Abercrombie & Fitch Face Criticism for Discriminating Ad Campaign
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
A leading retail brand, Abercrombie & Fitch is facing intense criticism from many, including the North East Labour MSP for an ad campaign that sparked a lot of controversies. The contentious advertisement posters stated that the company was looking for ‘cool’ and ‘good looking’ people to be brand ambassadors.
This campaign was considered to be discriminating against the general public. To worsen the situation, unconfirmed reports also came in that company recruiters also walked out on the streets and offered employment to people based on their appearances.
It was only a year ago that the company paid compensation to the tune of £9,000 to Riam Dean. She was a 22 year old employee with a prosthetic arm and she claimed that she had been harassed at work for this reason. The tribunal which heard the case, stated that this was unfair discrimination and unlawful harassment. The wrongful dismissal earned a fine for the company.
A leading law employment specialist, Nia Cooper stated that a number of retailers have undertaken a complete modification of their employment policies so that they are in line with latest anti discrimination laws. If Abercrombie & Fitch had modified their ad campaign and changed a few words they could averted the controversies. For instance, the word ‘cool’ could have been modified to ‘friendly’. Also, adding a line stating that applicants from all backgrounds were welcome would have helped allay any suspicion of discriminatory practices.
A spokesperson from Abercrombie & Fitch made a statement to the press stating that the company does not advocate discrimination or harassment in any form. He further stated that the company welcomes employees from all walks of life and all cultures. The campaign was directed towards recruiting people with a sense of style to be brand ambassadors.
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