The seemingly dyslexic advertising campaign for French Connection UK helped to sell more than half a million T-shirts at £20 (I did say French connection clothes are pricey, didn’t I?) a time and transform the retailer into an international name. Sex sells! Some of the slogans commonly seen on T-shirts include: ‘Too busy to FCUK’, ‘Cool as FCUK’, ‘Whre teh FCUK is my mney?’, ‘FCUK safely’ or ‘FCUK him fragrance’
But the slogan was too provocative for some. It was removed from Vancouver buses and New York taxis, and branded “obnoxious” by a British High Court judge. Beattie claimed, somewhat disingenuously, that he did not understand all the fuss, and neither do I!
However, back at the end of 2005, French Connection decided to cut back on the use of the controversial FCUK logo after consumers became tired of the slogan. Shame French Connection didn’t introduce another witty campaign sooner – that’s where they might have gone wrong…
Fashion vs. Style
In February 2006, French Connection launched the Fashion vs. Style campaign that replaced the previous FCUK advertising. The first advertisement features two girls in the role of ‘Fashion’ and ‘Style’ fighting and kissing at the end of the ad.
It was reported in the national press that this advert received between 121 and 127 complaints in the first week of being broadcast. I personally find this advert rather lenghty and I am not even sure how to interpret it - French Connection’s range is both stylish and fashionable?
I can totally understand why people would complain about needless violence however I just hope no one complained about the lesbian kiss. Would people complain about a woman and man kissing? I don’t think so…
Looking forward to reading your toughts on this
Filed under: Advertising and Communication
I think the culture in Europe is more open than here in the States, but when you see that, to people here in the US, you are seeing another 4-letter word. And of course, I’m sure young kids especially will buy the shirts just for that reason, while their parents will complain about them for the same reason.
guess what, i picked up a FCUK shirt, and everyone in my family stared at me as though i had committed a crime…. dont have it anymore
Well it’s a bit of a strange campaign, or the company’s strategy would be too attract a lot of younger people and lose all the elder. But which company wants to draw a line like that? But anyway, since I’m still on the younger side, great t-shirt!
hell i know the culture in Europe & the states is more open then Middle eats ( locked minds ) …
i like the idea of the movie … though its “lengthy” they should crop few seconds of .
mewmw : in my country only ppl aged ( young - even 30 )wear that …its youth outfits as far as i know .
p.s nice blog keep it up .
“middle east” … damn spelling progs lol .
[...] It’s often difficult when launching an extremely successful campaign do find a good follow-up. For instance, the 2006 French Connection Campaign was heavily criticised. [...]