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Spring Break

I was cleaning out one of my many office file drawers this past week and came across an old, controversial catalog produced by one of those hip clothing retailers (the one with the initials "A" and "F") for college students. Recalling how I came into possession of the catalog and what I learned from its marketing strategy gave me the idea for this article.

Being the hip college professor type that I am, I had been asked to go and get a copy of the catalog in order to provide an evaluation for one of the Focus radio broadcasts. But when I walked into the store and asked for a catalog, I was met with a suspicious look and a request to see my I.D. I honestly hadn't been carded for anything since I was in high school. It was quite a shock. It also piqued my interest, however, to see what I was going to receive. The salesperson handed me a catalog covered in brown paper. Though my curiosity was high, I waited to return to my office before peeking inside.

Back at my office, I slowly peeled the brown paper away, revealing the spring break edition of the Abercrombie & Fitch™ catalog. The first thing I noticed was the marketing strategy: Abercrombie & Fitch was selling clothes by not showing them — or, at best, by presenting models who only marginally wore the clothing. In fact, after browsing through all 150 pages, I figured out that this was not a catalog designed to sell clothes; it's purpose was to sell a way of life.

The pictures showed young college-aged students in various forms of undress involved in what appeared to be passionate love making. As the pages unfolded the couples began to evolve into same sex couples (almost exclusively women) and larger groups of young people. The scenes moved from almost paradise-like beaches to night clubs to classic beach bungalows. OK, admittedly this was soft core porn, but I was so surprised to see how blatant the supposed "artistry" of layout and design was.

(It's important to note that I do not condone pornography. My task here was to provide some background information for the Focus audience on the public controversy about how far Abercrombie and Fitch had gone in their marketing.)

In addition to providing material for the Focus radio broadcast, the catalog taught me three "lessons" about the nature of spring break. I'd like to share these lessons with you, because you may not have thought about them. (I sure didn't during my many trips to the beach or mountains during my college years.)

Yes, there is an ideology behind even something as simple as spring break.

(Note: One thing I am noticing more and more is young Christians actually using their spring breaks to do service and missions around the country and the world. If you're one of those people, the following "lessons" from the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog may not apply to you, but they're still worth being aware of.)

Lesson One: Leave Authority Behind

The first lesson of the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog was that you must leave behind the authoritarian environment of the campus. The message? Campus bad, beach good. The catalog featured one picture of a convertible full of students laughing and waving goodbye to the ivy covered walls of their campus. In the background, sad and hunched over students remained behind in the drab shadows created by the buildings.

Why the campus is bad was a bit elusive, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense: Clearly you could not have the kind of uninhibited fun on campus that you could have off campus.

So, what's the deal with authority and campuses? Isn't it true that campuses are the home of free expression and thought and that most college students don't really have to work that hard while on campus (exceptions noted; don't write to me)? It sounds to me like it may be a simple matter of not wanting to be told what to do. In other words, to claim something is authoritarian is to claim that it just isn't the way I'd like to do things.

Lesson Two: Bring Like-Minded Friends

Many of the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog pages depicted a couple who had just left campus together, clinking glasses full of something with an umbrella sticking out of it, and looking longingly into each other's eyes. Later these same two are seen lying together under a sheet, with not one or two others next to them, but at least four others involved in the tryst.

The basic lesson communicated: Load up the car with as many free-thinking friends as possible, who will eventually cram into one room in the beachfront hotel.

These friends need to be willing to share any of the hedonistic delights that await all pilgrims to the beach. There needs to be little discernment about what one is doing, how one is doing it, or with whom one is doing it. All the wisdom of life is thrown out the window so that the things that would be shameful in other settings are suddenly proper and, in fact, sought after.

It is similar to the way that Vegas has shifted its family-friendly approach of marketing to, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Why, you ask? Because what happens, or what one wishes would happen, on these breaks is usually outside the boundaries of what we consider normal behavior. So, take friends who are like-minded — or so suggest the experts from the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog.

Lesson Three: Do Whatever!

This lesson came to me not from the catalog pictures, but from the letters located in the back, where the editor responded to supposedly real collegians asking about limits. Here is where the ideology came shining through.

Let loose and do things you would never consider doing in any other setting. Why not? Everyone else is doing it. The twinge of discomfort you feel at the moment of decision will go away. Or if you drink enough, when that moment comes, decision making won't really matter.

Freedom must be absolute in this context, right? It seems so constrained other places that here and now must be the freedom I seek? Do things that compromise your integrity and may even impact your health. But, of course, don't think of it that way. Consider giving yourself a fake name, and rationalize things by convincing yourself you will never see these people again. Realize that your behavior may have consequences, but you wil leave them behind. The answer is simple: as long as you don't hurt anyone, the sky is the limit. Is it, really?

When Ideology Becomes Real

American Demographics (2005) includes the following statistics: Over 2.5 million students will travel to the beach for spring break, spending over $1 billion, drinking an average of 20 alcoholic beverages a day, and over 97 percent of both overage and underage drinkers will participate, and all with the likelihood of over 65 percent of them having at least one sexual encounter during the week.

Marketers understand these numbers. The result is spring break Web sites that pander to college students, encouraging them to check out, for example, Amsterdam, which the sites call a "pot-smoker's paradise" because of liberal drug laws. The sites do praise "the lush jungles, ancient ruins and the beautiful hotels" of Cancun, but adds that, "Most students just care about the abundance of alcohol. ... Your yearly intake [of alcohol] could happen in one small week in Cancun." (USA Today, January 5, 2003).

Your Move …

The ideology may be easier to dismiss, but the outcomes of this lifestyle are practically dangerous. We should be concerned about the ideas that generate the kind of statistics described above.

It all starts with an idea, simply captured in a catalog from a popular store. It starts with an idea that we are free to live any way we wish, even when we know that idea to be untrue. The reality of spring break usually teaches some very valuable and very hard lessons.

So, is it time to reconsider the purpose of your trip?