Aerie came out with a new campaign featuring words for the promotion of a positive body image for men.
The "Average Joe" campaign can be seen below:
The video shows men in underwear speaking words of body positivity. They are also taking pictures of themselves and looking at themselves in a positive way. They dance around and do everyday things. The men are just being themselves and doing what they love.
Sadly, this was all a joke.
Yes, you can see the "jokey" elements in the video, but it shouldn't have been. American Eagle did make a significant donation to the National Eating Disorder Association, a $25,000 donation, but does that make it alright?
The company did say, in a press release, that they would stop airbrushing male models beginning this holiday season. People are really upset about this regardless.
American Eagle tweeted today about the "hoax":
This campaign, while taken very much as a joke, has turned into something important: awareness. Aerie and American Eagle are creating a discussion about men's body positivity, which is very important. They are a HUGE supporter of NEDA and they always have been.
The company made the point to say that there is going to be no retouching in their upcoming ads for both men and women, and they will continue to promote body positivity.
