Abacrombie and Fitch-will they NEVER learn?

[bigguyinpasadena]

The fave boutique of aaryan youth,Abacrombie and Fitch,has a new multi page add in this months Vanity Fair.Sort of a "young stars of today"sort of thing.All of the models are young and VERY WHITE.out of a dozen boys and girls not one person of color,no Blacks,no Asians,and if there is a latino in the bunch they have anglosised their surname.

I implore the folks on this board,if you would stand proud for racial equality,to boycot A&F and let them know why your dollars will be going elswhere.

A&F has been in hot water before over this,and the ad company that produced this campaign should be chastised for its STUPID BLATENT disregard of criticism leveled at A&F in the recent past.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Discrimination is everywhere...

 

Abercrombie & Fitch, formerly Abercrombie & Kent (who used to be a true outfitter for safari and not the tee's and jeans we know today), has (since the late '90s) always used sex to sell their items and unfortunately whitewash most of their ad campaigns. Granted, it's worked for them, as both their stock and quarterly profits have gone up.

 

Does this make it right? No. Does Abercrombie still know how to make heads turn and keep their name in the spotlight. Of course. They are well-aware that most younger people would never truly boycott their products and all of this hype from the media is simply driving people into their stores and creating some very positive cash flow for the company.

 

What hurts a comapny like this the most? Ignoring them. They obviously aren't going to change their whitewash ways anytime soon, even with numerous discrimination lawsuits pending against them, so it's best to just let it go and shop elsewhere if you feel that strongly. Personally, they still make comfortable clothing and that's what i'm most interested in. I continue to buy it for that reason alone, even though their parent company Hollister makes the same type of item for about $10-40 less.

 

Unfortunately Hollister hasn't quite made it to San Antonio yet

 

 

Warmest Always,

 

 

Benjamin Nicholas

[BewareofNick]

BigGuy,

 

Will you also be launching a protest against FuBu? They only feature black models and target urban youth. Does that not make them as racist and vile as A&F?

[bigguyinpasadena]

I do not know of any FUBU stores-so I have no idea what their advertising or employment practices are.

Further,I doubt that if I was given the info needed to demonstrate that "reverse discrimination"is indeed their MO that I would take up arms against a minority owned biz marketing to their own.

Is this a hypocritical stance?Well only if you buy into the "angry white males"BS regarding"reverse discrimination".In my opinion"reverse discrimination"is merely a blind for white people being unwilling(too stupid or too lazy?)to move beyond skin color as a measure of a peoples worth.

I have seen FUBU in off price stores,most often being purchased by white youngsters.

And yes,I know that it stands for FOR US BY US

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

... and blacks, hispanics, asians and other minorities are regularly purchasing A&F gear without hesitation as well...

 

It's all in the marketing. Abercrombie may be whitewashing the American-as-Apple-Pie look but heck if J. Crew, Lands End and Bananna Republic catalogs haven't also been doing the same thing for years. It doesn't make it the right thing to do, but if we're going to lay blame like bricks, let's not target just one company.

 

As for A&F putting out another printed magazine: Their former quarterly had a MASSIVE readership and was one of their most profitable items, even shadowing some of their clothing line. As a business, they're in it for the money and it's obvious that the public wants to see something take it's place. They may not be selling as much sex as they once did, but be assured that Abercrombie will rebound into the raunch. It's what sets them apart from other retailers and allows them to sell more than just clothing, but a lifestyle image as well.

 

Personally, i thought they (the Quarterlies) were hot. It wasn't the skin color i was jacking off to... It was the muscled-up boys and homoeroticism that did it for me. It was a definite yum.

 

Warmest Always,

 

 

Benjamin Nicholas

[Ethan_NYC]

>... and blacks, hispanics, asians and other minorities are

>regularly purchasing A&F gear without hesitation as well...

