Aerie Is Now Using “Real” Men For Ads And It’s Rather Depressing

I’m a huge advocate for lingerie, and not even to lead up to sex. I mean just wearing lingerie for the sake of wearing lingerie. It makes you feel good about yourself. It’s empowering, it’s sexy and it gives a little extra boost of confidence. Sure your body is enough and every guy will drool looking at you even in period panties, but there is something about how his eyes pop when we cover our goods in lace.

And we feel the same way about guys getting stripped down. Think David Beckham — the great ass of our time. Nothing is more appreciated than some toned buns in some boxer briefs. Or Justin Bieber sporting some white Calvins. The point is, underwear can be very arousing for both sexes. In our own, different ways.

Well, American Eagle is convinced that matching is so hot right now, and created #AerieMan. You remember American Eagle, right? That place where you overpaid for sweaters and headbands back in high school? Well thank God they’re back in the race! Here is a video they put out and it is guaranteed to make you feel a certain kind of ~way~. In that, it will make you very, very uncomfortable.

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Who the fuck thought this would be a good idea? Well, I did some deep investigating (I went to the American Eagle website), and was relieved to discover that they are not encouraging man panties like the video suggests. Instead, they are selling regular men’s underwear. The catch? They’re taking a page out of the original Aerie Real campaign and turning the tables on us. Gone are the abs that made our pre-college hearts flutter and have unrealistic expectations. And in their place? Normal guys. With normal bodies, because yes, underwear shopping for your boyfriend just got more depressing.

Here’s the lineup of the new Aerie Men:

There’s Devon, the loveable dork who’s actually really packing.

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