Ambercrombie & The Mario Bros.

Posted by Jeff Ignacio on December 28, 2006 under Business, Pop Culture, Random Entries | Be the First to Comment

Currently I am reading Buzz Marketing by Mark Hughes. The book focuses on marketing strategies that help generate buzz. Buzz is the phenomenon of where people start conversations about a particular product or service. Phrases such as ‘You won’t believe this’ or ‘you have to check this out’ all are monikers of a buzzing conversation. The streets, television, magazines, and almost every type of medium you can think of are overexposing me, you, and everyone we know with advertising. Sure we ignore them, but every once in awhile you start to find that you can’t ignore all marketing.

Take the Nintendo Wii for example. Did someone tell you how great the Wii is? Perhaps it’s the limited supply of consoles and the feeling of exclusivity among its owners that has everyone else wondering what is so great about the Wii. The feeling of secrecy, the feeling of being in ‘the know’, and the fact that it is so damn hard to get one that help create its buzz.

Has anyone walked into Abercrombie lately? I remember a few years back when A&F was all the rage among young women. Ads were strewn with attractive, young, muscular Caucasian males. But recently A&F was forced into a settlement of $40 million dollars in a class action lawsuit (read more here). The claimants (African American, Asians, and women) who applied or had worked for A&F received settlement checks. Back to my point. Upon walking in you’ll notice the changes the firm has gone through to clean up its image. You’ll see your ocassional ethnic model set in front of a beach setting wearing A&F clothing. But more strangely you’ll hear the blasting volume of techno and trance music reverberating throughout the retail store.

When I close my eyes and hear the word Abercrombie I think of: White males & female models, plain colored clothing with a bird logo, and the beach. When I think of the beach and music I think of rock or punk music. So why is it that trance and techno is blaring out the store entrance? Is it to create buzz by saying ‘hey, we’re different now!’ I haven’t quite wrapped my head around this one just yet, but hopefully I will soon!

One last departing note as well: The Super Mario Brothers. Where in the world did a Japanese company come up with the idea to put two Italian brothers/plumbers to fight a world of giant lizards and two-footed mushrooms all in the middle of a bunch of Carribean-like video game music???? Geniuses!