 

Things might be different in Benjamin's locale, but here in NYC there are plenty of Asians, Hispanics and African Americans that are aware of the racial overtones of A&F ads. To imply that minorities are regularly purchasing overpriced gear from A&F is a broad generalization. I've found that Urban Outfitters, Banana REpublic and Bloomingdale's are more likely places for us minorities to shop, (in NYC at least) simply because the quality of their products is much greater. My university's office of student life held a demonstration urging students to boycott A&F. Some students even organized a clothes drive, with the intention of burning all A&F clothes. I promptly donated a pair of cargo shorts I bought when I was still in high school. IT's the least i could do.

If anything, I find that it's gay men that adopt the generic A&F look, which downplays individuality and our own uniqueness, turning them into clones. If I see another out gay man with a A&F sleeveless tee on this summer, lord knows what i'll do.

 

 

>It's all in the marketing. Abercrombie may be whitewashing

>the American-as-Apple-Pie look but heck if J. Crew, Lands End

>and Bananna Republic catalogs haven't also been doing the same

>thing for years. It doesn't make it the right thing to do,

>but if we're going to lay blame like bricks, let's not target

>just one company.

>

As a matter of fact Banana Rep. does not rely solely on Caucasian models. It and it's sister co Gap have been leading the way in featuring models of color. Why won't other mega-brands follow suit?

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

Eh. *shrugs* I'm not standing up for A&F, but simply evening out the field for a more realistic view~

 

Catch my webcam show later when i burn my underwear in protest of Ashcroft's antics against the adult industry. ... Not

 

I suppose i'm just not a 'cause person.'

 

 

Warmest Always,

 

 

 

Benjamin Nicholas

[Guest zipperzone]

I applaud A&F for their bold advertising and find nothing wrong with their reluctance to portray non-cacusian models.

 

They have obviously done studies to determine their target market and are aiming their ads accordingly. What's wrong with that? And it seems to pay off in terms of revenue.

 

If blacks, hispanics, asians, etc are offended they can show their displeasure by staying away in droves, Their choice.

 

I'm tired of hearing that everything has to be politically correct. The concept of freedom of speech should also be extended to include advertisers such as A&F. Although they may not be talking with words, their images say it all (1 picture is worth a 1000 words)

 

I'm not a racist, regardless of what you may think. But I'm tired of hearing society today boiling everything down to race. More people should pay attention the the recent words spoken by Bill Cosby.

 

And while I'm on my soapbox - how about all those black TV sitcoms where nary a white person is shown. I don't here you bitchin' about them. Why is it OK for them to identify their target audience but not A&F.

 

A&F models are HOT. And their ad agency is brilliant in my opinion.

Their clothes are not for clones anymore that those by Tommy Hillfigger (sp).

 

It's a clean all-American look and I like it as do millions of others. I will continue to support A&F until they stop making clothes I like. Does that make me a racist? Not in my book. Give me a break!

[bigguyinpasadena]

THANK YOU ZIPPERZONE!!!!For being such an open racist .It is so much easier to spot em when they are so up front like that.

[Guest DickHo]

Just because one believes that everything doesn't have to be politically correct, doesn't make you a "racist" anything. I'm with zipperone. This PC thing is utterly ridiculous. Let's change the attitudes toward each other not the names we call each other.

[bigguyinpasadena]

This "anti-PC"crap is yet another blind for not being able to accept a progressive,INCLUSIVE future for the US.

We will never move on and become the nation we should become until we lay down these devisive ploys.

[bigguyinpasadena]

The Banana Republic store in the Grove(Los Angeles)has a wonderfully racially mixed staff(and is also the "gayest"store I have ever been in)unlike the monochromatic employees of the A&F store in the same mall.

[Guest RandyRon]

In the U.S. we have a right to be PC or non PC. Thank goodness. I frankly couldn't care less what A&F puts in their catalogs. For me their models are so insipid I would trip over them looking for a place to Jack Off.

[Ignoto]

Browsing through the rest of the ads in the front of the book (Vanity Fair is really a hot title among young urban blacks and latinos....)

 

Marciano has a foldout inside cover, spreading a white chick over 3 pages. ("At Guess stores worldwide.")

