Friday, November 18, 2011
Unhate Unruly Benetton
Benetton -or, really, Alessandro & Co- has done it again: in their efforts to be (or remain) the top dog in its domain, they've conjured up a series of doctored snapshots that makes any photoshop aficionado simply salivate in envy: okay, maybe that is not the appropriate statement to go with that just now, considering the nature of those photoshopped pics...!
Angela Merkel & Nicolas Sarkozy. Barack Obama & Hugo Chavez. The Pope and the Egyptian Imam. North Korea and South Korea leaders - Palestinian and Israeli - the works! All kissing and making up. All "unhating"...! What a concept for an ad campaign - heck, for a FOUNDATION, as Benetton swears there is such a thing as the "Unhate Foundation"(they probably meant to donate 10 cents on every portion of 100 dollars sold of highly-expensive trendy clothes to it - see what you ruined there by protesting too much, Vatican? But we're getting ahead of ourselves here...)
The Unhate Foundation - what a concept! And "exorcising the fear of the other" is their aim! It is truly a genial idea to create such a foundation: for, why share your profit by donating to an external one when you can create your own, keep all the cash flow within the ranks and keep and maintain the appearance of being one of those (highly) commercial enterprises that "gives back"...? It is an improvement upon a formula that was seen in Japan, in the United States too (of course) and, now (almost typoed it "nwo" here - wow), finally, in Europe, in mama Italia, cradle of all civilization (sorry, Greece!)
But all that is another story - let us concentrate, here and now, on the infamous ad campaign...! And, in order to just just that, let us, first and foremost, run through that series of disturbing shots - again:
Ah yes - we needed to see that again - didn't we?
(Actually, did we just see it again - or didn't we? Depends which way the wind is blowing on YouTube, Blogger and the net overall, really...! And on the good humor of your internet provider - and, of course, your home computer as well! All of them may protest as virulently and vehemently as the Vatican did, at any given time here...! But we are digressing now...)
This ad campaign has, of course, given rise to a storm of controversy on all levels, be it religious, political as even artistic and even ethical...!
For this campaign has sparked organized (highly so, really) guerrilla actions throughout the world (wherever there is a United Colors of Benetton banner, really...) so forget the Occupy movement - this one has professionally-doctored striking images to show the world!
So much so that it stirred Benetton to concoct an explanatory video to basically justify itself in its choice to greenlight this risky ad campaign at all in the first place; watch...
Even though it was all a fruitless, pointless and quite in vain explanation in the end (the ads have been pulled out) it still fueled conversation and every pundit in town (even those types that we have almost forgotten about - and some we barely know about) have gone over it, over and over again...
Benetton was once again successful -extremely successful- at raising awareness of an issue dear to them (they are, after all, the "United Colors of Benetton" - not just "Benetton"!) and, most importantly for them, at setting themselves widely apart from all of their competition because, after all is said and done, at the end of the mercantile day, Benetton is really nothing other than a clothing firm! A glitzy, slightly eccentric, off the charts Italian clothing firm, sure, but nothing else, really!
Benetton is unruly by choice and, in its constant effort to be relevant, make an impact, stand out from the sea of competitors out there, it estimates its right to invade the platform of great debates such as the one revolving around "what does it take to finally have world peace" and such. The campaign is withdrawn now but it will linger on in all media for quite a while longer and even if it is utopian, odd (to put it mildly) and all-around unlikely, it generates just what Benetton really wants, ultimately - publicity for its brand. And that, my friends, is pure genius, marketing-wise anyhow...! Never mind the fact that all the snapshots are obviously fake and none of that has a snowball-in-hell's chance of ever, EVER, EVER happening in the real world...! (Well, actually, Merkel and Sarkozy I could see happening - if Carla's in the middle? But all the others are pure/impure fantasy...! Hey - Blame it on Benetton! Ok?)
Thus, its latest crazy idea for an ad campaign "that stands out" got the shaft due to the Vatican, ironically, their own backyard pontiff and crew, who deemed it highly offensive, disturbing and downright disrespectful. It stood out, all right, this latest ad campaign - it stood out too much and went too far beyond the borders of the clothing and fashion galaxy! When it begins to broach universal subjects, and in such a vigorous "shake them up to wake them up and make them react" way, it is truly a case when the fashionistas are treading upon territory that is not theirs and where they should not tread.
For fine clothing is simply not the solution that will beget world peace!
And besides, everyone knows that there isn't a single imam, politician or any Pope in history that ever, EVER, dressed at Benetton's...! Come on...!
