Just what is Victoria's Secret, anyway? It plans to sell a new line of lingerie aimed at pre-teens and young teenage girls. And according to an article in the Blacksphere, the trademark upscale raciness hasn't been toned down for its younger market.
“Bright Young Things” is the name of the new brand, which apparently includes lacy thongs with the words “Wild,” “Feeling Lucky?” and even “Call me” emblazoned on them. Right, totally appropriate.
“They want to be older, and they want to be cool like the girl in college, and that’s part of the magic,” said Chief Financial Officer Stuart Burgdoerfer of the VS subsidiary, Limited Brands. He clearly has a good grasp on what young girls think and want.
Sure, girls are always striving to be old beyond their years. But as the writer points out, does that mean we indulge their wish by bestowing them with "condoms, co-ed showers, and marijuana ... so that they can be 'cool like the girl in college'?”
Ok, so while no one is forcing parents to buy the VS thongs for their young daughters, isn't there some social responsibility attributed to the brands and marketing teams themselves? At least Sears had the decency to pull its Playboy apparel marketed at tweens.
“If Victoria’s Secret is blatantly catering to 7th and 8th graders, that might be considered exploitative,” once said David A Morrision, President of the marketing group Twentysomething. Seems that whatever reassurances parents had have since been reneged.
Clearly young teens are a burgeoning market with incredible "spending power," which is simply too tempting for some retailers to resist.
So what is Victoria’s Secret? I now know. It's only too willing to cheapen our daughters simply to boost its own bottom line.
Printer-friendly version