’s photos but their “deliberate” decision to run with them. Women’s Wear Daily reports that the chain disagrees with the mob of gym goers who stormed the Equinox Facebook page with comments demanding that the women featured in the ads look fit and healthy, instead of runway thin. Equinox’s executive creative director Bianca Kosoy told the paper:

“Our campaigns exist at the intersection between fitness and fashion; they are intended to be thought provoking and to generate discussion through their deliberate synthesis of personal motivation and high fashion photography.”

Frankly, the controversy regarding this continuation of the campaign shot for the chain of gyms by Terry Richardson is most likely more attention than the campaign warrants given that there's nothing extra interesting, compelling or memorable about the ad campaign.

Below are 12 ads shown from the campaign and the inside scoop behind 9 of the shots, straight from the set, from Executive Creative Director Bianca Kosoy.

Don't Let Them Eat Cake

"This obscenely expensive cake that we meticulously designed for this shot almost didn't make it. When the delivery guy showed up, someone directed him to Craft Services and it was about to get sliced for dessert. As you know, you can't have your cake and eat it too."

Shorts Story

"Believe it or not, this was one of the hardest shots to style, wardrobe-wise. We kept trying on different combinations of collegiate socks, ties, boxers and underwear to get the perfect blend of preppy and sexy. We wanted them to look hot, but not over the top. I mean, we are promoting higher education here."

Frankie Says Relax

"Terry's signature style inherently dials up the sex factor — each shot is like foreplay. The idea behind this shot was that the couple was recuperating after sex, so I had to keep reminding Terry that we were going for a 'post-coital' feel. He just started yelling, 'Post-coital! Post-coital!' with every pop of the flash! Everyone on set was cracking up."

Sunshine and Rain

"This was the first shot of the day, and it was raining and the weather was just supposed to get worse. We had tents set up and people holding umbrellas over us. The styling, props and location were so flawless and the models were having a blast, so the shot came together quickly. Let's just say we weren't going to let it rain on our parade."

Little Man on Campus

"Little Giuseppe was on set all day because we had to get all the outdoor shots done. He made the best of it flirting with the models and asking his mom if he could take a puppy home. Once he finally got on set he and Terry had this great banter about how much more time he had left. He was a total pro."

Searching High and Low

"The whole idea of the shoot was to create a real highbrow, secret society feel, but when it came down to finding most of the props, like the trophy in this shot, they ranged from actual museum pieces to random garage sale finds from upstate New York. It's the perfect intersection of highbrow and low art."

Puppy Love

"These French bulldog puppies had a bigger entourage than Terry: a breeder, a trainer and a handler. I couldn't believe how well-behaved they were. I actually almost went home with one, but I decided getting a new puppy in the middle of a campaign launch probably wasn't the best idea. Too bad. I was going to name him T-bone — in honor of Terry."

Happy Endings

"This was the wrap shot. It just instantly came together. The stylists and hair and makeup team were all done, and everyone sat on the grand staircase in the foyer enjoying the view and watching Terry do his thing. This is what I call a happy ending."

Earlier ads in the "By Equinox" campaign shot by Terry Richardson:




equinox
terry richardson

Menacing or Marketing? D&G's Controversial Ad

The ad that caused the controversy: Fantasy Gang Rape?


The ad they seem to be running instead


Below article reprinted from MSN NBC By Susanna Schrobsdorff, Newsweek

March 6, 2007 - The fashion design duo behind Dolce & Gabbana announced today that they are pulling a controversial print advertisement from publications worldwide following protests in Spain, and, egads, their home turf of Italy. The photo features a blank looking young woman in a bathing suit and high heels being pinned down by a glossy shirtless man while four other men look on.

Is the image glorifying gang rape or tapping into a sexual fantasy?
That may still be up for debate in some quarters. But Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women says the ad indisputably promotes violence against women and has put it at the top of their Web site's page of offensive advertisements. Meanwhile, Stefano Gabbana says that he regrets the way the ad was perceived and insists that he and his partner Domenico Dolce were not intending to demean women. He adds that the image is artistic and was meant to "recall an erotic dream, a sexual game."

Provocative images have been a staple for D&G, whose other ads have featured sexy scenes including one of a nude man lying down while several other clothed men look on seductively. Another ad, which was pulled last year from British publications, featured women brandishing knives. The most recent controversy broke out last month when the Spanish government demanded that D&G's "fantasy rape" ads be withdrawn. The country was coping with a wave of crimes against women at the time and public outrage was high. The designers complied, but said that Spain was "behind the times." That claim got harder to maintain on Friday when 13 Italian senators also demanded that the photo be taken out of circulation. On Tuesday, Stefano Gabbana said that they did not mean to "cause controversy," and were pulling the ads. But when is an onslaught of attention ever bad for a company looking to stay on fashion's leading edge?

We asked Kim Gandy at NOW in Washington and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy, about the ad and about that elusive line between sexy and exploitative. (Gabbana responded via e-mail.)


Above: Dolce & Gabbana

Excerpts:

STEFANO GABBANA

NEWSWEEK: Were you surprised at the criticism of your ads in Italy and Spain?
Stefano Gabbana: It was never our purpose to cause any controversy and instigate violence against women. From both human and emotional points of view, we certainly do not want to attack women, a sex for whom we have always declared our love, as the feminine market represents 60 percent of our worldwide sales. We are businessmen and the results that our company achieves demonstrate it.

