It is not difficult to grasp the concept of marketing drives sales and sales drive business. However, it does seem to be considerably more difficult to comprehend what is right and wrong when considering the tactics used to create sales. This especially seems true for American Apparel considering the email blast, pictured below, they sent to their customers during Hurricane Sandy in the fall of 2012.
Hurricane Sandy was a ferocious storm that resulted in the death of over a 100 people, but to American Apparel it seems like it was nothing more than something to play off of in order to help spur sales. It is true that because of the storm many American Apparel stores in the Northeast United States had to be closed down, but that by no means makes it appropriate to release an ad so insensitive.
“In case you’re bored during the storm” is what I believe made this ad completely cross the line. The selfishness expressed by American Apparel could only have exacerbated the difficult situation people were going through. There are a variety of other approaches that could have been taken, such as pledging to donate a certain percentage of sales to go towards people affected by the disaster and including all Americans in the offer. Unfortunately, these alternative methods were completely ignored and the only people that were targeted were the ones being directly affected.
In my opinion, American Apparel should definitely be more cautious in their marketing tactics around world events that have such a drastic affect on millions of people. They try to promote their brand as an ethical one by producing its products in the USA, “sweatshop free,” but things like this advertisement will only have a negative impact on their brand and the overall image they portray to consumers.
Hi Derek,
Thank-you for shedding some light on such a disturbing and insensitive campaign. I just wanted to point out that this is not the first time American Apparel has come under fire for its marketing tactics. The firm has also faced criticism for racist (http://www.baycitizen.org/blogs/pulse-of-the-bay/american-apparel-ad-featuring-california/), fat-shaming (http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/09/american-apparel-cant-take-fat-joke/42479/), and sexualizing minors (http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/930931/American-Apparel-ad-banned-under-16-model/). Something that is important to note is that some of the firm’s most viewed advertisements only cost around $1500 to make, but as a result of their insensitive nature they were viewed by millions. I understand that many of these advertisements were viewed in a negative light, but as the saying goes “any press is good press.” Unfortunately, this idea may have been the driver of such offensive content.