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British Firm Aims Raunchy Ad Campaign at Teens 9/25/2003 Misspelled obscenity is centerpiece of fragrance promotion. The British clothing retailer French Connection U.K., or “FCUK” as it’s more commonly known by its logo, is hoping to break into the mainstream U.S. retail market this year with its new fragrance line. You might say it’s like Abercrombie & Fitch on Viagra.
“FCUK Him” and “FCUK Her” are the subjects of a $10-million dollar advertising campaign aimed at teenagers. The theme of the holiday ad campaign is “Scent to Bed,” and features partially clothed young people embracing. T-shirts bearing the campaign’s slogan are free with a purchase.
T-shirts sold on the company’s Web site play heavily on the mental reading of the acronym with sayings like “FCUK Like a Bunny,” “Surfers FCUK Standing Up,” and the college-sports style T-shirt reading “Inter-Course Activities.”
As part of the promotion, stores – including large department store chains – will display titillating posters, mail racy ads to customers’ homes, and issue “License to FCUK” cards that include a code to enter the campaign’s Web site.
Ads for the fragrance have already begun running in Teen People and Maxim magazines, and stores carrying the line have begun sending out the home mailers.
Backlash begins; Kaufmann’s, Federated listen
Department stores are already facing a fierce consumer backlash.
Federated Department Stores, the parent company of Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Goldsmith’s, had originally planned to sell the fragrance in selected stores, but decided after receiving a sample of public reaction to discontinue the line.
Kaufmann’s, owned by the May Company, has pulled the in-store displays at all 50 of its stores in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, a spokeswoman told CWA’s Culture & Family Institute. The company also stopped sending out home mailers last week, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
However, the rest of the stores in the May corporate chain, with the exception of Lord & Taylor, will sell the fragrance. May Company spokeswoman Sharon Bateman told USA Today that the fragrance line “was a fit for our stores.”
May Company Stores carrying the fragrance line include Hecht’s, Filene’s and Robinsons May. Target Corporation is selling them through its Marshall Field’s department stores, and the fragrance store Sephora will also be selling the products at its 80 U.S. stores.
At Federated, “We actually had been carrying the French Connection U.K. brand in our stores for several years, however, the company only recently started focusing on its suggestive acronym,” Jamie Carr, assistant to the vice president of corporate communications for Federated Department Stores, told Culture & Family Institute.
“While only selected stores were carrying the fragrance, it was decided as of [September 22] to not simply remove the in-store displays but to remove the product from our shelves as well,” she added. Carr said those moves were made in response to customer complaints.
French Connection U.K. started in 1972 featuring fun and cutting-edge clothing for men and women. The company expanded into eyewear, shoes, accessories and even home fashions. According to a report in Britain’s Retail Week, the merchant is now considering an underwear line that could lead to stand-alone underwear stores.
With lagging profits last year, the company decided to focus on its acronym. That move bolstered profits by a third in six months and buoyed company hopes for expansion in the United States.
At the time of this posting, Target Corporation had not responded to inquiries from the Culture & Family Institute. The American Family Association’s (AFA’s) One Million Moms and One Million Dads campaigns have directed customer e-mails to Target.
To date, Target’s response has been to block e-mails sent through the AFA’s campaigns. AFA is asking constituents to call Target Corporation’s Guest Services department and express their concern.
“The FCUK promotion is a diabolically calculated move,” said Robert H. Knight, director of the Culture & Family Institute.
“They know exactly what they’re doing, which is to shove dirty words into kids’ minds solely to boost profits. If enough parents object to the department store chains, however, it can be stopped, as has already been demonstrated.”
TAKE ACTION
Protect children by avoiding stores that carry the line. Monitor the mail carefully so children are not exposed to inappropriate advertising.
Tell the manager of your local store if you receive materials from FCUK that are linked to the store chain. Clicking on the store names above will link you to the chain’s store locater, giving you the address and phone number of the one nearest you.
If your local mall contains a stand-alone store that sells French Connection products, let the mall management know how you feel.
You should also make your voice heard at top department store levels. Contact information for parent companies of department store chains follows. Make sure they get the message that Americans don’t want any more indecent marketing aimed at their children.
Federated Corporation (Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Goldsmith’s)
Note: Federated Stores originally planned to market the fragrance in selected stores, but has since pulled the line from all of its stores. Please call or write to thank them for this move.
The May Company (Kaufmann’s, Hecht’s, Filene’s, Robinsons May)
Target Corporation (Marshall Field’s)
French Connection U.K.
Sephora USA LLC |
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Concerned Women for America 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: (202) 488-7000 Fax: (202) 488-0806 |
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