After the Oscars, Calvin Klein celebrates ‘Moonlight’ cast in new men’s ad campaign
Turn your attention away from the best-picture envelope mishap at the Oscars on Sunday and check out the new black-and-white men’s underwear campaign from Calvin Klein, celebrating the Academy Award-winning “Moonlight.”
The ads are already causing a commotion on the Internet, leaving many to possibly swoon after seeing photos of Oscar winner (and shirtless Calvin Klein model) Mahershala Ali and costar Trevante Rhodes (wearing briefs).
Calvin Klein’s new spring 2017 underwear campaign, honoring the actors of “Moonlight,” the first LGBTQ film to win best picture at the Academy Awards, will run as print and online advertisements and appear on billboards. The campaign could broaden visibility and appeal for the indie movie, which was made on a shoestring budget.
In a post-Oscars move, Calvin Klein unveiled the underwear campaign Monday. In the photos, the older actors of “Moonlight” are dressed in what appears to be dark T-shirts and pants as well as in underwear.
The campaign shows Ali as well as actors Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Rhodes (the latter smiling and posing in dark-colored briefs in a club chair).
On a side note, the fashion label dressed four “Moonlight” cast members — Naomie Harris in a white strapless sequin dress; and Rhodes, Sanders and Hibbert (who played lead character Chiron at different ages) in tuxedos — for the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday.
In a press release Monday, Raf Simons, Calvin Klein’s new chief creative officer, called the underwear campaign an “acknowledgement of remarkable actors who are revealing something important of being a man today in what they do.”
For decades, Calvin Klein has been known for its provocative advertisements and its assortment of underwear models with Hollywood ties, including Mark Wahlberg, Djimon Hounsou, Justin Bieber, Mehcad Brooks, Kellan Lutz and Antonio Sabato Jr.
According to the press release from Calvin Klein, the new campaign with the “Moonlight” actors was shot by photographer Willy Vanderperre and styled by Olivier Rizzo.
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