A raunchy new menswear ad has people speculating about the future of post-pandemic advertising
Suit Supply
- Menswear brand Suit Supply's new ad is going viral on Twitter.
- "The new normal is coming" is a far cry from typical COVID ads.
- Ads quickly became cliche over the past year with messages of "we're all in this together."
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
A new ad from menswear brand Suit Supply is making waves online for depicting nearly naked models making out in one look at a post-pandemic world.
The spots title, "The new normal is coming," it seems to signal an entrance into a post-pandemic, post-vaccine world of advertising.
"Post-pandemic life is on the horizon," Fokke de Jong, Suit Supply's founder and CEO, told Insider. "Social distancing for extraordinarily long periods of time has conditioned us to fear proximity of others and that is perfectly justified. The campaign is simply a positive outlook on our future where people can get back to gathering and getting close"
Of course, people on Twitter had plenty of predictions and opinions.
—Andrew Ross Sorkin (@andrewrsorkin) March 4, 2021
—Josh1 (@Josh1Rivera) March 4, 2021
—alex (@alex_abads) March 4, 2021
—Madeleine Aggeler (@mmaggeler) March 4, 2021
Some found the ad off-putting while we're still in the thick of serious outbreaks around the US.
—Morgan Hines (@MorganEmHines) March 4, 2021
—Jessica Smith (@JessicaASmith8) March 4, 2021
—Stefan Riley (@SMack_Riley) March 4, 2021
—Bridget Read (@bridgetgillard) March 4, 2021
Advertisements have been criticized and laughed at since COVID-19 first hit the US. Some critics noticed that seemingly every ad during the pandemic follows the same beats. Phrases including "times like these," "we've always been there for you," and "we'll get through this together" show up so much that they almost immediately became cliches. Fast Company noticed the trend too, and categorized ads into similar categories. Microsoft Sam made a YouTube compilation showing these tropes back in April.
"People are looking to get out and about again. Parallels to the Roaring 20's are being drawn on a regular basis. Naturally brands will connect with this sentiment. At the beginning of the pandemic, Suitsupply was among the first to implement safe shopping experiences, that's what people needed, and we met that moment. I believe people want to connect to something more positive now" de Jong said.
Suit Supply's leading example of the new class of ads post-pandemic fits into the current meme of "me and my friends after the vaccine," when people share silly or affectionate images that show how desperately they want to be vaccinated and connect with others again.