North Face on the Campaign Trail
By Rocky Thompson on October 23rd, 2012
An enterprising reporter at CNN Money took the time to reach out to The North Face in regards to the jackets that Gov Romney and Paul Ryan have been seen wearing around the campaign trail. Among their contacts was Kenneth Klopp, one of the founders of the company. With no affiliation with the brand anymore, he’s free to say what he wants:
It’s a choice that North Face founder Kenneth “Hap” Klopp finds “ironic.”
“We started in Berkeley in the late 60s … We were a hippie brand,” said Klopp. “I think it’s wonderful that the product is so well known and so widely distributed that people at that level are interested in wearing it.”
A spokesman for the company said they do not endorse either candidate and they did not give the jackets to the campaign. A Romney spokesperson explained the choice: “They’re warm jackets.”
The Denali Jacket would have been a better choice if they were really trying to reach out to the middle class.