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Ranked Number One Worst Ad of 1991:
"The characters in Klein's ads live in a world of erotic obsession
and pathetic illusion. Calvin's idea of a rock musician is a mincing model
on a Harley-Davidson; sensuality is a statuesque nude male in the shower
with a pair of jeans draped over his crotch. In the October Vanity Fair,
Klein took a step over the line with a sleazily erotic 116-page magazine
insert for his jeans. What difference does it make which brand they are
if you never have them on?"
--"Best of 1991 Advertising...And
the Worst", Time, 1/6/92
"...a steamy, 116-page ad in last October's trendy Vanity
Fair magazine did not increase sales of Calvin Klein jeans...Unfortunately,
when a cutting-edge guy like Calvin Klein gets so out of touch, it's usually
time to write his 11th chapter...So, listen up, Calvin: Those tight jeans
are a problem. You know what people like now? Pleats. They really make
it so much easier to get on a Harley. And, come on, naked women do not
sell clothes. You can't even use sex to sell sex anymore."
--"News
flash: Sex doesn't sell anymore, Nobody cares what comes between you and
your Calvins.", Joe Urschel, USA Today, 5/12/92
"...four key executives abruptly quit the company's
in-house advertising agency...The failure of the campaign, featuring sultry
actress Carre Otis, comes at a time of mounting backlash against sex in
advertising. For example, beer companies, in an effort to recruit more
women drinkers, have been turning away from commercials showing scantily
clad femmes fatales. Most recently Stroh Brewery Co.'s shelved its much-maligned
Swedish Bikini Team.
--"Klein Jeans' Sexy Insert
Didn't Spur Sales", Teri Agins, The Wall Street Journal, 5/5/92
