We All Need Heroes

THE POWER OF NAMES

Chapter: Play With Senses

French Connection is a retailer and a wholesaler of fashion clothing and accessories. The company was founded in 1972 by Stephen Marks and is based in London. It was one of the first British companies to address the market for well-designed accessible men’s casual wear.
    French Connection soon expanded into both formal and informal clothes for men, women and children. After near bankruptcy in the late 1980s, the company was able to get on their feet and once again become one of the hottest and fastest growing brands in Britain during the late 1990s and early 2000s. How was this possible? In large part it was thanks to the controversial and suggestive marketing campaign launched in 1997, rebranding under the “fcuk” logotype. The letters represented the company’s initials (French Connection UK). Reportedly, they first discovered the acronym when a fax was sent from their Hong Kong store, entitled “FCHK to FCUK”. Though they insisted it was an acronym for “French Connection United Kingdom”, its similarity to the word “fuck” caused controversy.
    French Connection exploited the controversy of the name, producing an extremely popular range of t-shirts with messages such as “fcuk fashion”, “fcuk this”, “hot as fcuk”, “mile high fcuk” and “too busy to fcuk”.

Possible Moral
French Connection went from anonymous dullard to an exciting rebellious brand. They created a huge reaction. The idea behind “fcuk” is either a brilliant piece of marketing or a badly disguised euphemism. Love it or hate it, the acronym that represents French Connection UK is set to stick around. Showing us the power of names, indeed.


Story from We All Need Heroes: Stories of the Brave and Foolish.
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