Yesterday Abercrombie & Fitch released a statement saying the company was prepared to pay Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, and the rest of the Jersey Shore cast, to stop wearing their clothes because it was causing significant damage to their image.
To this we say “Get off of your high horse, Abercrombie!”
You have built an empire around middle American caucasian youth … your main consumer. And now that your marketing has paid off, you have a problem? If Abercrombie is involved, you can guarantee that you will see some handsome guy with his shirt off and a crazy six pack of abs somewhere in the mix, yet when, arguably, the most famous guy who prefers to walk around shirtless is spotted wearing your clothing, there is a problem.
I get it: The Situation and his gang of Guido and Guidettes are crude, they are often drunk, and have been accused of misrepresenting Italians because of their off color antics. But they are also young Americans who have just tasted their first bit of fame and they are having a good time.
We can’t imagine Abercrombie being upset with a cast who managed to attract 10 million viewers for their first episode of the season. And do you know where the majority of those 10 million viewers came from Abercrombie? That’s right, Middle America, the same demographic that you target.
We are sure that the cast of the “Jersey Shore” has companies begging them to endorse their product; the Situation managed to get on “Dancing With The Stars” for Christ sake and yet he chose to wear your clothing because he genuinely liked it and you have a problem. Shame on you!
While we are on the subject of shame, it’s perfectly okay for you to exploit the “Jersey Shore” by making shirts that say things like “The FITUATION” and “G.T.L.” on them. The demographic that you market to loves the show, yet when your clothes actually make it on to the show there is a problem. What is really going on up in your marketing offices Abercrombie? Because it seems like you don’t really know what you want.
As many times as you have been called into question about your lack of ethnic diversity in you stores and in your ad campaigns, I find it hard to believe that you actually have a problem with a group of young white people wearing your clothes. It’s almost as if you have ONE type of person who should wear you clothes and that person looks exactly like they stepped out of your ad campaign. It’s not like you are selling something that is not readily available to the masses. You cannot control who wears you clothes and instead of using this to your advantage, you have decided to make a big fanfare out of the situation … no pun intended.
We can only guess that this was some sort of publicity stunt on your part. And to be quite honest, I really like Abercrombie & Fitch. But when it comes to putting your foot in your mouth, you guys take the cake. You’re like a nerd on a date with the hottest girl in class: You are in the perfect position to have a great outcome if you play your cards right, but you don’t know what to do and you end up saying something awkward and counterproductive.
You may be able to bounce back but, as of right now, if your stock price is any indication of your f*ck up, you may want to really think about the after-shock of your comments before you write your next press release.
—Jason Brooks
@CoolTableJay
