Marci Milfs was shocked! Shocked, I tell you! She went into an Urban Outfitters clothing store in Northwestern Washington State to buy some hip, trendy clothing for her teenage son when she spotted some books on a table in the store. In addition to such subversive works as Stephen Colbert's "I Am America (And So Can You)", she found a book entitled "Porn for Women" which featured pictures of -- gasp! -- men doing housework.Apparently, the store also carried "Pornogami: A Guide to the Ancient Art of Paper-Folding for Adults" which is wholly unsuitable for teenaged pieces of paper. "When I saw it, I was shocked," Milfs said. The books were apparently right there in plain sight where anyone -- teenagers included -- could see them. She is planning to file a complaint with the city and has already contacted her state representative.
Urban Outfitters, for their part, wants to be "the brand of choice for well-educated, urban-minded young adults." They do this by "creating a differential shopping experience, which creates an emotional bond with the 18 to 30 year old target customer we serve." The store's corporate office told Milfs that the books are not sex books but art books.
I can see the art book argument with the Pornogami book, but the Porn for Women book is just plain humour. It features pictures of clothed men doing housework and saying things such as "Ooh, look. The NFL playoffs are today. I bet we'll have no trouble parking at the crafts fair." It seems to me that if that's the raciest thing a college-aged girl sees, she's doing something wrong.
1. Does anyone one else find it ironic that her last name is "Milfs?" I know that was in bad taste but it's the first thing that came to mind when your article kept referring to her by her last name only.
As for being shocked by what the store had on it's tables, has she ever been shopping with her teenager before? Theres another name brand store that pays models to wear there clothes to entice you into buying them, however it always seems like their selling bathing suits even in the winter. I refuse to say said company's name because I wouldn't want to give them any kind of press good or bad.
We live in a free market, shop somewhere else. Is it a good example no, but anyone in marketing will tell you sex sells.
Posted at 3:24PM on May 8th 2008 by Don