FCUK’s sales have collapsed after airing a commercial in which two women, incarnating the twin ideals of Style and Fashion, slap at each other and rip off one another’s bras before being sprayed with a hose by a crowd of cheering men. Then they reconcile, sealing their newfound friendship by jamming their tongues down each other’s throats.

Yes, it is a great commercial…. the sort that — with a Victorian clutching at her nethers — causes every blood vessel in my dear aged mother’s left eye to spontaneously pop every time its on the air. But the ad has driven away more business than it has inspired.

Although the metaphor of the commercial itself is relatively classy, illustrating a quote from Yves Saint-Laurent (“Fashion fades, style is eternal, so bring on the panty and tickle fights.”), marketing analysts think its cheap and consumers agree. With high prices and crappy designs, FCUK is pretty quickly squandering any sort of cache they have for happening to have a business acronym that is a misspelled FUCK.

Sex doesn’t sell for UK clothing chain [New Zealand Herald]

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