Barely had audiences started reacting to Benetton’s new “Unhate” ad campaign when it was forced to apologise and take down one of the series: the Vatican was not amused seeing the Pope lock lips with a mullah. It’s not known, though, what upset the Roman Catholic pontiff more — the fact that it was a Muslim
cleric or the suggestion of homosexuality. The White House isn’t amused either; it doesn’t like images of its President used commercially. Other leaders — China’s Premier Wen Jiabao, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy — did not react, at least not publicly, but they couldn’t have been thrilled either. For all its audacity, though, Benetton was circumspect enough not to show the leaders of India and Pakistan kissing: one can easily imagine the subcontinental storm that might have erupted.
Controversial ads are nothing new for Benetton: they helped raise its profile in a cluttered market, and it won fans. But it helps to remember that the sole purpose of the attention-grabbing ads is to sell more products. It is not about high art or freedom of speech. Its ad campaigns over the years have focused on universal brotherhood and amity between communities; “Unhate” too is meant to promote love. But Benetton isn’t spending big bucks as part of its corporate social responsibility but to move more clothes from its shelves. This objective is paramount, whatever garb it may be in. But one can marvel at the company’s imagination in making it to the headlines once again.