Damaged Goods: Abercrombie & Fitch Offers To Pay Mike The Situation Sorrentino of Jersey Shore To Wear Any Brand But Theirs

Ok, famous writers like Ernst Hemingway may have shopped at A&F in 1927 or some time in the Paleolithic era, but that was before the 'abs uber alles' focus of its current incarnation.

The chain is not exactly noted for its high brow approach to advertising and marketing. Hunky and slinky would appear to frame the boundaries of its male-to-female concept statement.

So the announcement that A&F have asked Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino of Jersey Shore fame to stop wearing their clothes is like Republican congressmen asking Tea Partiers to stop wearing colonial garb: the two are already inextricably linked.

One has to admire A&F's public relations gambit: they are probably grabbing more attention with this public put-down than they might have garnered with millions spent on their usual ads featuring bulimic underage choir girls. And it certainly fits the current mood: defining what you are and what you believe in by establishing what you are not rather than articulating what you are for, bro. JL

The Associated Press reports via Forbes magazine:

Abercrombie & Fitch is offering to pay Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and his fellow "Jersey Shore" cast members so they'll stop wearing the brand on the show.

The clothing company says in a news release posted Tuesday that it's concerned that having Sorrentino seen in its clothing could cause "significant damage" to the company's image.
Abercrombie says a connection to The Situation goes against the "aspirational nature" of its brand and may be "distressing" to customers. The Ohio-based retailer says it has offered a "substantial payment" to Sorrentino and producers of the MTV show so he'll wear something else.

The company says it also is making the offer to others in the hard-partying cast.

An MTV spokeswoman did not immediately return messages for comment on Wednesday.