Abercrombie & Fitch
The purpose of this ad is to appeal to US young adults (13-25ish) and sell their clothing. The argument of this ad is buying their clothing will make you look good and sexy. They exploit the cultural values of American desire to present yourself in the latest fashions and fit in with the crowd. It is well situated for American culture because they chose a very "All American" model.
We found this ad interesting because when we first asked if students unfamiliar with Abercrombie could tell what they were selling from the ad, they couldn't. When we told them it was a clothing store, their first reaction was that the ad was cut off and incomplete. But for Americans familiar with the brand, this ad is classic Abercrombie.\
This ad would not be as controversial in Sweden as in the U.S., because the “naked body" so to speak, isn’t something that generally “bothers” the average Swede.
Another unique aspect of this ad is that it would be recognized and would appeal to an American, regardless of whether he/she were in California or Idaho; the American cultural value/desire to look attractive/be sporting the lastest fashions is prevalent throughout the country.
At the same time, however, the "naked body" is considered more taboo in the U.S. than it seems to be in Sweden. One only finds Abercrombie ads, as the one shown below, in magazines or online, not usually on television.
The cultural context is a capitalistic society in which young people want to look close to
the average people and want to wear the latest fashion just for fitting into the society.