How did you hope women would respond when they saw the ads?
In Italy, the image first came out Feb. 5, in the most famous and bestselling [Italian] newspaper ... at that time, there was no reaction. The effects did not arrive in Italy until after the poor Spanish reaction [to] the ad. We understand that in Spain there is a truly important social emergency as far as violence against women [is concerned], which is why we did not want to offend anyone, so we immediately withdrew the image from all Spanish press. We want to reaffirm that the image does not represent rape or violence, but if one had to give an interpretation of the picture, it could recall an erotic dream, a sexual game.
Women's groups say the ads promote violence against women. Is that an overreaction?
We respect other people's opinions, but we do not look at it in this way.

Can you talk about how you navigate the border between what's considered sexy and what's considered offensive?
Sexy and offensive are two concepts very far from each other. Sexy can become vulgar according to how the item is worn and interpreted. From our point of view, we like to enhance everything that is beautiful and sexy in a woman; but, never offending, demeaning or being vulgar. We have always been in love with women and our collections are dedicated to their beauty.
Has your agency ever shown you a campaign that you thought went too far?
We do not work with agencies; we personally develop the campaigns' concept with photographers and art directors. From our point of view, we do not feel that we've ever gone too far.

You've been in the business for 20 years and your advertisements have successfully pushed the envelope before. But a number of your campaigns this year have gotten some bad press. Is this the strongest, or most negative reaction you've ever gotten to your ads?
We are sorry that unfortunately other campaigns also weren't understood, but we want to reaffirm that we never had the intention of causing noise or controversy in any way.

One might expect these kinds of images to attract protests in America, which is considered a little more prudish about sex than Europe. Are you surprised at the complaints about the ads in your home country—a place which is not known to be repressed?
As we already said, the reaction blew up in Italy only after it did in Spain. When it came out in February nobody was appalled, the reaction arose after a while, following what had happened in Spain. We are shocked because we do not agree, but we respect other people's opinions and do pay attention to the frustrations the advertising has caused worldwide.

Will you pull the ads from Italian publications?
The image will not be used going forward worldwide. It will come out only in publications that we could not block, because of printing deadlines.

KIM GANDY

NEWSWEEK: Where is the line between an ad that is about a sexy fantasy and something that is offensive?

Kim Gandy: The line there is whether one considers rape to be a sexy fantasy. The Dolce & Gabbana ad was a stylized gang rape.

Were you surprised that the ad caused such a stir in Italy and Spain, but not when it ran in Esquire magazine here in the United States?
It surprises me a little bit because I thought almost anything could be in Italian and French ads to some extent. I guess this goes too far even for a society that has traditionally objectified women. It was interesting to me that the Italian senators who made this objection were both women and men and were from the ruling party and the minority party. It crossed gender and party lines.


Above: NOW's Kim Gandy says that modern girls are'bombarded with the message that women are there for sex and are available for sex at anytime'

Do ads like this successfully sell clothing to women?
I think they were trying to sell clothes to men with this one. The woman was wearing a kind of bathing suit, but presumably the men were wearing Dolce & Gabbana clothes. It was in Esquire [magazine] here in the States and the idea that even a stylized image of rape appeals to a broad readership of men is disturbing. Interestingly, in Italy it ran in some women's magazines, which may have been what generated the response there.

You've got a number of ads on your "Love Your Body" Web site that you've deemed offensive to women. Should they all be removed from circulation?
Some of those ads are just insulting and of course there's a difference between being insulting and portraying women as less than human—as people to be raped or assaulted. The bourbon ad that said "Your bourbon has a great body and fine character. I wish the same could be said for my girlfriend," is more insulting. I think that insulting various groups of people has become a lazy way of getting laughs or attention

Men are insulted a lot in ads too. Fathers and husbands are often portrayed as clueless. If everyone is being insulted can we pick out one ad or another for criticism?
The sexualization of girls is different. It has gotten extreme and that can't be good for our kids or our society. I don't want my two middle school daughters internalizing images which objectify women and I especially don't want their male friends internalizing them. They are bombarded with the message that women are there for sex and are available for sex at anytime. And as strong as parents try to be in educating our own kids and giving them good values, they get bombarded by messages from the outside for more hours per day than their parents have them.

Is advertising more demeaning to women today than it was 10 or 20 years ago?
Advertising is far more demeaning to women today than it was 20 years ago. In the 1970's and 1980's, we had a national project where you could send post cards to companies who used offensive advertising. It said that they were the recipient of a bad ad award. I'm sure if we looked back at some of the ads we were talking about then, they probably wouldn't even register as offensive now.

Dove has recently launched ads with nude older women as part of their "Real Beauty" campaign. Several big cosmetic companies are using older women like Christie Brinkley and Diane Keaton in their ads. Is there also concurrent trend toward ads that promote more realistic images of women?
In some ways yes. Thank goodness for the Dove campaign. Nike did something similar with the ads that show girls running and jumping and being athletic. And maybe cosmetic companies have finally figured out that women over 50 are using these products.

So the kind of nudity Dove is using is OK?
I'm not a great proponent of using naked women to sell products, but it's refreshing for a change at least to see a normal-looking woman who's not emaciated being used to sell products. The whole idea of airbrushing and elongating the necks and legs and enlarging eyes in advertisements is very dangerous. They are creating a standard of beauty that's impossible to reach. Even the models don't attain it. Yet this is what our daughters aspire to and what our sons are expecting. By these standards women and girls are always inadequate and they're always buying the next beauty treatment trying to catch up, trying to be something they can't ever be.
© 2007 Newsweek, Inc.

Double Standard?

Now what amazes me is the double standard here. Take a look at the two following Dolce & Gabbana ads that ran without any controversy. You're gonna tell me these don't imply gang rape as well?




So, what gives? You tell me....