The loud 1980s jeans ad that ’caused shockwaves’

In visual media, the seductive and greedy zeitgeist of the 1980s found expression in series such as Dynasty and Dallas, and films such as Scarface (1983) and Wall Street (1987). The Laundromat, a nostalgic and outdated imitation of a mythical America, was presented as an antidote to excess. The design took its lead from the 1950s, with women admiring his sleek cut and tight shirt with cat-eye glasses and curly hair, while the soundtrack was from the 1960s.

The scarcity of the female gaze in commercials is perhaps explained by the makeup of the industry. “One of the big challenges we still face is that 75% of all our creative directors in advertising and media are male, so all the work we see is generally produced through that lens,” says Hanan. The advertising’s impact went far beyond jeans sales. Until 1985, boxer shorts were seen as “dodgy American underwear from the 1940s,” Sir John Hegarty, BBH co-founder and Launderette’s artistic director, told BBC Radio’s The Media Show in 2023. In order to overcome censorship issues, he explained, something “less modest” was replaced with the original Y-fronts. “We put him in boxer briefs. His clothes are off, trade shows, 501s sales go through the roof, boxer briefs sales go through the roof.”

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Musical tastes also changed as a result of advertising. “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” was re-released and reached the top ten in the UK, sparking renewed interest in soul and R&B music, while Kamen’s own music career took off when the ad caught the attention of Madonna, who made him her protégé, co-writing and producing his single “Every Time You Broke My Heart”.

Kamen, who died in 2021, was part of the influential Buffalo fashion movement of the 1980s. Just before appearing in the ad, he appeared on the cover of forward-thinking style magazine The Face in a photoshoot styled by Buffalo founder Ray Petrie. In 1986, Kamen was again the magazine’s cover star.