NEW FORMALWEAR AD CAMPAIGN TARGETS YOUTH.(International Formalwear Association)

Daily News Record, March, 2004 by GELLERS, STAN

NEW YORK -- The formalwear industry is thinking young.

Faced with a serious decline in prom and tuxedo rentals as a result of the widespread dress-down attitude of young America, the IFA (International Formalwear Association) is fighting back. The group will launch a yearlong marketing initiative to get 20-something and older men back into tuxedos when the prom and wedding invitation reads "black tie." The slogan for the promotional campaign is "Make It Formal," and ads will appear in such hip consumer magazines as Details, Maxim and InStyle, as well as local newspapers, plus the Internet, with a Sept. 1 kickoff date.

The $200,000 budget is being raised from rental formalwear retailers and manufacturers. The price tag for formalwear retailers will...