e's a good chance they'll head for the Tommy section. Hilfiger also uses symbolic words in his ads and names of his products. A quick glance at any of his ads finds the use of words and phrases such as "freedom," "American Tradition," and "Real American," in conjunction with the Tommy flag. Tommy's clothes all have tags with names such as "Freedom Jean" or have the words "American Tradition" plastered across the front. Again, these are words that Americans associate with their country. Buying the clothing unifies them in the "proud-to-be-an-American" group. Tommy has also made it clear that being in his "group" is not always inexpensive, prices for his clothes tend to be considerably higher than other lesser known brands, but at the same time not so outrageous that only the very wealthy can own them.When people pick up a shirt by a lesser known designer and compare it to a similar shirt made by Hilfiger, they probably won't notice much difference between the two. The fabrics will be similar, the color will be about the same, and so on. However, there is always at least one very important characteristic that sets the Hilfiger shirt apart from the competitor's, there's a little flag somewhere on the Hilfiger shirt. It's usually not a huge flag, but it's big enough to be easily seen by others during the course of the day. The flag is the signifier of being "All American," part of the Tommy crowd, so people will spend an extra 20 to 50 dollars for the shirt. Not just Tommy, but higher end designers in general, have a strong force in their corner. People like the feeling , Page 3that they are wearing a high-end brand, it creates a sense of pride and puts them in a different category for that day. Sure they could have worn a cheaper sweater they received free from some organization, but instead they are wearing an expensive sweater, possibly more comfortable, with a "proud-to-be-American" theme and that alone can create a bett...
