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This full-page ad appeared in the December 8,
2003 issue of USA Today, placed by the
Citizens for Community Values (www.victimsofpornography.org
 )
directed To the Abercrombie & Fitch Board
and Management (and customer's of A&F and
readers of USA Today.) 
_____________________________________________________________
Imagine for a moment that we were to begin
a campaign telling teenage kids
HOW TO STEAL
CLOTHES AT
ABERCROMBIE!
(Why, you'd be indignant. You'd be righteously
outraged. You'd cry that it was wrong, and immoral,
and gave kids the wrong impression about respecting
others. And you'd be absolutely right. But we'd
just laugh and say, "Oh, it's just harmless fun,
youthful and spirited." And we wouldn't care
what you thought, and would continue telling kids
to "go ahead, steal 'em blind, and bust up the
displays while you're at it!")
Is this beginning to sound
familiar? If so, it's because it's the
same course you've taken to push sex at today's
youth. Of course, we'd never recommend someone
steal from A&F or anyone else. That's because
we believe our corporate words and actions should
build a healthy community and not do anything to
exploit youth or to subvert common standards of
conduct. And we're not alone. The vast majority of
responsible citizens in any community feel the same
way.
But that's what separates us from you and your
company. We've seen Abercrombie & Fitch
work actively over the last six years to kick down
long-held community standards of decency. With no
compunction, no twinge of misgiving, you have just
laughed and said, "our brand is just youthful and
spirited." You've even had the audacity to
label your use of pornographic sexual imagery as
"responsible" while you promoted a carefully
calculated plan to push an irresponsible sexual
"lifestyle" with every T-shirt, hoodie, and sweater
you sold.
Your intent is very clear. Your marketing
strategy is transparent. As a Board of Directors we
hold you individually and corporately responsible
for specifically targeting a youthful market, then
willfully stripping away their innocence in your
pursuit of profit.
Michael Jeffries, as evidenced by your
actions as CEO, you've endorsed the progressively
explicit use of pornographic images to attract
teenagers to buy your products. In the process,
you've made a great deal of money for yourself and
for your shareholders. Yet just because a
corporation makes money targeting youth with sex to
sell its products doesn't make it right. It's clear
you have valued profit over principle when you
should have valued both.
Russell Gertmenian, you've permitted
A&F to publish sex tips from a 19-year old
female porn film performer, to print an interview
with a male porn actor that used explicit detail to
describe men's genitals, sexual arousal, and actual
sex acts, and to present promiscuous sex as a
recreational sport despite the fact that the U.S.
leads the industrialized world in sexually
transmitted diseases.
John Golden, you've allowed the marketing
by A&F of "thong" underwear to 5th grade
pre-teen girls, underwear imprinted with lurid
adult expressions like "Eye Candy", and "Wink
Wink." On your watch, A&F has also
encouraged, "for the kinky-minded," having sex
between youth and the elderly.
Archie Griffin, of all people, you've
been complicit in the display of nude photos in
A&F stores and promotional material, and
the depiction by A&F of sexual activity that
includes group sex and student/'teacher sex, as
well as the direct encouragement of group
masturbation when group sex wasn't possible.
Seth Johnson, where were you when
decision was made to market alcohol to
youth? When "creative drinking": recipes like
"Brain Hemorrhage:," "Orgasm," and "Dirty Girl
Scout Cookie" were approved for publication in your
A&F quarterly? Where were you when
these promotional materials were printed and
distributed?
John Kessler, you've stood by wile your
"Made in USA" labels were sown into
A&F garments 6,000 miles away from the
USA in the Mariana Islands, where the absence
of US labor laws helped the Saipan sweatshops
skirt fair wage and work practices.
And Sam Shahid, the credit for the
pornographic and homoerotic image campaigns goes to
your creative eye. You must know how intensely
visual young boys are, and you've helped feed
millions of them their first taste of sexual
addiction. Your hands not only helped shape this
marketing and brand message, they have kept pushing
the envelope open further.
As the Board of Directors of Abercrombie
& Fitch:
You should be ashamed!
We will continue telling the truth about what
you are doing to as many as we can reach for as
long as it takes. Understand that we don't want you
out of the clothing business, we just want you out
of the sex business, especially because you're
targeting vulnerable young kids with sex for your
shareholder's profit. It's your choice. You can
responsibly re-brand Abercrombie to promote quality
products, or we'll work hard to re-brand your
company as the irresponsible corporate citizen that
you are currently. That's our plan. What's
yours?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every citizen in every community has a stake in
this effort. If you're concerned about the column
and content of the sexual imagery our children are
exposed to daily, please join us today. We'll help
you become an effective voice in your own hometown
to build a healthier environment for your
children
- Do you want to help. They'll contact you if
you give them the contact information.
- Do you live near an A&F store and
want to help spread the world. They'll tell you
how.
- Can you make phone calls and write
letters? We'll give you other ideas
too.
Visited them online at
www.victimsofpornography.org or print out this
section and send it with your contact information
including Name, Mailing Address, Daytime Phone
and eMail address
to: CCV A&F Project, PO Box
681, Canal Winchester, OH 43110.
CCV is a non-profit, non-partisan policy
free speech organization working to build better
and safer communities by encouraging concerned
citizens to use their First Amendment Rights.
(While you still can - editor)
Source: USA Today,
12/8/03
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