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Italy’s world famous photographer who made the most controversial promotion campaigns for Benetton, an Italian company between 1982 and 2000, is called Toscani. His father, Fedele Toscani was a renowned Italian photographer who founded the Publifoto photographic agency together with Vincenzo Carrese and some years later his own photographic agency (Rotofoto) and became a photo-reporter for the newspaper “Corriere della Sera”. He started working with several magazines such as Elle, Vogue, L’Uomo Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar after graduating from Kunstgewerbeschule Zürich. In 1982 he joined the Benetton Group as its Art Director. One of his most famous advertisements featured a picture of David Kirby on his deathbed in Columbus Ohio surrounded by his mourning family members. The picture caused a great deal of controversy because it resembled a pietà painting and critics believed that using this image for selling clothes was exploiting the victim though the Kirby family confirmed that they had agreed to its use and it boosted AIDS campaigns efforts¹. Together with Tibor Kalman, an American graphic designer; he co-founded Colors Magazine in early 1990s which was also controlled by Benetton Corporation. He quit from Benetton in 2000.

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One of the advertisements in the series that caused controversy was “Blanket” created by Oliviero Toscani for Benetton, an Italian fashion brand in the early 1990s It contains a picture of three infants one white baby, one black baby and one Asian child all wrapped up in a white blanket.

Toscani’s ads are famous for being daring and often controversial. Likewise, the “Blanket” ad was thought to be shocking. The taboos were many as race matters were not then subject to clothing adverts. Moreover, it faced critics for selling clothes through using kids as tools and exploiting them.

Toscani’s Benetton print campaigns have frequently been accused of insensitivity and trivializing genuine social problems; nevertheless, they have also been lauded for their audacity in highlighting important issues that are often ignored by mainstream media.

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Benetton created a series of controversial advertisements in the mid-1990s called "Hearts." The ad presents a picture of three pig hearts that are almost identical except for their captions:” White, “Black,” and “Yellow.”

It was seen as racist and insensitive hence it became controversial. Critics argued that the ad made light of important social issues while also exploiting racial tensions to boost sales but such views were refuted by others.

Although he is famous for his controversial works, there is no suggestion that Oliviero Toscani who was creative director of Benetton between 1982 and 2000 made the design for the “Hearts” ad.

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“Murder” Concept: Oliviero Toscani Photo: Franco Zecchini/Magnum

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“Murder” Concept: Oliviero Toscani Photo: Franco Zecchini/Magnum

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The “Murder” ad campaign was introduced by Benetton in 1992 and it depicted a shooting by the Mafia which took place ten years earlier in Palermo, Italy. The photograph was taken by Franco Zecchi and it triggered anger all over Italy. It was among the provocative images that Benetton used to highlight social issues and market its brand. This campaign is one of many that Benetton has launched over the years in order to shock and provoke the public. The “Murder” ad campaign generated controversy because it used a graphic image of an actual murder as a sales tactic for clothing. The campaign was accused of being callous towards the victims of the Mafia as well as their families . The campaign also faced condemnation for reducing the matter of violence to trivia. These kinds of explicit pictures were considered unethical in advertising, something not tolerated under good taste and decency laws .

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Benetton launched its “Condoms” ad campaign in 1993, which contained a picture of a hand with several colored condoms. This was one of Benetton’s many campaigns over the years at shocking and provoking the public. The “Condoms” ad campaign drew controversy as it featured a graphic image of condoms to sell clothes. It was accused of being insensitive to safe sex and also trivializing contraception. The inclusion of such graphic images in advertisements was considered taboo and breach of good taste and decency norms.

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Assuming that you are referring to Benetton’s “Priest and Nun” ad campaign, which was launched in September 1991 and depicted a photograph of a priest kissing a nun. It was for this purpose that the campaign was mounted as part of Benetton’s strategy to attract attention to social issues through provocative and controversial images which could promote their brand. This was one of many campaigns by Benetton aimed at shocking the public.

