Retail spending might be down overall, but back-to-school market data show teens spending their hard-earned “summer job” money on electronics — and passing on the clothes.

But American Eagle Outfitters is taking the fight for disposable dollars into enemy territory, by launching its latest marketing on the same electronic gadgetry that is tempting teens away from its jeans and tees. 

The campaign’s centerpiece is “It’s a Mall World,” a mini television series of 12 three-minute episodes, but will eventually feature original and user-generated content on television, in stores and on YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.

Premiering Wednesday night on ae.com and during episodes of MTV’s Real World: Sydney, the series revolves around a group of friends who work at the mall, including a pretty American Eagle shopgirl.

By trying to turn itself into entertainment with the cool quotient of MTV, American Eagle aims to establish itself as the ticket to a stylish lifestyle, company spokeswoman Jani Strand said.

“We want to go beyond the clothes and create a relationship,” said Strand, who said the company has never created content on this scale. “(American Eagle) means cool clothes, it means style, but it also means entertainment and creativity.”

If it works, the strategy will infuse American Eagle’s trendy basics with an extra hint of hip, said Needham & Co. analyst Christine Chen. 

“We all like to think we’re cutting-edge, but basically, we’re all comfortable with the basics, ” Chen said. “If they can project an image of coolness and still sell basic clothing,” that’s a winning proposition, because people buy lots of basics.

None of the company’s peers are doing comparable marketing, Chen said.

The monthly numbers will reveal whether the campaign was worth the expense, which American Eagle won’t disclose.

“If they can continue to beat expectations and grow market share, then I would say this is effective,” Chen said.

Ok, not that Yogi.

A Los Angeles-area yoga entrepreneur is using her 60,000-person network of teachers and students to spearhead a grassroots protest against Nike’s decision not to terminate its relationship with National Football League star Michael Vick, who pleaded not guilty last week to federal charges of involvement in a dog-fighting operation.

Beth Shaw, whose YogaFit training, publishing and clothing company does about $4 million in sales annually, knows she’s tiny next to Nike. Her power to hurt the athletic apparel giant lies in her influence as a yoga master over thousands of devotees who are also potential Nike customers, she said.

Nike said it would not fire Vick before he received a fair trial,  though on Friday afternoon the company suspended Vick’s contract without pay and said it would not sell any Vick T-shirts or shoes at its company-owned stores, company spokesman Derek Kent said.

“We do believe that Michael Vick should be afforded the same due process as any citizen in the United States,” the company said in a statement.

Today, Shaw said, she will send an e-mail to those 60,000 teachers and students urging them to transcend the boycott and actually mail used Nike wear to the company’s Beaverton, Oregon headquarters.

“I think it sends a really powerful message when people don’t even wear the products they’ve spent money on,” she said.

Shaw has also forbidden her master teachers to wear Nike wear in classes.

“These people are seeing hundreds of people a week in their classes. They’re all teaching in gyms and fitness facilities, so they  have a lot of pull with people who are buying Nike products,” she said.

YogaFit also wants the company to make a $1 million donation to the Humane Society of the United States.

Nike declined to comment on YogaFit’s protest.