Victoria's Secret Ads: Defining Cultural Moment

If you happened to leave the couch just as the Victoria's Secret holiday commercials ran, you missed a defining cultural moment: 30 years of sexual upheaval embodied in voluptous models wearing only oversized angel wings and translucent bras and panties, pseudo-religious figures striking suggestive poses around the revered, if secular, person of Santa Claus.

"That one commercial is a jumping-off point to a book-like dissertation on religion in America, innocence, irony and evolving attitudes about sex," says Robert J. Thompson of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University.

"There's a wealth of information about what happened to American culture in the waning days of the 20th century. That's why when you saw it, there was a sense . . . that what you'd seen was important."

Or, at the very least, memorable.

In the past, viewers may have been asked to believe that Jane Russell actually wore the functional white brassiere modestly displayed on a mannequin. But the Victoria's Secret ads air in a culture where images traditionally associated with soft pornography have become mainstream. And these ads, with only the sheerest nylon spandex between models and viewers, leave little to the imagination.

The holiday-themed ads, which aired between Nov. 27 and Dec. 11, revived the "Angels" bra and panty line commercials debuted by Victoria's Secret last spring. Those ads featured singer Tom Jones as God to the models' angels. The company described the ad campaign then as whimsical.

The "Angel" lingerie line itself is described as "noticeably sheer" (although no potentially offensive body parts are visible in the commercials) and available in "a pallet of nine dazzling colors." The colors include cloud (white), heaven (blue), eden (green) and earth (brown).

A companion ad to the "Angels" Christmas spot had the Victoria's Secret models joining Santa to sing their holiday greetings. Presumably dressed as elves, the models appeared in demurely cut, red and white, off-the-shoulder mini-dresses and black fishnet stockings.

It is perhaps in the context of the Christmas season that the "Angels" ad was so startling because it injected sexuality into religious and secular holiday imagery. And while Victoria's Secret isn't talking about its ads, others certainly are.

Most of the larger lingerie companies, while not indifferent to looks, focus on more utilitarian considerations such as comfort and fit.

"In terms of TV ads for lingerie, certainly Victoria's Secret pushes the envelope," says Katie Kretschmer, editor of Body Fashion Intimate Apparel, the industry trade publication.

Karen Bromley, of the Intimate Apparel Council, credits Victoria's Secret's $2 billion business with motivating what had become a sleepy industry.

"They are tremendous marketers," says Bromley, spokeswoman for the trade organization that represents designers and manufacturers of intimate apparel.

"They tap into the psyche of both men and women - of power, and sense of self, and the power to be yourself and to not be afraid to be sexual or sensual."

Playtex was the first to advertise bras on television back in 1955. By 1970, when Russell was appearing, the bras still were displayed on "buffed forms" that were essentially female-shaped torsos.

Even during the 1980s, bras were shown over clothing such as a turtleneck. By 1987, Playtex became the first to air commercials in which real women modeled the bras. The company is still guided by functional ad campaigns. Its current ad theme - "Is That A Playtex Under There?" - underscores practicality, not sensuality.

Through its catalog, Victoria's Secret, which calls itself a "lifestyle business," has created different expectations that it has carried onto the television screen.

"The customer is expecting something more," Kretschmer says. "They're (Victoria's Secret) not worried about offending someone who is not their customer.

"That's why they can do it. It's expected."