• by John Gaffney , January 13, 2003

Mecca USA is an urban clothing brand looking to make a statement. So to reach the target audience it has conjured up one of the most controversial statements in American history. The statement was made in the famous “black power salute,” delivered by sprinters John Carlos and Tommy Smith on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics.

Mecca’s current print ad features one African-American man thrusting a gloved fist into the sky against a backdrop of the New York skyline. According to agency Mixed Business Group, Mecca is a brand that has seen its market share eroded by Sean John and other hip-hop brands. It wants attention. And MBG, which counts Nike, VH1 and Bombay Imports among its clients, picked a symbol of protest and individuality to get it done.

“For me that image works on a lot of different levels,” said MBG director of client services Charles Hall. “It speaks to the power of the individual. It speaks to the power of a group to affect change. It presents a lot of bigger ideas than most product ads ever would.”

Serving up controversy for the Mecca USA comeback is fine with Hall. He also believes that the growth of the urban market to the suburbs and beyond will be served by the campaign as well. Read: white kids attracted to hip-hop clothes will be attracted by the defiant tone.

The print version of the ad breaks in March issues of Vibe, XXL, Slam, Source and Stuff. Expect an outdoor campaign to follow in major markets in April. Mecca’s grassroots marketing is bolstered by its effort to get celebrities and musicians to wear its apparel and footwear. Hall said he needed a traditional approach for breaking the new campaign.

“Of course there’s an amazing amount of ways to get to an increasingly fragmented audience,” Hall said. “But we needed to be in media where this brand could be judged against its peers. The magazines we picked have a lot of Mecca’s competitors in them, and they’re strong brands themselves. They impact the trade accounts we’re going to deal with as well.”

Expect Mecca to pick up its spending as the year goes on, Hall said.