Raise Your Hand if You Are the American Apparel Penis Bandit

By Andy Wright Thu., Mar. 4 2010 at 11:59 AM

Categories: WTF?

There's been much ado about American Apparel and the penis in the past, namely the company's proclivity for using them (and other bathing suit parts) in their advertisements. But recently, a new trend has been taking San Francisco by storm. Apparently, someone doesn't think AA is pushing the envelope enough and has been going around adding sexual content to their most recent porny campaign. The ad below, posted on the side of GGP Market, was snapped at 24th Street and Alabama by Vanessa Carr:

And I snapped the seemingly innocent picture below (also posted on the GGP Market, on the opposite wall):

24th St. and Alabama, in the Mission

But look closely and you'll see the remnants of a body part that AA only intended its viewers to psychically impose on the model:

That's because at some point the graffiti was obscured. Which raises the question: Who is tasked with removing penises from American Apparel ads?

Meanwhile, Uptown Almanac posted this slightly more obtuse version, in which a pretty flower takes the place of a cock. (One may be tempted to argue that the GGP Market specimens should be counted as one example and not two, but in "journalism" everyone knows that it takes a three-count to constitute a "trend", so we're just going to go ahead and count that as two, thanks very much.)

What is it about this particular series of American Apparel ads that demands phallification? Is it the pose? The simple silhouette? One thing is certain: Only the American Apparel Penis Bandit (or Penis Gang!) knows.