In 2013 an upset father of a 3-year old girl published an open letter to Victoria’s Secret, complaining about their marketing to girls and teens.
The Letter
Reverend Evan Dolive posted his open letter in response to a new line of underwear and bras he claims is marketed to middle school aged children, called “Bright Young Things.” The father also expressed concern that the line included phrases such as “Wild,” “Feeling Lucky?” or “Call Me” on them.
“As a dad, this makes me sick,” the letter states.
Dolive states that such a line is sending the wrong message to all young girls that self-worth and acceptance by others is based upon their choice of underwear. In his plea for Victoria’s Secret to reconsider this line, he closes that, “By doing so you will put young girl’s self-esteem, self-worth and pride above profits.”
Response
Victoria’s Secret posted the following response on their Facebook page, in which they state that the sentiment of the letter is based on a misguided perception that “Bright Youngs Things” was meant for young girls:
In response to questions we recently received, Victoria’s Secret PINK is a brand for college-aged women. Despite recent rumors, we have no plans to introduce a collection for younger women. “Bright Young Things” was a slogan used in conjunction with the college spring break tradition.
It has been argued, however, that Stuart Burgdoerfer, CFO of Victoria’s Secret stated that teens were in fact a target of this campaign:
“When somebody’s 15 or 16-years-old, what do they want to be? They want to be older, and they want to be cool like the girl in college, and that’s part of the magic of what we do at Pink.”
Facebook Reaction
The Victoria’s Secret Facebook page saw an increase of discussion regarding this matter, ranging from anger to support. Here are a few comments left on their page:
- Do not promote sexy underwear for young girls!!!!!! Bright Young Things is not appropriate! You are sending the wrong message to little girls!
- What in the world are you thinking selling and promoting sexualized clothing (i.e. thongs) for young girls? Is nothing beyond the pale?
- All this uproar over underwear with “seductive” slogans on them. You can go to Wal-Mart and see the same style underwear (yes, even thongs) with the same slogans. This is ridiculous- people need to find something better to waste their time complaining about. What a girl chooses to wear under her clothes is none of your business, get a life.
- If you don’t want your child wearing it, don’t let them come into the house with it.
- I’ll still purchase anything that I love from your line, but am against the whole sexiness for pre-teens, most parents try and stir their children away from this type of stuff and you guys are promoting it, why would a teenager need to dress “sexy”? Who thought of this crazy idea?
- I will no longer purchase ANYTHING due to your new line for young girls.
- You’ve gone way too young with your marketing to tweens.. lets keep things in the adult perspective..
- If this whole “bright young things” line is truly marketed for girls under the age of 18, I will discontinue purchasing your items. Shame on you guys for trying to make young girls believe they are only sexy if they are wearing the right underwear!
Bottom Line
Despite Victoria’s Secret denial that this line is targeting young girls, there are those who remain unconvinced.
Your Turn
What do you think of this father’s letter and the response by Victoria’s Secret?
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