CBS News reported on Monday that pedestrians walking by the latest Calvin Klein billboard in New York City at East Houston and Lafayette have spotted something highly inappropriate in the ad. These folks donâ€t find Lara Stoneâ€s almost-naked body offensive; rather, they believe a hidden curse word was planted in the photo.

The table behind and to the left of Stone supposedly forms an “F,” while her underwear bottom forms a “U.” Get where weâ€re going with this? Then, to Stoneâ€s right, the “C” and “K” of the Calvin Klein logo complete the subliminal naughty word. {CBS News via Racked NY}

Our first thought upon reading this news was that the alleged curse word must have been spotted by someone with way too much time on their hands. First of all, the images of Stone for this ad campaign are beyond cool, as is the television commercial, and secondly, why would Calvin Klein risk creating this kind of controversy? But now we canâ€t look at the ad and not see it. The question remains whether Calvin Klein did it on purpose and how the label will defend the situation.

Louis Vuitton's "Savoire Faire" campaign showed a woman handcrafting folds in a wallet (L), a man painting the sole of a shoe (center) and a woman with needle, thread and beeswax who appears to be hand stitching the handle of a handbag.

Louis Vuitton has a reputation for superior quality, with handbags regularly selling for thousands of dollars, but the photos depict craftsmen hand-stitching leather even though that is not how accessories are made in the French design house. Text in the ads reads, “The seamstress with linen thread and beeswax.”{DailyMail}

Guests at the opening of Louis Vuitton's New Bond Street London flagship included Elle MacPherson, Thandie Newton and Gwyneth Paltrow.

The ASA said Louis Vuitton failed to prove the products were handmade though the label produced evidence that “hand-crafting techniques” were used to create bags and wallets.

Louis Vuitton responded by saying the ads were simply meant to pay “homage to the craftsmanship” of its employees, not depict an exact account of its manufacturing process. The design house admitted to using sewing machines but said handbag production is “not automated,” with over 100 stages in the process of manufacturing one bag.

Three people alerted the ASA of the situation, complaining that they believed the handbags were made by machine. In Japan, the world’s second largest luxury market and a country where 60% of the households own an authentic Louis Vuitton, research found that consumers were willing to spend 50 times the price of a counterfeit bag for the real deal – even if the bags looked identical. {Guardian} The allure of authenticity, which is often intertwined with higher quality craftsmanship, among other things is something that Louis Vuitton and many other luxury brands like Gucci have tried to tap into during the economic downturn.

But modern technology – including efficient manufacturing that automates parts of the process is actually a part of Louis Vuitton posts such healthy operating margins. While hand stitched and folded wallets may seem charming and a mark of quality, it’s not a production method that would scale for a brand as big as Louis Vuitton. Even as far back as December 2009, when the ads were first released, some wondered if the ads went too far in trying to elicit an emotional attachment to heritage. {BusinessWeek} In the UK, it seems that they did.

New York Magazine says the slipup is unlikely to stop people from purchasing Louis Vuitton bags and hopes the ASA will continue its effort to ban misleading ads by forbidding the use of photos featuring unrealistic body types. On both counts, we could not agree more.

Though that may sound odd, the slogan reads, “Cambia Style (Change Style): Don’t Follow Your Leader.” (“Ooooooohhhh!”) It has everyone up in arms, from everyday bloggers to the European politicians, who all find it offensive.

New Form

Let’s be honest, it was a bold move on New Form’s part. But instead of reacting without thinking, let’s play devil’s advocate for the campaign:

1) It’s clearly saying don’t follow your leader (aka Hitler) — not exactly signs of some sort of neo-Nazi boutique.  According to the HuffPost article, New Form used this ad to “ridicule Hitler and encourage youth to create their own style.” Maybe going against Hitler versus going against current fashion trends is a little much for an analogy, but that in part causes…
2) Controversy. And press coverage. Causing all this controversy has only brought worldwide attention to them — a tiny fashion boutique on an island off of Italy! The saying goes that any publicity is good publicity.

Fashion has always been about bold statements, and the message behind the campaign – while delivered with a healthy dose of shock value, is really just a push for individuality. Particularly with a generation who may not have the same historical context, should maniacal dictators of years past be off limits?

Beyond not being offended, younger buyers may see irony or humor in the ads, and perhaps even consider the featured figures to be a bit of a joke – especially if they’re made to look a bit silly.  Considering the goal of post was blind fear, loyalty and admiration, laughingstock is probably a label that does as much to knock holes in their ambitions than anything else. There’s nothing funny about the heinous actions of the Nazis, and we aren’t predicting Stalin, Mussolini or Pol Pot to be the faces of any major labels any time soon. But advertising that takes shots at their brutal and deadly regimes is probably not the worst way to look back on them.