American Apparel ad

LONDON, United Kingdom — Here’s a depressing sign of things to come. According to Luxury Briefing, Trendhunter has deemed “Shockvertising” a key trend for 2009.

What’s Shockvertising? Advertising that borders on porn. Yes, you can blame the credit crunch. If consumers won’t be lured be grace and beauty, well let’s give them smut and see if that works.

And it could work. Just look at the success of American Apparel. The clothes aren’t much different from what you’d find at Primark, Wal-Mart or Uniqlo (although they’re made in the U.S.) but the ads featuring scantily clad teens and notable public figures like Woody Allen have attracted the attention of consumers. Allen himself is none too pleased to be a billboard for the brand. He’s launched a lawsuit against the company saying that it used his face in an ad without his permission, or any remuneration, and that it is damaging to his reputation.

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