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Benetton group: Unconventional advertising
Senthil Ganesan*
The purpose of advertising is not to sell more. It’s to do with institutional publicity, whose aim is to communicate the company’s values (...) We need to convey a single strong image, which can be shared anywhere in the world. – Luciano Benetton, Founder Chairman I am not here to sell pullovers, but to promote an image... Benetton’s advertising draws public attention to universal themes like racial integration, the protection of the environment, Aids... – Oliviero Toscani, Benetton Art Director and Photographer

Benetton Group: Unconventional Advertising

The group’s principal brands included United Colors of Benetton (UCB), Sisley, PlayLife, Nordica, Prince, Rollerblade, and Killer Loop. The Benetton family (comprised of three brothers and a sister) established the Benetton chain in a small Italian town in 1955. To support his family, Luciano Benetton (born 1935), dropped out of school to sell apparel. His sister Guiliana (born 1937) worked as a knitter in a local factory. Recognizing the potential for a new business, Luciano and Guiliana decided to start their own apparel company. They started off small by selling sweaters and as the business grew, the remaining two brothers joined in the activities of the company. Each of the four siblings took responsibility for one aspect of the business—Luciano concentrated on marketing; Guiliana directed the design department; Gilberto (born 1941) handled administration and finance; and Carlo (born 1943) managed production. As business picked up, the company entered into an agreement to open a store for the exclusive marketing of apparel. The first store was opened in 1969 and was an immediate success.

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enetton Group is engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of clothing, undergarments, shoes, cosmetics and accessories. Benetton also licensed its brand name for a number of products like sunglasses, stationery, cosmetics, linens, watches, toys, steering wheels and knobs for automobile gearshifts, golf equipments, designer condoms, luggage and designer pagers, etc.

* Senthil Ganesan is a Faculty at ICFAI Knowledge Center, an affiliate of ICFAI. His areas of interest include Company Analysis and Industry Analysis. © ICFAI PRESS. All Rights Reserved. 53

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The same year, it went overseas by opening a similar store in Paris. Unlike most small producers, who opted for the widest possible distribution, they decided to create a network of exclusive distributors, and used sub-contractors. The chain soon expanded across the world and established strong brand equity. The company is listed in Milan, London, Frankfurt, New York, Toronto and Tokyo stock exchanges. As of 2001, the company operated in about 120 countries through more than 7,000 retail stores.

The company opted for a communication strategy in which issues and not clothes, play the lead part. The company has decided to devote some of its advertising budget to communicate on themes relevant to young and old people worldwide.”

Until the 1980s, Benetton advertisements were of the traditional form and largely focused on its products and logo (stylized knot of yarn with word Benetton printed under it, contained within a dark green rectangle). In 1982, Luciano Benetton hired Oliviero Benetton is one of the strongest brands in the world Toscani, a prominent fashion and advertisements and adding to its popularity is the company’s photographer to head the advertising department of advertising strategy. The the company. Toscani’s initial biggest accolade that the advertisements were company received was for its conventional in style showing Unlike most advertisements groups of young people practice to separate its products from advertisements. Benetton which centered around a wearing Benetton clothing. is well-known across the world company’s product or image, Luciano and Toscani soon for its unusual advertising realized that Benetton Benetton’s advertising techniques and themes, most advertisements had to stand campaigns addressed social apart from the rest of the of them bordering on controversy and debate. competition and also from the and political issues Benetton utilized “shock value” standard practices of the and the reality of photographs advertising industry. They to grab viewer’s attention and decided to promote Benetton to make their brand name memorable. Unlike most as a “life style accessory” and not as a clothing brand. advertisements which centered around a company’s Toscani’s first theme featured teenagers and kids product or image, Benetton’s advertising campaigns from culturally diverse nations. Colorfully dressed in addressed social and political issues like racial Benetton attire, the kids engaged in a variety of playful integration, AIDS awareness, war, poverty, child acts. By linking the varying colors in the Benetton labor, death, pollution etc. The company tried more collection to the diverse “colors” of its world to “communicate” to the world about these issues customers, Toscani portrayed a picture of racial rather than to “sell” apparel and accessories. harmony and world peace. It was from these