 

Estee Lauder has a white model, Elizabeth, plugging new "Electric" Intense Lip Creme. (Let's not bash Lauder, she's Jewish and she's dead.)

 

Gucci has a 2-page ad with a white chick bracketed by two white guys, in one photo; in another photo she is holding a bag that looks like it is made out of a cat, complete with tail.

 

Armani has two pages, two models, the guy looks like he graduated from A&F ads, the chick could pass for a bleached latino -- I won't vouch for her ethnic origin, and probably neither will her mother.

 

Donna Karan has two pages "Introducing the Accessories Collection" with a purse made from a dead cow, modeled by a blonde chick with blue eyes.

 

St. John by Marie Gray has four pages featuring another blonde (this one's eyes aren't blue) and a white guy (wearing sunglasses).

 

Lancome has 2 pages with an auburn-haired, blue-eyed chick.

 

Louis Vuitton is also peddling a handbag, with a blonde chick spread over 2 pages.

 

Whoa! TARGET! A 2-page ad featuring a really black woman! She's wearing "the hoodie you want...19.99". Her left hand is in a white boxing glove, her right arm below the elbow has been replaced by a super-sized Q-Tip "the cotton swabs you need...1.89-2.49"

 

I could go on, but I wouldn't find many more racial minorities. So let's not single out one company for selling things to white people, by using white models.

[RM]

I've never figured out why anyone would want to wear a t-shirt with the name of the t-shirt maker in big letters on the front.

[Rick Munroe]

>I've never figured out why anyone would want to wear a

>t-shirt with the name of the t-shirt maker in big letters on

>the front.

 

Because people no longer wear clothes to express personal style. It's all about impressing (so they think) other people with the brand they have chosen or can afford.

[woodlawn]

>This "anti-PC"crap is yet another blind for not being able to

>accept a progressive,INCLUSIVE future for the US.

>We will never move on and become the nation we should become

>until we lay down these devisive ploys.

 

I don't think you are getting the message that many of us don't think the nation we "should" become is one in which clothing companies are forced to use models of different ethnic backgrounds. Or television producers are forced to use multi-racial casts in their programs. Or painters are forced to include people of all races in their paintings.

 

Ralph Lauren was using white models exclusively for his clothing line long before A&F created their current marketing campaign. I could name several other designers who have done the same. If you want to boycott them, go ahead. If you boycott every product produced by a company that has done this sort of thing you will end up having to move to another country. Have a nice trip.

 

For the record, A&F's products are not of a different "quality" from Banana Republic's or anyone else's. All of the companies discussed here have their clothing sewn in the same factories in China by the same child workers.

[+ Oliver]

>I've never figured out why anyone would want to wear a

>t-shirt with the name of the t-shirt maker in big letters on

>the front.

 

I have always thought that if I am to wear such items, the maker should pay ME to wear them. }(

 

Oliver

[Guest YR]

Actually, I just checked several of the new pairs of shorts I recently got from A&F, and, they were all made in Sri Lanka. Guess the Chinese don't have a monopoly on child workers, nor A&F on finding where they are in good supply. :-)

[camshaft9]

Stop worrying over the small stuff. If you want to win the war---

VOTE DEMOCRAT. If the Republican administration could ban the A&F

ads, they would. Fight the Christian Coalition.

[Guest zipperzone]

>I've never figured out why anyone would want to wear a

>t-shirt with the name of the t-shirt maker in big letters on

>the front.

 

I tend to agree with you although I have a few of them myself. I guess it is because the wearers feel that if they sport the name on the front, they will be looked upon as being as hot as the guys the manufacturer hires to model them. A huge delusion in most cases.

 

But....... I think we digress here as it is has nothing to do with the race question that old what's his face has his knickers in a twist over

[Guest zipperzone]

>Stop worrying over the small stuff. If you want to win the

>war---

>VOTE DEMOCRAT. If the Republican administration could ban the

>A&F

>ads, they would. Fight the Christian Coalition.

 

There's a bucketfull of truth in those words. And after they banned the ads, good old Asscroft would start working on makeing it illegal to be a homosexual, with the penalty being incarceration for life.

