For years companies across the globe have been using shock ads to promote their brand. United Colors of Benetton, an international luxury brand based in Italy, is a poster child for the strategy. Their new UNHATE campaign, launched November 16, showcases world leaders kissing to promote tolerance and the UNHATE Foundation, which of course has sparked outrage and debates across the globe.
The ads are photoshopped images of feuding world leaders, such as North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, U.S. President Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, as well as French President Nicolas Sakozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel (to name a few), but it seems the most controversial image of the campaign was Pope Benedict XVI locking lips with senior Egyptian Imam Ahmed el Tayeb. The Vatican deemed it image very disrespectful to the Pope and people of faith and the company was forced to remove the image from their campaign the same day it was released.
Adding fuel to the fire this week, the Benetton Group placed a large billboard in Tel Aviv, Israel featuring Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kissing long time rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Will their reaction be stronger than the Vatican’s? What’s your opinion?
Check out the campaign video here.
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