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FIERCE
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FIERCE with its bottle and packaging.
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| Fragrance by Abercrombie & Fitch | ||
| Description | Cologne Representing scent of A&F |
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| Released | 2002[1] | |
| Label | Abercrombie & Fitch | |
| Followed by | Ezra Fitch | |
| Website | FIERCE at abercrombie.com | |
Fierce (marketed in bold red-lettering as "FIERCE") is a men's fragrance by Abercrombie & Fitch. The cologne marked the first introduction of an A&F scent for men when it was launched in 2002.[1] Today, Fierce is the signature scent of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand.[1]
Abercrombie & Fitch has sold over $190 million USD of Fierce since 2002.[1] Due to its rigorous marketing campaigns, A&F predict sales of Fierce to be at $90 million USD for fiscal 2009.[2]
Originally packaged in red, the cologne in now encased in a gray box.
Contents |
The marketing grayscale image for the fragrance is a "ripped male torso."[1]
Fierce is the representative scent of A&F.[1] The cologne is manually sprayed throughout the entire store and on clothing repeatedly.[1][2] A&F has spent over $3 million USD for scent-spraying machines for its flagship stores.[2] Increasingly, non-flagship stores are also being equipped with the ceiling installation fragrance distributors. Customers of Abercrombie & Fitch readily take notice of the lingering scent as part of their shopping experience. This is A&F's form of marketing the Fierce scent in stores.
Abercrombie & Fitch's Christmas 2009 fashion season was themed "FIERCE". In a new marketing move, the seasonal photography bore quotations from promiment historical writers (Arthur Conan Doyle, Don Marquis, Henry Ward Beecher, and Gilbert K. Chesterton) all containing the word "FIERCE" in bold/red.[3]
The fragrance has been marketed on highway billboards as well.[4]
A&F carefully markets the cologne to young consumers with associations with virility and male sexuality.
On September 27, 2009, Abercrombie & Fitch filed a lawsuit against Beyoncé Knowles.[1] A&F's reason being that Beyoncé would release a fragrance and clothing line called "Sasha Fierce".[1] Beyoncé's possible scent was seen as highly unreasonable on the fact that "FIERCE" has been a profitable and widely recognized trademark of A&F since 2003, and her products would clearly benefit off of that.[1][2] Abercrombie & Fitch took action by filing a lawsuit against her "asking a [Columbus, Ohio] judge to stop Knowles and accusing her of trademark infringement, unfair competition and deceptive trade practices because it[A&F] already sells a men's cologne called Fierce."[1] The company also cited a potential "likelihood of confusion" while sending Beyoncé a warning[2] to "a cease-and-desist letter but she had not backed off."[1]
In the end, Coty, Inc., the company Beyoncé hired for her fragrance, stated that the terms "Fierce" and "Sasha Fierce" will not be used for the fragrance.[2]
Fierce was included in the 'Not So Sexy: The Health Risks of Secret Chemicals in Fragrances' done by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.[5] The report states that 11 ingredients are health-hazardous: eight of which may call respiratory issues and one, diethyl phthalate, which can cause damage to male sex organs.[5] They are not cited by the company "due to protecting 'trade secrets'".[5] Diethyl Phtalate (like Ethyl Alcohol) was shown to be safe for use in cosmetics, unlike certain other phtalates (and certain other alcohols such as wood alcohol or antifreeze liquid) which are banned. No scientific study showing any damage to the male reproductive system has ever been recorded with Diethyl Phatalte, used at even higher levels than at cosmetics levels. Phtalates form a large chemical family, which, like the mushroom family or the alcohol family, contains safe species and toxic species. The Protests were held by the Teens Turning Green in late-September 2010 outside an Abercrombie & Fitch store (which momentarily closed), yet the company has not publicly made any comments.[5]
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