Calvin Klein Men’s Underwear

What do you first think of when somebody mentions the name “Calvin Klein”? The man? The underwear? The advertisements? Tony Blair? It could be some or all of these, or it could even be none, strangely enough. But most people on being asked that question will surely plump for the underwear response. If asked to name a maker of men’s underwear, again most people will make that connection. It has become hard-wired in the human mind. Laurel and Hardy. Lennon and McCartney. Calvin Klein and underwear. Inextricably linked, because that’s what success does – it makes people remember you, and remember what you have done. Calvin Klein is a phenomenally successful underwear designer.

It helps that Calvin Klein underwear ads have been some of the most successful campaigns over the years. This may principally apply to the female ads with names like Brooke Shields (in a phenomenally controversial television campaign) and Kate Moss, but the women’s underwear market is a crowded arena and, though a credible player in that arena, Calvin Klein has made the men’s market his own. It is a measure of his success in promoting his brand that people only need to use the initials “CK” and everyone understands whom and what they mean. CK’s men’s underwear ads have launched the careers of models and actors such as Mark Wahlberg, Antonio Sabato Jr., and others, and getting a CK underwear campaign is a Holy Grail for young models. Using an edgy glamour, with stereotypical “bad boys”, often shot in black and white and saying not much more in a TV commercial than they do in a print campaign, Calvins have developed a reputation and a receptive market among young men.

Clearly, though, with such a big name, the market for Calvin Klein underwear has gone beyond the young 18-30 demographic. Never was this more in evidence than during the 2001 UK General Election campaign when, showing how tired he was after a day on the road, then Prime Minister Tony Blair stretched and as a result exposed the waistband on his underwear.  Clearly visible on this waistband was the maker’s name. Which name was that? I don’t think you need to ask, do you? Did this hurt the brand? Not in the least. It simply showed that Calvin Klein underwear is so popular that it transcends narrow demographics.

Beyond the recognisable name, the celebrity endorsements and the credibility-dripping commercials, of course, lies the product. Calvin Klein would not be selling after-shave and perfume by the bottle if the name wasn’t already global and glamorous. The reason that this global appeal exists is because of the quality of CK’s product. Having started as an outerwear designer, specialising in coats and jackets, and moving on to jeans, Calvin Klein launched his men’s underwear in the 1980s. In less than 30 years, they have come to dominate the market and become shorthand for all men’s underwear – garlands which simply don’t come about through luck and hype.