AVD3001-1101A-01 Copywriting
Assignment Name: Unit 1 Discussion Board
Instructor Richard Misiano-Genovese
01/05/2011
The advertisement I identify in my local area is Abercrombie & Fitch. The company has for a number of times in the past has drawn on controversy in their type of advertising. The demographics cater to males and females between the ages of 18-24. It is categorized a men's clothing store in casual luxury apparel. There's not much of aired clothing commercial in my area of the Southeast. Actually it is close to none. Most of the advertising is done by direct mail circulars or announcements of sales on their website at abercrombie.com. It would be rarely that any clothing commercial would air here if it were a jean commercial or sportswear. Some of the creative angles that Abercrombie & Fitch is known for making people mad. Most of their ads deals alot with sexuality among other things.
Being no stranger to controversy Abercrombie & Fitch with its sexy ads its has raised alot of eyebrows. Many of their catalogues included nude models that was deemed too risky for young teens. The reason I'm bringing this up about Abercrombie & Fitch which had a store in my area came out with a T-shirt in 2004 with the slogan, "It's all relative in West Virginia." This brought about public awareness into the idea that the advertisement was a slur on the state residents stereotype of being incestuous. This had even had the Governor at the time, Bob Wise firing off a letter to the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.
The area that I Iive in has a large population of Christians and conservatives that can affect the sales of the company particularly if its advertising content doesn't appeal to the great good of its customers. It was a very long time that the company's sales remained at a stand still. The Governor made an appearance on the "Deborah Norville Show" from the city of Charleston, but Abercrombie & Fitch declined the invitation. The host, Dan Abrams asked about the T-shirts, and Governor Wise stated that the shirts were slanderous and untrue. Twenty millions tourists visited the state of West Virginia that year. It had the lowest violent crime rate in the nation and the highest rate of home ownership. The largest percentage of men and woman that wear the uniform of our country.
The Governor explained that people take advertising seriously. Abercrombie & Fitch needed to take the more positive approach to their advertising. They're a trendy store and popular no need to ruin it with bad advertising. Even if the company had an inaccurate portrayal of the people of West Virginia or the Governor concerns about marketing the state, thinking it would be cool can only go so far. Most Americans only contact is through mass media advertising. For a small state, there's lots of contact and for it to be on a T-Shirt it's not good for the state. The company has good quality clothes and doesn't have to stoop to this level to try and sell their clothing. What they chose to put on the shirt is some that anyone would kid around with let alone wear it, maybe.
In the case of New Mexico, the company did a shirt with the slogan, "40 Million Squirrels Can't Be Wrong." Animals and people are different. Animals are usually funny and cute. Targeting people is a whole different outlook. Getting the wrong idea about the way people live, and be stereotyped continually, enough is enough. The state boast some great college sports and tourism with millions of people who like to return and visit. That's the kind of advertising that Abercrombie & Fitch can help promote.
WORKS CITED
Deborah Norville Tonight. Abercrombie & Fitch Shirt Angers West Virginians. 24 Mar. 2004. MSNBC News. Web. retrieved 05 Jan, 2011. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4594392/ns/msnbc_tv-deborah_norville_tonight/
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