This ad was created by the company Tommy Hilfiger to promote the fall of 2010 clothing line. The theme of the campaign is “Ultimate Tailgate.” The various picture of the campaign portray a large group of people of all ages and races hanging out, playing with the dogs, throwing a football, eating food and tailgating before a sporting event. The fall collection is what Tommy Hilfiger is calling “Twisted Preppy American Sportswear.”

This ad could be targeted towards both the male and female audiences. The clothing line is a combination of both men’s and women’s clothing. The ad has both a male and female model both wearing items from the fall line. The woman is wearing brown high knee boots and the man is wearing bright orange trousers.


Tommy Hilfiger designs clothes for all ages, including a kid’s line. A wide range of ages enjoy wearing Tommy clothing. The fall ad campaign however shows more of a couture side of Tommy Hilfiger, opposed to their more traditional clothing. The outfits are more dramatic and out of the ordinary than what they typically sell. The ladies boots for example are very tall and dramatic. They reach a woman’s mid thigh and in order to wear them women would have to wear skinny jeans or a mini skirt. The boots alone dominate most of the picture. Symbolizing that wearing these boots will make a statement causing the wearer to be irresistible. The man’s pants are a bright shade of blaze orange. Typically these color pants can only be found on men out in the woods hunting deer, but Tommy Hilfiger suggests that they are a fashionable color men wear them for everyday wear.

In this particular ad the two tailgaters have escaped for some time alone. They appear to be fooling around in the back seat of the station wagon. Their legs are coming out the door and based on the ladies bare thigh, she has no bottoms on; however, the man still has his blaze orange pants on. The blanket on the ground clues that they might have been sitting on the ground and then their time became too intimate and had to move their activities to the car. The only texts on the page are on the bottom they have four cities where they have the high end designer store and the company’s name and logo are beneath that. The website is in the lower right hand corner. The stadium lights in the background show they are still at the tailgate with their friends.

Different conclusions can be drawn from this ad. Tommy Hilfiger may be suggesting what often happens to people at tailgates is they become intoxicated and then find themselves making decisions that they would do if they were sober such as having sex with people they hardly know or getting into fights. Another conclusion that can be drawn is that wearing Tommy’s clothes will give the consumer more sex appeal. Tommy Hilfiger is selling sex not boots, suggesting that people participate in sex, which has nothing to do with the boots.

The ad uses symbols, specifically; the position of the model’s legs symbolizes a sexual act. Tommy Hilfiger uses sex to promote and help sell their clothing line. Both men and women can look at this ad and see the two people together and that alone could convince them to buy their designs, because they could be feeling alone and needing a companion. The ad also uses diversion. Tommy Hilfiger suggests these people were harmlessly tailgating like millions of others in the world. However, after they saw each other in the Tommy Hilfiger clothes, they began having sex. This is inappropriate because sex is a private activity that should not be happening at a tailgate. Another tool of persuasion that this ad uses is by having the models as plain folks. Based on the fact that the viewer can not see their faces its can be assumed that they are normal regular people. This tool is used to persuade the common person that this product is for them.

This ad lacks a positive tone. If it was deeply analyzed, it could be perceived, that Tommy Hilfiger is promoting being outdoors and getting vitamin D. The unhealthy messages however dominate. Messages such as drinking at tailgates, having sex in a car, and not seeking privacy can be identified. The message that buying and wearing Tommy clothes, more specifically the boots, will help women get men and vice versa is more prominent.

Tommy Hilfiger fails to inform the reader how much the boots are and where the reader can buy the boots. Because the rest of the ladies body is in the car, if the reader was interested in the boots they are unable to get an idea of what to wear them with, to create a stylish outfit. Tommy Hilfiger’s attempt at promoting the fall line could have been done with more class without the use of provocative pictures.