Benetton's best and most controversial ads

It’s hard to believe really, but one of the most controversial advertisers of recent history has nothing to do with alcohol, cigarettes, junk food or fur, but is a brand of rather benign and brightly coloured fashion from Italy.

Benetton was founded by Luciano Benetton in 1965 in Ponzano Veneto, Italy. Luciano apparently sold his brother’s bike (it’s not clear whether he had permission or not) and bought his first knitting machine to make his brightly coloured sweaters. He then persuaded two of his brothers to join him in the business and they opened their first store in 1966. Now a global force, it is still very much a family run business to this day.

The business really took off on an international scale in the 1980s and it was its highly provocative advertising (that often had very little to do with the clothes it sold) that pushed the brand to the forefront of public consciousness.

Lately Benetton has lost ground to its faster European rivals Zara and H&M in the fashion stakes. Interestingly neither of those are particularly well known for their creative advertising (Zara famously doesn’t advertise at all in fact) but they do deliver the trends quickly at an attractive price point and that has been a big pull for fashion-hungry young consumers. But there are signs consumer motivation is changing (particularly among the young) so Benetton could be due a resurgence.

Benetton: Everyday moments and emotions

Benetton has always placed social consciousness at the heart of its business and it is back with a new creative campaign focusing on “everyday moments and everyday emotions”, called Clothes for Humans.

The ads show how Benetton’s clothes take the wearer through their everyday lives and don’t aim to make great fashion statements. Compared to the ads below they seem incredibly tame, but the focus on product is a new angle for Benetton and its social stance could sound a very positive note with today’s more conscious consumer.

At this point in the brand's history, it seems worth revisiting some of its era-defining ads (this really is just a small selection) and the stories behind them. 

Breastfeeding

1989

This is typical Benetton. Harmony between races is, and always has been, at the heart of its brand message but this image caused controversy, not just because it showed a bare breast and a woman breastfeeding (though even now, almost 20 years on, there are some who believe this should only happen behind closed doors), but because the woman was black and the baby white. This was deemed offensive as in the past black slaves had been used to nurse white babies. Given the brand’s track record on decrying racism, it’s fair to assume this is not how it intended the image to be seen and while it was withdrawn, it went on to receive awards at the Cannes Lions advertising festival among others.

Family

1991

At first glance this looks like another racial unity poster, the kind for which the brand had become well known by this time (bear in mind even today it is hard for models of colour to get major advertising campaigns so even those innocent-looking ads with models of many different races in knitwear of many different shades were ground-breaking). On closer inspection, however, another picture emerges here. The models on either side of the baby have their hands clasped together into front of the child. What this actually is in fact, is a family portrait. The child’s parents are not only of different races but they are same sex. From a brand founded in a deeply Catholic country, this promotion of non-conventional family unit had the potential to be shocking, however the subtlety of the image meant that particular message was lost on many.

La Pieta

1991

It’s hard to revisit this ad without feeling a multitude of emotions. Sorrow for the loss of a young man’s life, shock at the obvious frail state of his body, pity for his distraught family who are with him during his final moments but also great admiration for his family who allowed this image to be used. The dying figure is AIDS activist David Kirkby who had succumbed to the disease in 1990. Some claimed Kirkby was being exploited by Benetton but his family (again showing how worthy they are of our admiration) dismissed this saying that he and his work lived on through the image. It was named the most controversial ad of all time by the Guinness Book of Records in 2000. The obvious religious undertones with the image being likened to the death of Christ didn’t help those who wanted to be outraged. Benetton donated generously to an AIDS foundation, again with the consent of Kirkby’s family.

Newborn baby

1991

The sight of baby Giusi’s first seconds on earth covered in blood, eyes not yet opened and umbilical cord still attached was too much for some in Benetton’s home country. (And that was before they knew the underlying message). The Palermo town council ordered the removal of the ads when they went up while others refused to let them go up in the first place believing the ad would offend public sensitivity. Happily not everyone found it offensive and the ad won as many plaudits as it did complaints; it was awarded a prize by the Swiss "Société Générale d’Affichage" (General Poster Association) and the Sant’Orsola General Hospital in Bologna also asked Benetton for permission to display the image in its delivery room. What few people realised was that this ad, while it could be taken as a depiction of the joy of a new life, also intended to draw attention to the growing number of children being born HIV positive. When you know that, the blood and umbilical cord are the least unsettling things about it. 

Hearts

1996

Clever, you have to admit, no? We’re always told it’s what’s on the inside that counts and the simple message of this ad is just that. Despite what colour our skin may be, our hearts are all the same. Of course, as with all Benetton ads, it’s never quite that straightforward. As well as those who were squeamish about the sight of internal organs on a billboard, some objected to the use of the word yellow to describe Asian people. Despite that, the message is a wholly positive one and hard to argue against.

Unhate

2011

Barack Obama kissing Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez was just one of a campaign of images showing world leaders in an embrace with their counterparts and, in some cases, adversaries. Of course it was going to cause an outrage and, it duly did. In true Benetton style it also managed to upset its home country’s religious sensibilities with this one too and a picture of Pope Benedict kissing an Egyptian imam on the lips was withdrawn after the Vatican kicked off. The White House was more restrained saying it didn’t approve of the president’s image being used for commercial purposes, but in this case the ads were not designed for commercial purposes. They were a precursor to the launch of Benetton’s Unhate Foundation which aims to fight against hate and prejudice in all its forms and has a particular remit to support young people, in particular those who are struggling to find work. We’re not sure if this makes those involved feel any better about it, but given its track record, we’re not sure Benetton cares either (and long may that remain the case).