The way of the advertisements
Benetton has earned worldwide recognition by creating advertisement themes that promote diversity and various other social causes. The company strives to promote itself as a socially responsible business, by supporting social organizations and discussing moral issues in its print campaigns throughout the world. Various company literature highlight Benetton’s advertisement strategy: “Benetton believes that it is important for companies to take a stance in the real world instead of using their advertising budget to perpetuate the myth that they can make consumers happy through the mere purchase of their product.
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advertisements that the world famous inspirational trademark “United Colors of Benetton” emerged. In 1984, the company launched a similar campaign

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titled “All the colors in the World,” showing groups of teenagers and kids from different countries and ethnic groups dressed in Benetton clothing, with the company logo in the corner. Bruno Suter, Director of Eldorado Agency that handled Benetton’s advertising account, commented on this multi-race theme: “Nothing more is more like a fashion photograph than another fashion photograph. You show some lovely looking models and that’s it. With Benetton, we started out with the notion of color. By definition, Benetton means colors. So, to convey this idea of colors, we showed a group, made up of people with different colored skin. It was fantastic, so exhilarating to show the products in such a new and simple way.” In 1985, advertisements included two black boys kissing each other, with little US and USSR flags in their hair and painted on their cheeks with the tagline “United Colors of Benetton.” In 1986, the two little black boys appeared again, united by a globe and a chain with the peace symbol. The globe became a symbol of unification, and appeared on all the posters that year. Similar themed advertisements were launched for other countries in political battles with each other: England and Argentina, Israel and Germany, Iran and Iraq, Israelis and Arabs, etc. The message read: “All colors are equal, just as all men are equal.” Through such advertisements, Benetton aimed to create a feeling of world peace and harmony.

Similar campaigns were also done with animals—a wolf and a lamb with the tagline: “United Friends of Benetton.” Since Benetton’s clothing was sold in so many different markets, each one preferring different styles,

Toscani decided that the company turn to advertisements featuring not products but photos that stimulated thinking. His new advertisements neither

showed the products nor the logo. The knot logo was replaced with a small green triangle with the tagline “United Colors of Benetton.” Luciano Benetton explained his decision to separate the products from the advertisements: “Using these images in this unconventional way is an effort by Benetton to break through the complacency that exists in our society due to the constant flow of even the most horrendous realities communicated through conventional media such as the evening news or the morning paper. By removing these images from their familiar contexts and putting them in a new context they are more likely to be noticed and given the attention they deserve as the viewer becomes involved in the
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In 1988, the company started mixing culture and legends. New advertisements featured Adam and Eve, Joan of Arc and Marilyn Monroe, Leonardo de Vinci and Julius Caesar, all captioned with the slogan: “United Superstars of Benetton.”

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process of answering the questions: What does this image mean? Why does this image appear with a Benetton logo? How do I feel about the subject of the image? What can I do?”

An angelic-looking white child embracing a black one whose hair shaped into devil’s horns created a lot of conaternation among Black groups in the US. In 1991, Toscani introduced a number of advertisements that discussed other social issues. The advertisements were a means to draw attention to important social problems and thereby generate public discussion. Throughout the early 1990s, Benetton advertisements featured a cemetery (signifying war deaths), many different brightly colored condoms, a baby with an umbilical cord, a priest and a nun kissing, etc. The advertisement featuring the priest and nun seriously offended the Pope of Vatican and the religious sentiments of many. The image of the baby with an umbilical cord invited mixed responses. In the company’s view, advertisement simply conveyed the beauty of new life. More specifically the advertisement was to convey the universal idea of love as a force from which life itself is born and that a baby symbolizes the most permanent form of love. The photo set off a huge controversy throughout Europe and many wanted it to be banned. At the same time, however, the image was exhibited in a Flemish museum as part of a show celebrating the images of motherhood.

Famous advertisements during the late 1980s included a black hand and a white hand linked by a handcuff, a black woman breast-feeding a white baby. The black woman-white baby advertisement received severe criticism because many thought that Benetton was reminding the black people of the US and UK of the times of slavery when black women breast-fed white babies. However, Benetton maintained that such photos were only symbols of brotherhood in the world and not exploitation of a particular race. Other advertisements signifying brotherhood and camaraderie included a white wolf and a black sheep nose to nose, a black child sleeping among a pile of white teddy-bears, a little black hand on a big white hand, a piano duo showing little white hands being helped by big black hands, two children (one black, the other white) facing each other sitting on their potties, tubes of personality tests, several young couples of miners and bakers united by the black of the soot or coal and the white of the flour.

