Abercrombie & Fitch's most spectacular marketing gamble arrived for Christmas 2003 in the form of a 280-page A&F Quarterly titled David Abercrombie & Ezra Fitch's Christmas Field Guide. Its cover advertised a bizarre mixture of 'moose, ice hockey, chivalry, group sex and more,' while the interior included nude or nearly nude young adults, imagery suggestive of group sex, and explicit advice about oral sex. The issue also contained an editorial apology addressed to groups that had criticized the magazine over the years, including the Catholic League, former Illinois lieutenant governor Corinne Wood, the National Organization for Women, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Stanford University's Asian American Association. Rather than calming the dispute, the apology made the publication appear to be taunting its opponents.
The issue triggered an unprecedented wave of protest after years of controversy. Earlier editions had already drawn condemnation for alcohol recipes and drinking games in 1998, Jenna Jameson's appearance and sexual material in the 1999 holiday issue, and an interview with Ron Jeremy plus nude beach imagery in 2001. On December 9, 2003, Abercrombie announced that it was withdrawing the Christmas issue and ending the Quarterly, removing copies from stores and limiting the remainder to subscribers. CEO Mike Jeffries said he was 'bored' with the project, while company statements framed the decision as a desire for new creative direction. Analysts also noted that the publication consumed money and management attention while store sales were weakening, including a reported 13 percent November decline. The Quarterly was replaced in 2004 by the much tamer A&F Magazine/A&F: Rising Stars, which failed to achieve the same cultural impact. The discontinued issues later became collectible objects, with individual copies fetching more than $100 on eBay.
