You have
probably heard about the company Abercrombie and Fitch these days. Indeed, the
company said that they refuse to include XL and XLL sizes in women’s clothing
in their stores (see the article by Lea below). According to the CEO of the
company, their target group is the “ good-looking and cool “ people
and women with overweight are not in this category. However, Abercrombie and
Fitch is not the only company to exclude in a radical way people that are not considered
as their target group.
Axe is known
for its sexist advertisements. Indeed, the majority of them have a common man
who can charm all the most beautiful women in the world by using Axe’s
products. However, the company reaches a larger market because every man
wanting to seduce will feel called out to these advertisements and will buy the
product.
But what do
you think of these ads? Do you think stereotypes are still sellers nowadays? Do
you think Abercrombie and Fitch is unfair to not include XL clothes in their
shops? Or conversely, do you think the company has every right to decide the
target group, even if it encourages stereotypes?
Personally, I
think these ads are less and less effective. Whether the models of Dolce &
Gabbana, Axe or Abercrombie and Fitch, they are all sending an ideal of
perfection that people cannot compete with. For some years, we can notice an
increase in advertising of models with overweight. Slowly, people accept to be different
and that these perfect models are difficult to equal. If these companies want
to keep this strategy, it is their choice. However, in long term, I think there
will be more negative than positive consequences for them.
Stéphanie VILLENEUVE
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