In 1992, Toscani combined advertisements with politics to further promote the Benetton image. He selected a series of photojournalistic images concerning the AIDS crisis, environmental disaster, political violence, war exile, etc. These appeared in various journals and magazines as well as on billboards without written text except for the conspicuous insertion of the green and white Benetton logo located in the margins. Toscani explained the company’s decision to shift towards photojournalistic images.
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close-ups of various parts of the human body (pubis, arms, stomach, bottom) tattooed with the English abbreviation “HIV Positive.” The tattoo mark was similar to the numbers tattooed by Nazis on concentration camp prisoners. Benetton advertisements also promoted homosexuality: Two smiling men cheek to cheek, two women—one white and the other black, holding an Asian baby, wrapped in the same blanket, etc. Other controversial advertisements included a black stallion mounting a white mare, three identical human hearts, with stickers announcing different ethnic groups “white, black and yellow.” The hearts portrayed that everybody was the same in the inside, no matter what the outside skin color was. Apart from advertisements for billboards and magazines, Benetton also created a number of catalogs titled “People and Places.” Catalog themes included Young People in Tokyo, Sunflowers (featuring children with Down’s Syndrome), Jerusalem, Ponzano (Italy), Corleone (Italy), China, India, etc. These catalogs featured pictures of people from the above-mentioned countries. In 1998, Benetton used images of Arabs and Jews living and working together in Israel. Titled “Enemies,” the cover showed a kiss between a 24-year-old Israeli student and her 22-year-old Bedouin boyfriend. The catalog included photos of an Arab grocer and a Jewish customer, Jewish and Arab youth leaders, a mixed kindergarten of Jewish and Arab kids, a music band comprising of Jews and Arabs, etc. In January 2000, Benetton released its death-row advertising campaign, which featured prisoners who had been sentenced to death. The campaign appeared on billboards and in major publications in Europe, America and Asia. The advertisements featured full color faces of death-row inmates, printing their names and dates of execution. A special booklet and video was also released that aimed at showing the reality and futility of capital punishment. The booklet included photos of 26 inmates and interviews in which they
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“Unlike traditional adverts, our images usually have no copy and no product, only our logo. They do not show you a fictitious reality in which you will be irresistible if you make use of our products. They do not tell anyone to buy our clothes, they do not even imply it. All they attempt to do is promote a discussion about issues which people would normally glide over if they approached them from other channels, issues we feel should be more widely discussed.” Though most of its advertisements were severely rebuked by governments, media and general public alike, Toscani went one step further by embracing “reality advertising.” Advertisements included: A dying AIDS victim with his family at his bedside, an African guerrilla holding a Kalachnikov and a human leg bone, a boat overcrowded with Albanians, a group of African refugees, a car in flames after a Mafia

bombing, a family weeping before the bloodied corpse of a Mafioso, two Indians caught in a flood in Calcutta, etc. Benetton also launched an advertisement with a series of masculine and feminine genitals, all different ages, all different colors with the label “United Colors of Benetton.” A more shocking advertisement showed

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discussed about life and their punishment. Benetton thought that if the public saw these inmates as “people,” then they would be less inclined to see the prisoners executed and more inclined to support against death penalty. The campaign resulted in widespread protests from customers as well as government bodies. The families of the victims and prisoners objected strongly to the campaign. The state of Missouri (US) where the inmates in question were imprisoned filed a suit against the company stating that they were mislead regarding the use of the photos that were taken.

issues themselves. In various countries, this has already happened. As more and more people understand our position and the urgency of these issues, we hope to become the vehicle for discussion and not its focus.” One leading magazine summarized Benetton’s advertisements:

