“Abercrombie & Fitch Ad gone wrong

- Marketing-Interactive.Com -

What works in America, doesn't mean it works in Asia. That is the message sent out when Abercrombie & Fitch's (A&F) sexy teaser ad was pulled by The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS).

 

Source: Abercrombie & Fitch

Showing half of the male upper torso with the model tugging at his jeans, the ad was deemed vulgar especially for a generally conservative society as Singapore. In a Asian country where outdoor ads are usually done with caution, this bold move by A&F has certainly tread on the wrong toes. Netizens on citizen journalism website, STOMP have both supported and condemned A&F for this obtrusive ad (See Article).

For me, I found the ad very similar to the Calvin Klein ad that had been used earlier (See Calvin Klein ads). Even then, the Calvin Klein ads in Singapore were toned down slightly. Their campaign was also less focused on outdoor advertising and billboards. So A&F's move to follow Calvin Klein might have been wrong from the start. Consumers will find it hard to relate to their ad having already been accustomed to Calvin Klein.

Nonetheless, I do applaud A&F's bold move in trying to wow consumers for its first Singapore store launch but this is not the way.

Now with this debacle, it is time A&F change tack. Their advertising agency had better pull up their socks to polish up A&F's sullied image by this incident. All is not lost as A&F has long built a credible brand.

This lesson is a strong one for all marketing campaigns. Pay attention to local culture or risk going all wrong. Globalization certainly needs a tinge of glocalization (customizing global to local).

See Marketing Magazine's article at: http://www.marketing-interactive.com/news/28681