J.C. Penney Pulls Beer-Slogan T-Shirts November 3, 2000
News Summary
J.C. Penney Co., Inc. has pulled shirts from its store shelves that display a popular slogan from a beer company's advertising campaign, the Associated Press reported Oct. 31.The retailer pulled T-shirts with the word "Wazzzuuuup?" after a New Fairfield, Conn., woman complained about the shirts being sold in the boys department. The popular expression is from a Budweiser beer ad camapign. The shirt, however, did not contain the beer brand's logo.
"Some people might think, 'What's the big deal? It's just a shirt.' A little kid is not going to want to go drink beer just because he likes a shirt. But this is Anheuser-Busch's attempt to gain brand awareness at the earliest possible age," said Diane Samples, the mother of a four-year-old boy, who filed the complaint with the store.
Samples also e-mailed child-advocacy organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, notifying them of the shirts being sold at J.C. Penney.
Tim Lyons, a spokesman for J.C. Penney, said the retail chain has pulled the shirts from its 1,100 stores. "We want our customers to feel comfortable shopping at our stores, and we wanted to show this customer that we do value our customers' opinions and appreciate them bringing them to us," he said.
Anheuser-Busch Cos., maker of Budweiser, said all of the company's merchandise is intended for adults only. "We make clothing items in adult sizes only and we don't market beer-branded merchandise to those under the age of 21, because they're not our customers," said Francine I. Katz, vice president of consumer affairs for the St. Louis-based brewer.
She added, "if someone produces unauthorized merchandise carrying or resembling any of our logos or other brand symbols -- and attempts to sell them to minors -- we work aggressively through the legal system to stop them."
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