Abercrombie ad citique

Abercrombie and Fitch Ad
Michelle Nyhoff
Josie Mills
Eng. 121
November 16, 2007


















Deep green eyes catch you off guard as a teasing stair leads your eye gaze across the back of her naked body. Long brown hair swoops down covering her lower back and behind as the model looks back over her shoulder, image now a little tainted by whatever articles lay in the crinkled Abercrombie and Finch shopping bag. My question is this, how is a naked model supposed to sell clothes? But that’s exactly it. They are not selling clothes - Abercrombie’s models are selling themselves, their bodies and sex. Doing this may be to popularize a name brand but selling sex none the less. The worst part is its working. Abercrombie and Finch is selling sex by whatever means needed to do that the first and foremost by their advertising. By taking a look at three specific ads by the clothing company, I think you will see as I do how and why Abercrombie’s advertisement is effective in our world today.
The first ad is one of a huge picture hung in the top corner of the left wall in A and F located in park meadows mall. This ad is an attention getter to anyone passing by because it consists of a young man wearing nothing but jeans and a girl laying next to him scantily clad. The visual elements of this advertisement are its black and white, natural look and obviously the depiction of beautiful models. The use of black and white makes the ad classy because of the timeless connotation surrounding black and white photos. This couple is laying down with the man up on one elbow staring down the camera and the girl, in tight low jeans with her mid drift showing and a simple white tank top leans towards him but head tilted upwards so that just the corner of her smile can be seen. Messy hair and a sort of wind blown look ads to the image though the setting is plain white which is somewhat blurred out, as if nothing else existed in the world. No props are used, the image portrays the characters alone. Camera techniques used are that of camera angle, point of view, and eye gaze. The first, camera angle, is most prominent because the ad is meant to convey a message, usually one of “I want that”, or “I want to be like that” in order that the product somehow accomplishes showing a perspective of something that is above the consumer and therefore attractive. The ad seems to be from the viewpoint of an onlooker catching these beautiful models off guard in a beautiful intimate moment. Therefore denoting that every moment of their life must be this exciting! This misleading makes the consumer wonder how I can get that.
The next ad I found captivating was that of the simple A and F white t-shirt with bold navy blue lettering across the front, “Abercrombie and Fitch.” Most would overlook this as an advertisement, though honestly it is their best tactic. What better way than to have the name popularized and basically people are paying A and F to advertise for them. The audience for A and F is mostly young people, need driven or outer-directed consumers. The quality of the product in itself is admittedly no better than your average Wal-Mart T-shirt. All the difference is the name on the front, and when a teen is striving to fit in and look like everyone else, this is all they need. Or so they are made to believe. The teens are outer directed because of their need to belong and will pay almost any price for it. My question is who determines in the first place who fits in or not? A and F know how young people reason and therefore cater their advertisements exactly to that. Kids display the Abercrombie name everywhere, even covering their books with Abercrombie bags. Don’t all these people realize they are saving the company millions in advertising? Why should people walk around with a brand name on their chests? And why should they pay such high prices for this “privilege?” The power of the name has gotten out of control.
The last ad is the one I described earlier of the naked girl in a dimly lit room that appears on their shopping bag. This is the main reason I see A and F selling sex. They are using the appeal of the body to add connotation to their brand. Though everyone knows that buying their clothes changes nothing about your sex appeal, somewhere the implication is justified. Fashion has always been an important part of human culture. Psychologically, people like to conform to the appearances of others but only those in the same or a higher economic level. Abercrombie and Fitch provides today’s youth the ability to conform fashionably to each other, while setting themselves apart from those who cannot afford to pay $24.50 for a plain white T-shirt. More than just nice clothing, Abercrombie is about image. Abercrombie’s own advertising can be described as bewildering at best and successful at worst. If wearing an Abercrombie T-shirt isn’t enough for you, you can be the first on your block to have a trendy e-mail address, provided free by Abercrombie, with your name followed by @anfmail.com. Want to impress someone? Send them an electronic Abercrombie postcard. But be careful. The website says, “Send A&F greetings to friends, family, and flings.” I guess if you’re in a serious meaningful romantic relationship with someone, they are undeserving of an Abercrombie postcard. Maybe it’s for the best... they probably deserve better.
Overall Abercrombie uses beautiful models, elegant photos and T-shirts that practically sell themselves to advertise their clothing line - though I believe they are selling more than that.