Guide Note

Eva Mendes is the new face of Calvin Klein underwear, as well as their new fragrance, Secret Obsession. Ads for the new fragrance have been banned in the U.S. for depicting what appears to be a naked Mendes.

Fast Facts

1. Eva Mendes is a Cuban-American actress
2. Starred in Training Day with Denzel Washington
3. Born: March 4, 1974
4. Calvin Klein founded in 1968
5. Origin: New York City
6. First face of CK: Brooke Shields
7. Previous Calvin Klein underwear models include Mark Wahlberg and Hilary Swank
8. Underwear collection is called Seductive comfort

Controversial Ads With Mendes

Television ads for the Calvin Klein fragrance, Secret Obsession, have sparked some controversy after American networks have refused to air the commercials of an all-nude Eva Mendes. According to reports, Calvin Klein plans to create a "less-provocative" version of the commercial, but plans to continue the print and web ad campaign as planned.¹

Calvin Klein's Controversial Past

The Calvin Klein label has pushed the limits of sexuality to sell their products, from jeans to fragrances. In 1980, Klein featured a 15 year old Brooke Shields with the slogan, "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins." A decade later, the label continued more striking campaigns with large billboards featuring half-naked male models only in white briefs and employed the waif-like model Kate Moss to pose partially nude to give the sense of "grungy youth."²

During the early 1990s, an advertising campaign using various models around the age of fifteen were used against the backdrop of a wood paneled wall, which was said to mimic a 1960s pornography set. The label insisted that the set was not meant to look like a pornographic location but merely to "convey the idea that glamour can be found in the most ordinary settings."²

In 1999, Klein launched a campaign for a children's underwear line that depicted two small boys only in their underwear. The ads appeared in Times Square and 24 hours later were removed. Critics believed that the photos sexualized children.²

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