“They seem to take the virtuous stand for the betterment of humanity and thus create a sense of power in the viewer who agrees with the safe, politically correct message, even if the message is made with shocking images. By empowering Over the years, many newspapers in many countries the viewer, the consumer, the company associates itself with engineered refused to print Benetton feelings of empowerment advertisements. In 1995, and righteousness. Through government authorities in Toscani’s responsibility, as the use of such images Germany banned Benetton Benetton’s creative director, Benetton as a company has advertisements featuring child was to document social become icon for this kind of laborers, the human body protest in advertising which realities rather than stamped “HIV Positive,” and tries to claim the ability for promote sales a bird stuck in an oil slick. They social change. In reality, were banned because these Benetton creates an advertisements exploited empowered viewer who will suffering. The newborn advertisement was buy their product through shock value, withdrawn from the media in Italy, France and UK. empowerment and memorability.” The more the company’s advertisements were banned, the more Benetton got publicity. Benetton Benetton and Oliviero Toscani was also sued by many of its retail outlets that believed the provocative advertisements drove away The strong force behind Benetton’s advertisements customers. Many retailers criticized Benetton’s was Oliviero Toscani who created advertisements the less traditional way. Toscani’s responsibility, as strategy: Benetton’s creative director, was to document social “We are talking about two different arenas here. realities rather than promote sales. He explained his If Benetton wanted to underwrite some cause, role in the company: we’d be supportive. But we’re trying to sell products. At this point everyone should know “Nobody ever told me my job was to sell anything. what Benetton is. But we still find a lot of people I’m responsible for the company’s who know the name but don’t know what we sell.” communications; I’m not responsible for its economics. Benetton has given me incredible Luciano Benetton responded to retailers and other freedom to propose issues that should be protestors about its questionable advertising themes: communicated. To be really contemporary, an up“We are aware of the controversy that some of to-date company, we must take our communication our images have caused, but we believe that all in another direction. Not the one usually followed worthwhile stances will have supporters and by most companies, in the apparel business, at detractors. Our hope is that people will move from least- when there’s an obvious connection the sterile discussion of whether or not a company between product, model and merchandizing. I’m is entitled to illustrate its point of view in its aware that, having a relatively big budget, it would advertising campaigns, to a discussion of the be like throwing money away if we only explained
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that our product is better than the competition’s. Advertising should give something more... That’s my work, to report something that exists. We can’t be like ostriches who put their head in the sand.” His advertising style was in strict contrast to most advertising styles and he identified a number of drawbacks in traditional advertising. In an interview he commented:

He latter added: “To be successful advertising has to disconnect the message from the product and forget about marketing, which standardizes everything. I don’t do the same thing other people do. I use products to focus on the major problems besetting humanity. I’ve proved that it can be profitable. Since I’ve been working for Benetton, the company has grown tenfold. Advertising people hate me but they have to admit that I’ve won.”

“There is a crisis in advertising. The industry is lagging behind social trends, but it’s so rich and powerful that it’s very difficult for it to change. In the early twentieth century advertising focused on a company’s buildings and machines. After that it started presenting products. Then, since all Following the controversy surrounding the death row products started looking alike, they could no campaign, Oliviero Toscani quit Benetton in May 2000. Benetton realized that it longer be at the heart of the had crossed even the message. So in the 1960s boundaries of unconventional advertisers started showing Benetton, however, leggy models to sell cars. maintained that the company advertising with the death-row campaign. Various surveys The long legs offered added would still maintain its suggested that loyal customers value. The product took a “socially responsible” image also decided against shopping back seat and what was sold by working on nonwas a symbol. The problem at Benetton. Following controversial causes with this technique is that Toscani’s exit, Benetton the message is always based highlighted its advertising on consumers’ shortcomings strategy for the future: and makes them feel guilty. It tells them, ‘if you “We need to have models wearing our clothes haven’t got this product, you’re out of it. On the other hand, if you buy a certain brand of sports by UCB in our advertisements. We need to show shoes you can play like Ronaldo even if you can’t consumers that we are an actual clothing line, and not a political or governmental company. kick a ball.” By picturing our stylish clothes, we will attract He believes that the industry as a whole should more business. Consumers want to buy our change the way advertisements are used. The reason clothes because they are attractive and have a being that consumer-spending pattern had changed high quality reputation. People who respect our over the years. He explained: clothing line are the only ones that actually buy “They have to be more creative, but the advertising it, despite the political issues that we represent. industry couldn’t care less about creativity. It If we can undo the damage that we have already wants to perpetuate the system to keep on living caused in the minds of many consumers by off it. The fact is that advertisers must explain the ceasing to offend them, our sales will greatly client company’s philosophy. If they’re successful, increase. Let’s show the world that we make consumers will work out for themselves that the great clothing, not that we have controversial products are good. To capture their attention, opinions on various subjects.” advertising must become an artistic product in itself, like a play or a film. That has never Benetton, however, maintained that the company happened because the only things that condition would still maintain its “socially responsible” image the industry are money and marketing managers, by working on non-controversial causes like racial who are idiots. All they know how to do is repeat discrimination, poverty, child labor, AIDS awareness, etc. n what’s already been done.”
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