The first is a featurette on the evolution of them. Originally stemming from men's hygiene and layers of warmth; they can be loosely (pun) traced to a loin cloth called an Ötzi from the Swiss in the Alps. Who knew?! By the mid-1800's they were introduced as a commercial piece of clothing although the concept of ads for them wasn't utilized until the turn of the century. Text ads first, then migrating to a model not wearing them, but holding them up. Early ads from pioneer Munsing Wear were modest compared to today's blitz of porn billboards over Time's Square. Major clout came from two media icons; Clark Gable appearing shirtless in "It Happened One Night" in 1934, and then Marlon Brando immortalizing the t-shirt in "Streetcar" by 1951. The first real ad for briefs came out of France of course in 1931 - and was a male form of a slip, called a kangaroo or a pouch. It was Calvin Klein that turned it into the industry that it has become in the 1980's.
Fitting (pun again) that there is now controversy from a Norelco ad with a man eyeing himself in a pair of boxers over a bathroom mirror. As he goes from from scruffy to clean - he finds himself more desirable as the shavings pile on the floor below him. The final straw being a pair of dropped trough amid a pile of pubes to which he comments "I'd FAQ myself". Humor - yes? Pushing the limit - you decide?
No comments:
Post a Comment