The preppy attire shop has created quite the situation.
Fearing that the cast of Jersey Shore and The Situation in particular are harming their “aspirational” brand (their own words), Abercrombie & Fitch issued a statement explaining that they’d offered the cast cash to not wear the label. The statement also added that the company worried that any affiliation with the hard-partying cast would be “distressing” to their customers.
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However, as Business Insider points out, the company didn’t seem too concerned that Jersey Shore associations were alienating shoppers last year when they sold a T-shirt emblazoned with “The Fitchuation.”
Is the middle-market brand trying to rile up some publicity? Most definitely. Are they actually worried about being connected with the fist-pumping, shot-swilling cast? That’s not quite as clear. It is true that the show and its ensemble aren’t typically associated with an upscale lifestyle that an “aspirational” customer might be after. But at least it’s insanely popular.
And, honestly, Abercrombie should be grateful for any link between their attire and the zeitgeist. Frankly, we haven’t thought about the brand this much since LFO’s “Summer Girls,” and that was back in 1999.
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