Taken by Therese Frere
Picture via manageyourshapeblog.com
Benetton’s ads provided a long-time source of controversy while under the direction of Oliviero Toscani. Many of the ads, including ones of a priest and nun kissing, a white male kissing a black female, and most notably David Kirby’s death sparked nationwide controversy after being printed. Viewers of the ads questioned whether they really were trying to bring attention to important issues, or whether Benetton was simply trying to gain publicity and boost their sales. Benetton maintained that their ads were meant to bring attention to larger issues in the face of the controversy, but many remained skeptical. For example, Benetton defended their ad featuring the picture of David Kirby on his death bed by declaring that they were trying to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS. However, many people countered this by questioning why a number for an AIDS awareness line was not included, but a number to call and order from Benetton was.
The controversy over the ads was certainly well-founded. While the ads do focus on important and controversial issues, they do nothing to help further the viewer’s knowledge on the issue. Had they included a website or a phone number to an AIDS organization for interested viewers to visit to learn more about each issue, the ads may not have come under the intense criticism that they did. Leaving out a way for interested viewers to learn more information makes it seem as though the ads exploited controversial issues simply to boost their brand. It appears that Benetton chose shock advertising as a way of creating publicity and boosting sales for the company, which isn’t exactly quite as philanthropic as the company wanted consumers to believe.
However, the ad did bring much-needed attention to the issue of AIDS. Prior to this, AIDS was an issue not many people discussed, and by running the ad, discussion of the issue became inevitable. While this was a benefit, it came at a cost. It is unclear what reasons Benetton had for running this ad. They could have run the ad with good intentions, knowing that AIDS is a serious issue and should be a topic of discussion rather than one swept under the rug. However, they also could have run the ad because they knew that the shock factor of the image would lead to a controversy. Running the image as an ad for The United Colors of Benetton would place them right in the center of the controversy and would give them publicity. Regardless of the reason why Benetton published the ad, their sales increased after running it. However, not all publicity is good publicity.
While the ad may have succeeded in making their brand name more famous, it could also have led to a decrease in trust of the consumer in the brand. Benetton may have gained publicity, but after this ad, consumers became much more wary of the ads they ran after it. As the brand’s ads continued to use controversial images, more consumers began to question whether Benetton really was trying to raise awareness of these issues as they claimed, or if they were simply publishing incredibly shocking images to shock the consumer and create a discussion of the brand. If more consumers began to believe the latter, then Benetton’s claim that they were trying to increase awareness in important issues could begin to seem like more of a lie, and the consumer could lose their trust in the brand. This shows how powerful advertising can be- one bad campaign can make or break the brand, regardless of the reputation the brand has created before it.
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