Calvin Klein billboard
Times Square - New York, NY (1995)
Photo Credit: Evan Agostini
Twenty years ago, this Calvin Klein ad campaign was the subject of an FBI investigation. The problem they had with it was the fact that the model, Bijou Phillips, was 15 years old. I was also 15 years old at the time, and I remember thinking that the outrage was absolutely ridiculous. She's fully dressed in jeans and a tank top. There was more skin being revealed by girls of this age in the underwear and swimsuit section of an average K-Mart flyer in the Sunday newspaper, but when you're selling expensive jeans and using a famous person as the model, suddenly the standards of decency are called into question.
After 20 years, my opinion on this matter hasn't changed at all. If you see something inappropriate about this billboard, the problem isn't the advertisement or the model... the problem is you. If you can't look at a photograph of a fully clothed girl without intrusive thoughts that make you feel uncomfortable, you might want to consider seeing a therapist to work through your problems.
