Earth as Lover

“A Brand Activism campaign for American Apparel to align their brand image with the values; empowerment, diversity, and activism among the ‘Activist at Heart’ consumer.”

American Apparel relaunched in 2017 with a revised brand identity. From that point on, they have been struggling with misalignment between the consumers perception of the brand and American Apparel’s revised identity, values, and beliefs. American Apparel’s renewed focus and values involve empowerment, diversity, and ethics. However, the brand is still perceived as predatory, fast fashion, and sexist.

In today’s society, brands have to reflect the culture and community they serve. Consumers long for meaningful brands with a clear and outspoken purpose. As consumers become activist, brands have to follow in order to align with them and earn their loyalty. The Activist at Heart consumers are Generation Z and young Millennials who are socially, politically, and culturally involved. They are the change makers of our society. They have strong opinions, take action, and demand the truth.

The one insight that drives the campaign is that we have to change the metaphor ‘Mother Earth’ to ‘Earth as Lover’. Changing the perspective of how we look towards the Earth will also change the way that we treat the Earth and her resources. To save the Earth we need to love and respect her rather than abuse and exploit. #SexSaves!

The #SexSaves! campaign will align American Apparel’s brand image with the values; diversity, empowerment, and activism by reflecting the Activist at Heart culture and community.

This project involved: problem formulation, brand research, trend research, consumer research, in-depth interviews, market research, concept development, campaign strategy and visualization.