I have an interest in law, especially when it applies to advertising. When I saw this WSJ Law Blog entry about Abercrombie & Fitch's revealing ads being removed in Virginia, I was intrigued:"On Saturday, police in Virginia carted away two promotional photographs from the A&F store in Virginia Beach’s Lynnhaven Mall (the picture above wasn’t one of them). Under a local ordinance making it a crime to display 'obscene materials in a business that is open to juveniles,' the store’s manager, who police say had failed to heed warnings to remove the photographs, was issued a citation. If convicted, the manager reportedly faces a fine of up to $2,000 and as much as a year in jail."Turns out however, "the Virginia Beach deputy city attorney said Monday afternoon that police will seek to drop the charges against A&F...According to the story, city officials said thought it would be difficult to meet certain standards of the obscenity law."How much publicity did A&F receive for this waste of police time and effort? Probably enough to make the risk of removal worth it.
