Censorship is an issue that is touching many different areas of popular culture. Abercrombie and Fitch has been proving time and time again that sex sells, but what is more crucial is who buys these products. Advertisers have been targeting a younger market with extreme marketing tactics.
A&F went to campaigning extremes with their mag-a-log. This magazine was more than just a catalog; it acted as a magazine as well. All of the appalling publicity and the countless complaints from parents forced A&F to change their marketing tactics.
Howard Stern is not the first to be criticized for his editing decisions. Radio and television are both mediums that are not easy to get away from, but are not as visible as clothing is to other people. The bottom line to both issues would be the customer gets the final say in buying into the sarcastic humor, or revealing clothing. A&F give their customers a choice too, allowing their consumers various clothing options to decide on.
The latest A&F catalogue that was sent through the mail this spring season was the first of a new type of divided advertising. There are now two different magazines, rather than one large one. The catalogue that displays the clothing products has a minimal arrangement of sexy models with barely-there clothing on. Instead, there is a second magazine that only has photographs of models. The styles of the photographs are not as provocative as the photographs back in the fall catalog of 2003 that portrayed women in a disgraceful manner with nudity.
A&F is a clothing store that is targeting a young market. The sizes run small and mostly all high scholars consider the clothing a staple in their wardrobe. A recent New York Times article written by Robin Finn helps prove that advertisers were aware of exactly what they were doing with the pornographic quarterly catalog; making money in the business “sex always sells.” It’s just the way it’s packaged and presented that change the mood, but the message is still not clear. All of a sudden everything is lily white, and everybody’s into this goody-two-shoes thing; is a product of the moment,” Sam Shahid, a New York Art director, said.
The reason the media took the subject of the censorship for A&F seriously is because of their young target market. Teenagers wear these types of clothing to be considered well-dressed and fit in with the latest fashion designs. No matter how they market it, the teenagers will have no objections and still sport the sexy clothes. The demographic group that showed the most complaints were the parents of teenagers.
Posted to the Web by: Scott Fobes