[Guest zipperzone]

>THANK YOU ZIPPERZONE!!!!For being such an open racist .It is

>so much easier to spot em when they are so up front like

>that.

>

 

Well now, Big Guy.

 

Seems like there are a few of us who disagree with your take on things. Now that's refreshing! Guess the power of independent thinking isn't dead after all.

 

If I stated my dislke of overweight gays in state capitols - would that make me a racist too? Naw, probably not, just discriminating.

[Guest DevonSFescort]

>They have obviously done studies to determine their target

>market and are aiming their ads accordingly.

 

They also aim their employment policies accordingly. Do you support racial discrimination in hiring?

 

>I'm tired of hearing that everything has to be politically

>correct.

 

Who has told you that everything has to be politically correct? If this alleged PC orthodoxy is so powerful, why is it that people get on the cover of Newsweek and free airtime on any number TV and radio stations claiming that they were "victimized" by the phantom "forces" of political correctness? When's the last time you heard someone describe themselves as politically correct?

 

>The concept of freedom of speech should also be

>extended to include advertisers such as A&F.

 

It already is. Are you aware of an instance of an A&F ad being censored by the government? Or are you just conflating criticism (i.e., free speech) with censorship?

 

>I'm not a racist, regardless of what you may think.

 

Then you might want to keep this handy little tip in mind. If you have to SAY that you're not a racist, before anyone's called you one, it makes you sound like you're a racist. Since you're "not a racist," it shouldn't be necessary to protest that you're not a racist, should it?

 

>More people should pay attention the the recent words

>spoken by Bill Cosby.

 

Which ones? He's always seemed like an intelligent person who probably utters thousands of words a day. Has he had a stroke recently? Is he a toddler who just started speaking his first words? Has he spoken out in defense of Abercrombie & Fitch?

 

>And while I'm on my soapbox - how about all those black TV

>sitcoms where nary a white person is shown. I don't here you

>bitchin' about them. Why is it OK for them to identify their

>target audience but not A&F.

 

"All those black TV sitcoms?" Do you think they outnumber predominantly white TV sitcoms?

 

>A&F models are HOT.

 

Absolutely.

 

>And their ad agency is brilliant in my

>opinion.

 

Mine too. I don't think brilliant ad agencies are a sign of non-discriminatory hiring practices, though, do you?

 

>Their clothes are not for clones anymore that those by Tommy

>Hillfigger (sp).

 

Well, you wouldn't know that by A&F's ad campaigns or hiring practices, would you? Not only are the models all white, their body types are almost identical; they all seem to be within a couple inches height of each other, and within 5 pounds or so of each other. I don't think a Jason Adonis lookalike could be an A&F model -- too buffed. What bothers me about their ads is their almost hysterical fear of ANY kind of difference -- this despite the fact that, as you point out, their CLOTHES come in all sizes, and in fact, people of all colors wear their clothes. Unfortunately, their all-white fantasy sells well to non-white buyers, too.

 

>It's a clean all-American look and I like it as do millions of

>others.

 

Um, no, it's a clean some-American look. Or have you not noticed that there are other Americans besides Brigham Young University frat boys?

 

I will continue to support A&F until they stop making

>clothes I like. Does that make me a racist? Not in my book.

 

Mine either, but your repeated protests that you're not a racist certainly make you sound like one.

 

>Give me a break!

 

From what? Other people's posts about Abercrombie & Fitch? Why don't you just boycott threads criticizing A&F, if you're so "oppressed" by them?

[skins1]

My friend applied for a job at A&F one time. He said at the first audition, oops, i mean interview, they lined all the applicants up and never asked anyone a question. the "interviewers" just looked at them and invited the people back that looked "the most attractive." whatever that means. after the audition, oops again, i mean interview then they started asking common interview questions. sex sells. it always does and always will. But i dont get it with just the white guys/girls. there are plenty of attractive people of color. i guess they are going after a certain market.

 

 

 

J

 

If i put my two cents in and i get a penny for my thoughts where's the other penny going?