Benetton has always been one to push the limits of traditional fashion advertising but the latest campaign has world leaders in a frenzy.
With its latest campaign "Unhate" launched this past Wednesday, Nov. 16th, Benetton is featuring global leaders who have very different views, kissing each other. Ads include President Barack Obama with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Pope Benedict XVI and Sheik Ahmed al-Tayeb.
The Vatican was the first to be outraged and caused Benetton to pull that specific ad. While publications like the New York Times turned down the campaign, the online presence will continue and ads are due to appear in publications such as Newsweek and Monocle. But controversy is no foreign word around the Benetton office. Twenty five years ago, Benetton released its multiracial "United Colors of Benetton" campaign which quickly become an identity for the company.
Now, with Benetton struggling to keep up with competitors such as Zara, the "Unhate" campaign is part of a plan to relaunch the brand and the label which is returning to its historical staples, focusing on knitwear and colors.
"Unhate" Video:
"The film UNHATE by French director Laurent Chanez, tells of the precarious balance and complex interweaving between the drive to hate and the reasons to love."
-Unhate foundation:
http://unhate.benetton.com/foundation/
"While global love is still a utopia, albeit a worthy one, the invitation 'not to hate', to combat the 'culture of hatred', is an ambitious but realistic objective." "At this moment in history, so full of major upheavals and equally large hopes, we have decided, through this campaign, to give widespread visibility to an ideal notion of tolerance and invite the citizens of every country to reflect on how hatred arises particularly from fear of 'the other’ and of what is unfamiliar to us. Ours is a universal campaign, using instruments such as the internet, the world of social media, and artistic imagination, and it is unique, in that it calls the citizens of the world to action. At the same time, it fits perfectly with the values and history of Benetton, which chooses social issues and actively promotes humanitarian causes that could not otherwise have been communicated on a global scale, and in doing so has given a sense and a value to its brand, building a lasting dialogue with the people of the world.
-Alessandro Benetton, Executive Deputy Chairman of Benetton Group
Also this week, remember the Versace collaboration with H&M? Well it's officially out as of yesterday and it seems a lot of stores are already sold out of a number of items. Dedicated shoppers waited in line for up to 22 hours for the release and were escorted into the store by color coded bracelets and assigned time slots.
While I did have my eye on that lovely black dress, I think I'll sit out on this one and wait for the fury to pass because we all now in fashion there's the next hottest thing popping up just as you were getting your hands on the racks.
Besos,
TotesFashion!
