American Apparel, the controversial retailer known for its sexually suggestive advertising strategy, is looking to alter its risqué image by debuting a 'pro-women' ad campaign featuring its female staffers. The first print ad, which shows images of various female American Apparel employees, who are identified by their first names and their start date at the company in small print below their pictures, has the words 'Hello Ladies' emblazoned across the page and appeared in the latest issue of Vice. 'Women have always been in charge at American Apparel,' the ad reads. ‘In fact, women make up 55per cent of our global workforce (sorry, guys) and an even higher percentage of our leadership and executive roles. This structure is incredibly (and unfortunately) rare in the corporate world.' Major rebranding: Controversial retailer American Apparel debuted a new 'pro-women' ad campaign featuring this image of three female employees from the company . New message: The brand also shared images from the campaign on its Instagram account for International Women's Day . The images featured in the ad were also posted on the company's Instagram account last month in celebration of International Women's Day with more than 16,000 people liking the photo collage. American Apparel confirmed to WWD that the ad only has thus far only appeared in Vice, and the outlet noted that it was an interesting choice for the company to make because the magazine 'isn’t exactly known as female friendly'. 'We have had a great relationship with Vice for years and plan on continuing to work closely with them on future campaigns and partnerships,' American Apparel's senior vice president of marketing Cynthia Erland told WWD . Smiling faces: According to the ad, 55per cent of American Apparel's staffers are women . Work appropriate: These female employees were photographed wearing modest button-down shirts, which is a far cry from the brand's more sexually explicit ads . But WWD went on to add that it was 'likely not a coincidence' that the ad ran in first issue helmed by Vice's new female editor-in-chief Ellis Jones. Before the Los Angeles-based company's founder and former CEO Dov Charney was ousted in December following a string of sexual harassment lawsuits, the retailer had a history of using boundary-pushing, sexually provocative ads featuring fresh-faced girls to sell its clothing. Now that Dov has since been replaced by Paula Schneider, the images have been significantly toned down as the brand rethinks its previous marketing strategy. New attitude: The company, which has a history of using sexually proactive ads like this one, is rethinking its marketing strategy under the helm of the American Apparel's new CEO Paula Schneider . American Apparel has also started airbrushing out pubic hair and nipples from lingerie models in attempt to make the brand 'less pornographic'. But controversy continues to follow the company. The brand came under fire again after a leaked email written on March 18 by casting agent Phira Luon said the company would be hiring real models not 'Instagram Hoes' or 'THOTS', which is an acronym meaning 'That ho over there'. Both American Apparel and Phira publicly apologized for the email, and the brand posted an image of 'curvier models' to its Facebook page as a means of proving the sentiment in the email did not reflect the company’s general ethos, writing: 'This is American Apparel, always has been and always will be. We love all of our models, all shapes and sizes. #welovediversity #weloveyouall! [sic]'
The print ad ran in the most recent issue of Vice magazine . The controversial company is looking to rebrand after founder and former CEO Dov Charney was ousted in December following a string of sexual harassment lawsuits .