In the 2003 issue of "Sex Ed" by A&F Quarterly , the words of Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek are printed in large orange letters: “Sometimes in the news you don't even know what is public and what is news… What do I see? A truly modern synthesis. Damn it, why don't you have cake to eat? You can have critical theory and nudity and enjoy it! ”
Properly shot, his upbeat outlook is like every content marketer's dream — you can get your press and marketing to work together. But the statement also indicates the pages on which it is printed.
From 1997 to 2003, Abercrombie & Fitch printed A&F Quarterly as its cultural manifesto — as a magazine and as a catalog. This idea has become familiar to us now, with publications like Net-a-Porter's Porter and Casper's Van Winkle's . But surprisingly Abercrombie & Fitch showed up early to the content marketing party, a decade ahead of its time.
In 2014, Savas Abadidis, former editor of Quarterly -chief, tell Racked that Mike Jeffries, the company's CEO, was inspired to create the magazine by Michael Eisner, the head of Disney. At Disney, Eisner branched out into retail so customers could have a variety of ways to shop, combining entertainment and retail in the process. Example: Eisner turned The Mighty Ducks a small sports movie, into a marketing empire full of merchandise and media that eventually led to the creation of a professional hockey franchise. Jeffries hopes to adopt that ambitious spirit.
Craig Brommers, head of marketing for Abercrombie, told The Cut
: . In addition to the brand's shirtless poster boys and rowdy shops, a print publication has the potential to fuel the Abercrombie fantasy.
Take the 2000 issue of Back to School, set in New York City. After a bunch of (all-white) models posed with their pants down in Times Square, the magazine features instructions on how to navigate New York's strip clubs and "backrooms." Then, on page 241, Amy Sedaris interviews Bret Easton Ellis. On page 248, Margaret Cho talks about her back-to-school shopping and her appreciation for Madonna. Next, Jimmy Fallon plays with a kite in Tompkins Square Park.
Most of the other 280 pages of this issue depict scenes of a carefree youth, taken by photographer Bruce Weber. Models wrestle in Central Park fountains or drink coffee. When the American Apparel traded in the eyeless young things of the Internet age, Abercrombie got them outdoors, true to the brand's hunting gear roots.
The magazine was popular enough for its intended demographic that, at its most critical, circulation reached about 200,000 copies, buoyed by subscriptions and a presence in stories. by Abercrombie.
Several years later, writing at the time of publication of the last magazine, David Carr it is “Something of a marketing innovation, in part because it sold advertising to other companies, including SoBe and Sony beverages. ”
Editor's letter in 2003 Christmas Edition , which was the magazine's final edition, included oral requests for forgiveness from "some people we've offended over the years," including the Catholic Federation, Legal Defense of Mexican-Americans and vegetarians. Readers can then venture into the magazine to discover a series of skinny blondes taking a dip in a river, along with advice on group sex.
Despite drawing objections from the aforementioned groups, “ Abercrombie's offensive vibes ” was well accepted by most consumers in the 2000S. But as younger buyers became interested in inclusivity, Abercrombie fell out of fashion. Flip over A&F Quarterly Today, the reader encounters an interesting dynamic. On the one hand, it's strong evidence of the brand's nearsightedness, depicting a single "young American" existence in which everyone is thin and rich and overwhelmingly white. On the other hand, A&F seems to have a sophisticated understanding of how to think about content a decade before other brands started catching up.
After six years, the magazine was discontinued due to a combination of sexual excess, repulsiveness, and high costs (Racked cites a total production cost of $100 million over the years).
Since then, Abercrombie has undergone a slow transition to acceptance. Mike Jeffries retired amid controversy in December 2014. By April 2015, the retailer had announced
- move away from sexualized marketing, focusing instead on “recommendation of products and trends.”
Instead of rethinking the idea of A&F Quarterly For a generation of socially conscious social media natives, the company used Instagrams with meaningless captions like “Spotted on the Foot: #weekend”. and “Going further in transitional #sweeaters.” No sign of a blog, much less voice.
This summer, the company hired Katia Kuethe, the former creative director of Lucky , as his new creative director. According to The New York Times , the selection "reflects Abercrombie management's true understanding of the need to change beyond the store's appearance to the ethos of the brand." Keuthe will be responsible for crafting a new version of the brand's all-American appeal and, given her résumé, it looks like she'll be taking some sort of editorial route.
If she can draw from A&F Quarterly's blend of gender and substance while expanding its reach, don't be surprised if Abercrombie decides to reactivate the print shop.
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