Hello, thank you for having me.
Last fall, Abercrombie and Fitch
began an advertising campaign
titled "This is the Time."
It is an attempt to
distance the company
from the legacy of their
former CEO, Mike Jeffries.
Jeffries was the man who is
infamous for not selling sizes
above a size 10 and encouraging
hyper sexual marketing
techniques, such as this one.
And it's part of the reason
Abercrombie and Fitch became
so popular in the early 2000s.
But before I go into my
research and analysis,
I would like you all
to watch the commercial
that I am discussing.
So here we go.
This is the time to screw up,
date all the wrong people.
What am I doing?
This is the time to explore
a new city, new feelings,
to be honest.
Because for this
brilliant little window,
the world is expecting you
to fail and try and scream
and cry, to sharpen your
skills and pick up some scars,
to be brave and foolish,
searching and strong.
For these few years, you're
free to forget it, let loose,
find what's next, to find
your match, to find your self.
In 60 years when the
scars have become lessons
and the risks have
become rewards,
these are the images
that will surface.
These are the days
you'll remember.
This is the time.
OK, so there are a lot of
things that I can talk about
within this commercial.
And while Abercrombie and Fitch
may be distancing themselves
from this previous
form of advertising,
their new campaign
highlights a deeper issue.
An issue that surrounds us
everyday and remains more
or less unchallenged .
And that is the issue of ageism.
The prejudice against people
of age within our society,
and by extension the prejudice
against our future selves.
Just think about when you
go to the grocery store
into the toiletries section, how
many anti-aging creams, serums,
and pills are there?
Is aging ever treated as a
blessing instead of a curse?
This Abercrombie
and Fitch commercial
blatantly buys into this
already existing prejudice
and upholds it
through language use.
By analyzing the discourse
within this commercial,
we can understand the underlying
assumptions and ideologies
held by Abercrombie and
Fitch and by Western society
as a whole.
To analyze this
language use, I've
been using a tool
known as figured world.
Figured worlds is a term
coined by James Paul Gee who
defines it as a picture
of a simplified world
that captures what is taken
to be typical or normal.
What are these
assumptions and how is it
revealed through discourse?
Let's look at first
that the central theme
through the commercial--
"this is the time."
This phrase is
repeated over and over
and is the name of
Abercrombie's new campaign.
The target demographic outlined
by the advertising agency
that produced this commercial
is urban 21 to 24-year-olds.
According to the
commercial, this
is the time to screw up,
date all the wrong people,
to be brave and foolish,
et cetera, et cetera.
While there is no harm in
doing these things as a 21
to 24-year-old, the
repeated emphasis
on the idea that
this is the time
begs the question,
what about later?
And the commercial has something
to say about this actually.
Apparently, in '60
years time when
the scars have become
lessons and the risks have
become rewards, these are the
images that will resurface.
These are the days
that you will remember.
If you take the phrase,
"this is the time,"
and then the quote
about 60 years
and whatever, a powerful
figured world is revealed.
The implication here is
that later is not the time.
Now is the time to do things and
later is the time to reminisce.
This misconception and
stereotype of a person of age
being empty, lacking passion,
ability, desire, experience,
and being filled instead
with frailty and decline
is a cornerstone of
ageist discourse.
And one that we often
do not even question.
We could also use the
term "it's now or never."
What kind of future
does this paint?
What kind of figured
world does this depict?
And what kind of life
remains for a person
beyond the age of 24?
According to the figured
world of Abercrombie & Fitch,
21 to 24-year-olds are the
ones to have adventures,
to try new things, and
to have new experiences.
That a person of age
is not the demographic
to be adventurous and outgoing.
We frame the challenges of
youth through romantic lenses
and those of age
with negativity.
Furthermore, if all a person
of age does is reminisce,
then there is no room to make
new memories and no implied
hope for a memorable future.
That the memories of youth are
the only ones worth revisiting
and that no new
memories are to be made.
Personally, as a
23-year-old, this
filled me with deep concern.
Because if--
Pardon me, we were here earlier.
I left a cell phone,
has anyone seen it?
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
It's right there.
As a 23 years old, this
filled me with deep concern.
And if 21 to 24 is my peak,
then this is going to be rough.
These idea of a somewhat
sad, dreary person of age,
incapable of
learning and growing
are supported neither by
research nor by experience.
And what is
supported by research
is the fact that happiness
increases with age.
The phrases used
within the commercial
are short and simple.
Yes, they are somewhat--
They are short and simple, yes.
Are they true?
I absolutely disagree.
The fact that they
are cliche actually
may make them more
harmful as they are
less likely to be questioned.
This commercial is not just a
snapshot of views held by our--
sorry, this commercial
is a snapshot
of the views held
by our community,
but why does this discourse
surrounding age matter?
I can talk about all day
about the implications
of the language used
in the commercial.
But in the end, there
are real consequences.
Discourse such as this
limits the opportunities
for people of age.
Retraining is not offered
to older employees.
Opportunities for new
experiences or fashion
are not advertised or marketed
with people of age in mind.
And people of age continued to
be seen as a burden and a drain
on resources instead of a
resource in and of themselves.
People of age are offered
a lesser quality of life
and may feel burdensome
and excluded.
Words are powerful,
but sometimes it
is the things that are not
said that highlight the truth.
By analyzing the discourse
within this Abercrombie
commercial, we can
understand what is said
and take it a step further and
understand what is implied.
Discourse analysis
is a powerful tool
that can expose deep
rooted ideologies.
I believe that the first step to
ending such negative ideologies
and reframing our
own figured worlds
is to acknowledge
them and change
the discourse surrounding them.
Thank you for your time.
[APPLAUSE]
[INAUDIBLE] runtime,
were there any people
who didn't fit
into the 21 to 24?
No.
No, not even like servers or
people walking the streets?
No, everybody was 21 to 24.
Yes?
Did you look at commercials
from any other company
in the same fashion category
as Abercrombie and Fitch.
Not in as much detail but
there is a commercial entitled
"Unlimited Youth" about
this 86-year-old nun who's
running her 46th marathon,
something like that.
So I did look at that.
And if you look at the
title "Unlimited Youth," it
frames her age--
the only way to
successfully age is
to have these
qualities of youth.
And in fact, you
shouldn't have to like
perform physical sports to
have an engaging and fulfilling
life.
So the answer, yes.