The “Priest and Nun” ad campaign was controversial because it utilized a graphic representation of religious taboo to sell clothes. The criticism against the campaign came from its insensitivity towards people’s religious feelings while trivializing faith. The advertising agencies use of such graphic images was considered as taboo and seen as infringing upon good taste rules of decency.

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In 1991, Benetton’s campaign “Newborn Baby” was introduced. One of the elements of Bеnеtton’s strategy was to use provocative and disturbing photos that will attract attention to social problems and promote the brand. For example, this campaign was one among other numerous campaigns launched by Benetton over the years in order to shock and offend people.

The reason why “Newborn Baby” ad campaign was considered controversial is because it featured a shocking image of an infant promoting clothes. Moreover, the campaign was accused of disregarding the pain and anguish associated with childbirth and making light of human life. The employment of such images in adverts for commercial purposes had always been considered inappropriate due to their violation of norms related to good taste and morals.

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The ad contains a picture of David Kirby, who was suffering from AIDS, and his relatives. Life magazine published this picture for the first time in 1990; it was later colorized by Ann Rhoney, who painted it with oil paints manually.

This ad was part of a larger Benetton campaign aimed at raising awareness about AIDS -then considered taboo. The idea of this campaign is “to create campaigns out of meaning and issues that advertisers don’t normally want to deal with. People were furious because they saw it as using a man’s misery to sell clothes. After that gay rights activists took to the streets calling on the people to boycott Benetton ¹⁶. Some people engaged in fighting against AIDS thought that the photograph and its use in advertising did nothing but spread fear and promote stigmatization rather than acceptance.

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The Benetton HIV-positive ad was made in 1992 by Benetton’s then-creative director, Oliviero Toscani. In the ad, there is a picture of a man with a red ribbon on his mouth representing the silence and stigma of sexual diseases. The ad campaign was done as part of an effort by Benetton to sensitize people about AIDS, which was still somewhat a taboo topic during that era. The aim was to make advertisers do campaigns out of meaning and issues that they don’t normally want to deal with. It created controversy because it reduced a man’s affliction into something that people could sell clothes on. Gay rights activists took to the streets calling for people not to buy their products. According to some AIDS activists, this photograph; which appeared in many other advertisements as well; painted AIDS victims as negatively as possible such that it made them fearful instead of accepting them. Others saw it as an exculpation of homosexuality.

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Bibliografía

Adegoke, Y. (2019, junio 7). United Colors of Benetton blazed a trail for diversity in fashion. Medium. https://medium.com/@yomiadegoke/united-colors-of-benetton-blazed-a-trail-for-diversity-in-fashion-a61746de0517

Floros, G. (2020, abril 30). 10 most controversial united colors of Benetton ads. FriendlyStock. https://friendlystock.com/top-ten-controversial-united-colors-of-benetton-ads/

Oliviero Toscani on successful advertising - Forward Festival. (s/f). Forward-festival.com. Recuperado el 23 de enero de 2024, de https://www.forward-festival.com/article/oliviero-toscani-advertising

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United Colors of Benetton, an Italian fashion brand, is popular for its controversial and thought-provoking advertisements. One of the most contentious Benetton ads was the United Colors of Benetton  Bloody Clothing campaign released in 1991. The ad showed a picture of a man with a shirt stained with blood, it was meant to create awareness about violence in Northern Ireland. This ad sparked much controversy among the public and there were many who criticized it as being insensitive. Without paying much attention to these harsh words, this advertisement informed people on the issue of violence in Northern Ireland creating a debate on advertising’s role in addressing social matters.

Ads can be offensive for several reasons such as being insensitive, inappropriate or offensive. Some ads may also be considered taboo because they touch on sensitive topics that are not normally discussed out in the public. For instance, some ads can be regarded as taboo if they involve nudity, sexual content or other profanities that go against certain cultural beliefs or social norms.

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Your work on this activity is EXCELLENT, I enjoyed reading your analysis 🙂