Renee Zellweger is famous for continuously wearing Carolina Herrera on the red carpet. Elle and Dakota Fanning have been wearing Marc Jacobs to most every event they’ve attended over the past year. In an instant, one A-list celebrity can do more for a designer than any form of traditional advertising.
“If you’re an up and coming designer, the best way to get name recognition is to have a celebrity wear your clothing,” according the TheGrindstone.com. “All it takes is a few photos of an actor, pop star or model in your designer duds for interest to be piqued and for sales to increase.”
But what happens when a not-so-desirable D-lister starts wearing your brand in a very public manner? Abercrombie & 
Fitch has offered a “substantial payment” to Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino if he would choose “to wear an alternate brand.”
Abercrombie’s official statement was as follows:
“We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans.”
In response, A representative for MTV, which airs the show, told CNN:
“It’s a clever PR stunt, and we’d love to work with them on other ways they can leverage ‘Jersey Shore’ to reach the largest youth audience on television”
The Grindstone made some interesting observations:
No word yet on whether or not The Situation will be accepting any money to cease wearing Abercrombie & Fitch, but one can’t help but wonder: is this bad for business? The last time I walked past an A&F, the clientele looked pretty similar to those who probably think Jersey Shore should be nominated for an Emmy, so maybe it’s all some sort of marketing ploy? Or maybe everyone is just over the cast of Jersey Shore. I mean, how many seasons of drunken buffoons fist pumping in the air can the public watch? Seriously.
So while we all wait with baited breath to see what ‘The Situation’ does, consider these two facts:
- Abercrombie & Fitch’s stoke (ANF)) closed down nearly 9 percent Wednesday
- Just last summer they sold a shirt that said ‘The Fituation.’ So you’ll make money playing off of his nickname, but he can’t wear your clothing?
