Keileen's+Final+Thoughts

Shirts or Skins? At first I thought that Abercrombie and Fitch was wrong for using racy and nude photography. I didn't understand why they use these photos on bags, in stores and online. I concluded that they use female models to attract males and male models to attract females. When women see a picture of a sexy, shirtless male on a shopping bag, they are immediately drawn to the bag. Consumers are attracted to the image, therefore they shop at Abercrombie and Fitch. However, most consumers know that by buying their clothing, they won't look like the model who wore it. Girls won't say, "I'm going to look as sexy as that girl who's wearing the same top as me." Many girls wear Abercrombie and Fitch because others wear it. After looking into their advertising and marketing tactics, I learned that they use a technique called brand marketing. A&F needs to set themselves apart from other companies to remain competitive in the fashion industry. They use black and white photography, a stereotypical white model, and photography that emphasizes sexiness. this gives them an image that consumers can easily identify with. I compared their advertising techniques to United Colors of Benetton that uses tactics that are revolved around diversity. Although A&F includes a diversity page on their website, diversity isn't clear in their advertisements. Benetton uses many colors, playful photography, and ethnically diverse models. If A&F were to change their style and incorporate these tactics, they wouldn't be "Abercrombie and Fitch." The next time you buy clothing from Abercrombie and Fitch, consider what they are selling: and image or clothing? [] []