#harrydouglass

[cmcl315-blog]

Barilla

Barilla is a pasta company that bases its brand identity on the family and the role that its pasta has in family dinners. On September 26, 2013 pasta heir Guido Barilla said “I would never do (a commercial) with a homosexual family, not for lack of respect, but because we don’t agree with them.” He then went on to say, “Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role.” He then concluded the interview by saying that if gay families, “like our pasta and our advertising, they’ll eat our pasta. If they don’t like it, then they will not eat it and they will eat another brand. These comments lead to a boycott of the brand. On September 30, 2013 posted a video apologizing for his remarks on the company website. He also vowed to meet with groups “that best represent the evolution of the family, including those that have been offended by my words.”

There are ethical concerns about Barilla’s statements. The first and largest is his attack of gay families. He stated that gay families were not families because he thinks that in the classic family the woman plays a “fundamental role” this is also infuriating to me because it implies that a family is not a family without a woman relegated to the kitchen preparing pasta for her family. Barilla’s comments are a problem to the brand’s identity because no one wants to buy bigoted pasta. If the brand is associated with ignorant and outdated ideals that it may be considered wrong to buy that pasta. These comments could also be harmful to children to have heteronormative hegemonic ideals reinforced through their parent’s choice in pasta.

I think Barilla’s apology is satisfactory provided he follows through with his vow ad actually meets with the groups that he said he would. The company should not have to change drastically in order to repair its image after the controversy. They do not need to start huge new advertising campaigns directed towards same sex couples. It would just be nice if they were to briefly include a gay family in an advertisement as gesture to signify that they are trying to be more inclusive of different lifestyles. They may also want mix it up and maybe have a woman come home to a meal prepared by a man, just to mix it up. It is still too early to see the effect that these comments will have on the company, if they effect the company, but I think this controversy serves as an important lesson to other companies who have similar regards towards gay families. 

  http://nypost.com/2013/09/26/barilla-chairman-gays-can-eat-someone-elses-pasta/

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/09/30/barilla-executive-gays-apology/2895831/

[cmcl315-blog]

Abercrombie and Fitch has a large web presence. Their Twitter feed is predominantly filled with attempts to connect with there target demographic. They tweet anecdotes or humorous quips that they hope hot, young, popular people will relate to. I have attached one example of this. They also attempt to get has much visibility as they can by asking for retweet. They tweeted "Waiting for the weekend? Not tonight! RT if you're ready to party!" today. Their Facebook page takes a different approach to expanding their intern presence. Their Facebook page is full of posts that display their product or events that the company throws. I have attached a picture that shows two posts, one showing their new Flannels with the caption “Girls it’s the flannel you totally want to ‘borrow’ from your boyfriend!” The other post is an album of photos from the grand opening of their first South Korean store. Both of these accounts appear to me that they are desperately reaching out to relate to the young demographic.

  Another interesting aspect of Abercrombie and Fitch’s web presence is their Youtube channel. It’s full of videos of hot people. Their videos mostly feature their models in interviews or at special events. The most interesting thing that they post is parody videos. They recreate viral videos or Internet sensations. To date they have posted videos recreating the Harlem Shake, Call Me Maybe, and most recently The Fox. These videos are interesting because they are a unique way to spread brand awareness. They are an easy way to increase visibility because people want to share them. I first discovered the call me maybe video in a Buzzfeed article.

  In summary Abercrombie and Fitch’s Internet presence is defined by its attempt to connect with a young, hot, and popular demographic. They post jokes and relatable stories, pictures of their products with relatable quotes, and they post remakes of viral videos. It appears to me that their entire online presence is designed to be shared and seen by as many people as possible.

[cmcl315-blog]

Abercrombie & Fitch

In an article published in May 2013, in Brand Republic Abercrombie & Fitch's CEO came under fire for remarks he made in 2006. The remarks he were about how he wanted the brand to be for popular kids. He does not want unpopular, unattractive, or overweight people representing his brand. These remarks are even more scandalous when you take into account the fact that Abercrombie & Fitch only offers women's jeans up to size 10 and does not carry XL or XXL sizes. It does however carry men's XL and their men's jeans go up to size 34. This article will be useful to my paper because it will be an interesting lens to look through when analyzing various advertisements for the paper. It will be interesting to think about how an ad is trying to influence popular kids into purchasing this brand and maybe even deterring unpopular kids from purchasing. 

http://www.brandrepublic.com/opinion/1182904/

Another article that I found interesting and relevant was by the online magazine Zeitjung. The article describes Abercrombie & Fitch's history of trying to recreate viral videos as a form of marketing. The started by making a video of their models lip syncing and dancing to “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen. The company also made a Harlem Shake video. Most recently Abercrombie & Fitch has recreated the song “The Fox” by Ylvis. I think this is a very interesting form of marketing that will be invaluable to my paper, especially the fact that “The Fox” video is the first one to feature female models and it came out after this years controversy.

http://www.zeitjung.de/medien/medien/9643-abercrombie-and-fox-das-video-the-fox-erreicht-die-abercrombie-fitch-laeden/

A few other sources that I has found and plan on using:

http://www.prweekus.com/as-social-media-goes-mainstream-executives-need-to-stay-on-message/article/296711/

http://www.salon.com/2006/01/24/jeffries/

http://elitedaily.com/news/world/abercrombie-fitch-ceo-explains-why-he-hates-fat-chicks/ 

These articles are about how CEO’s need to be careful with social media, the 2006 original interview with Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, and the 2013 article bringing to light this controversy.

[cmcl315-blog]

Abercrombie & Fitch

I would like to write about Abercrombie & Fitch for my brand analysis paper. A & F is a popular clothing brand that has been around since the 1800s. I used to wear a lot of Abercrombie products and am familiar with there stores. I know a few things about the company, but not specifically about any one ad campaign. The company is doing some interesting things with social media, like making remakes of popular songs featuring their models lip syncing. Their CEO has also received a lot of media attention recently when he stated that he didn't want fat girls buying their product. Other things I can look into talking about include: the fact that the store hires models to stand outside their stores, the almost explicit images on their bags, and a brief overview of how the companies evolution from a sporting goods store to what they are today.