Clothing Catalog Features Nude Models
Abercrombie & Fitch Catalog Has Clothes And Models, But Not Together
POSTED: 6:55 p.m. PST February 20, 2003
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- A catalog for a clothing line popular with young adults and teenagers is creating quite a controversy.
The new Abercrombie & Fitch spring catalog features page upon page of nude models -- in compromising positions.
By just looking at the photos in the catalog, you would never know they were selling clothes.
The catalog has some parents upset -- and some experts baffled. Some of the catalog's photos include a young nude girl taking a shower outside; two naked young women in a Jacuzzi; a nude young man lying in the grass.
Some parents think Abercrombie & Fitch, which is all the rage with young adults and teenagers, crossed the line with its photos of young nude bodies. Many of the models are wearing none of the clothing they're advertising. Instead, the clothing is featured, without models, in the back of the catalog.
Lynda Brown's 17-year-old daughter brought one of the catalogs home.
"She didn't really like it either, because all it did was show bodies," Brown said. "It didn't show anything else. It was really inappropriate."
Marketing professor Ron Pimentel agreed and said advertisers often push the boundaries to get their product noticed.
"There's a lot of noise in advertising and they need to get some attention and this is apparently the way they are trying to do it," Pimentel said. "So, profits go up, morals go down."
Sociology professor Russell Travis said the catalog is an example of how society has lowered its moral standards -- and how an advertiser is taking advantage of it.
"My understanding is that a lot of kids are getting sick of this. At first it was titillating, but now you go into stores and wonder if they are accessory stores or smut shops," Travis said. "So, is this the future of marketing to young people?"
Experts said it would be only if young people buy more products because of it.
23News tried to contact a spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch to get a response to this story, but he did not return our calls.
The catalog has some parents upset -- and some experts baffled. Some of the catalog's photos include a young nude girl taking a shower outside; two naked young women in a Jacuzzi; a nude young man lying in the grass.
Some parents think Abercrombie & Fitch, which is all the rage with young adults and teenagers, crossed the line with its photos of young nude bodies. Many of the models are wearing none of the clothing they're advertising. Instead, the clothing is featured, without models, in the back of the catalog.
Lynda Brown's 17-year-old daughter brought one of the catalogs home.
"She didn't really like it either, because all it did was show bodies," Brown said. "It didn't show anything else. It was really inappropriate."
Marketing professor Ron Pimentel agreed and said advertisers often push the boundaries to get their product noticed.
"There's a lot of noise in advertising and they need to get some attention and this is apparently the way they are trying to do it," Pimentel said. "So, profits go up, morals go down."
Sociology professor Russell Travis said the catalog is an example of how society has lowered its moral standards -- and how an advertiser is taking advantage of it.
"My understanding is that a lot of kids are getting sick of this. At first it was titillating, but now you go into stores and wonder if they are accessory stores or smut shops," Travis said. "So, is this the future of marketing to young people?"
Experts said it would be only if young people buy more products because of it.
23News tried to contact a spokesman for Abercrombie & Fitch to get a response to this story, but he did not return our calls.
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