;-)
Having said all that - kudos to Alessandro Benetton for not giving up on this at all (when controversy rose and the Vatican condemned it) and for releasing a FILM now, which you can see below, one that carries forth the campaign to the everyman and everywoman confronted with hatred - to every potential customer, hence! A film that explores the very real and far more disturbing tendency that humankind has to intermingle love and hate, go from one to the other with the greatest of ease, as if the feelings were interchangeable...? This theory (that love gives way to hate and vice-versa) is explored in full throttle in the short film commissioned by A.B. and it eludes the previous type of controversy by avoiding to use any world leaders or religious patriarchs against their will - rather, it features a selected cast of unknowns doing what comes naturally to some of their types of human nature. The new controversy it might generate will be of an entire other order: for, if the pulsion to love is truly intertwined with that to hate, humankind will assuredly self-destruct (since, on top of all that, many of the instances of spontaneous love lead nowhere fast...!) Now that is far more disturbing than any pics of annoying old goats puckering up after years of threatening the lives, welfare and all-around peace of mind of millions upon millions around the world! Wouldn't you agree?
Watch that short film now, why don't you:
On 16th November 2011, in Paris, Alessandro Benetton launched and presented to the press Unhate, the worldwide communication campaign.
The film Unhate tells of the precarious balance and complex interweaving between the drive to hate and the reasons to love.
www.unhatefoundation.org
Video: Laurent Chanez
Bravo, Alessandro - bravissimo!
Gaga was cuckoo when she made a song about Alejandro (nearly 160 million views on YT - yikes!) instead of you - or me, for that matter, but that is another story too...!
But she has more in common with you, not me - both of you condone the same types of monstruosities...!
;-)
Angela Merkel & Nicolas Sarkozy. Barack Obama & Hugo Chavez. The Pope and the Egyptian Imam. North Korea and South Korea leaders - Palestinian and Israeli - the works! All kissing and making up. All "unhating"...! What a concept for an ad campaign - heck, for a FOUNDATION, as Benetton swears there is such a thing as the "Unhate Foundation"(they probably meant to donate 10 cents on every portion of 100 dollars sold of highly-expensive trendy clothes to it - see what you ruined there by protesting too much, Vatican? But we're getting ahead of ourselves here...)
The Unhate Foundation - what a concept! And "exorcising the fear of the other" is their aim! It is truly a genial idea to create such a foundation: for, why share your profit by donating to an external one when you can create your own, keep all the cash flow within the ranks and keep and maintain the appearance of being one of those (highly) commercial enterprises that "gives back"...? It is an improvement upon a formula that was seen in Japan, in the United States too (of course) and, now (almost typoed it "nwo" here - wow), finally, in Europe, in mama Italia, cradle of all civilization (sorry, Greece!)
But all that is another story - let us concentrate, here and now, on the infamous ad campaign...! And, in order to just just that, let us, first and foremost, run through that series of disturbing shots - again:
Ah yes - we needed to see that again - didn't we?
(Actually, did we just see it again - or didn't we? Depends which way the wind is blowing on YouTube, Blogger and the net overall, really...! And on the good humor of your internet provider - and, of course, your home computer as well! All of them may protest as virulently and vehemently as the Vatican did, at any given time here...! But we are digressing now...)
This ad campaign has, of course, given rise to a storm of controversy on all levels, be it religious, political as even artistic and even ethical...!
For this campaign has sparked organized (highly so, really) guerrilla actions throughout the world (wherever there is a United Colors of Benetton banner, really...) so forget the Occupy movement - this one has professionally-doctored striking images to show the world!
So much so that it stirred Benetton to concoct an explanatory video to basically justify itself in its choice to greenlight this risky ad campaign at all in the first place; watch...
Even though it was all a fruitless, pointless and quite in vain explanation in the end (the ads have been pulled out) it still fueled conversation and every pundit in town (even those types that we have almost forgotten about - and some we barely know about) have gone over it, over and over again...
Benetton was once again successful -extremely successful- at raising awareness of an issue dear to them (they are, after all, the "United Colors of Benetton" - not just "Benetton"!) and, most importantly for them, at setting themselves widely apart from all of their competition because, after all is said and done, at the end of the mercantile day, Benetton is really nothing other than a clothing firm! A glitzy, slightly eccentric, off the charts Italian clothing firm, sure, but nothing else, really!
Benetton is unruly by choice and, in its constant effort to be relevant, make an impact, stand out from the sea of competitors out there, it estimates its right to invade the platform of great debates such as the one revolving around "what does it take to finally have world peace" and such. The campaign is withdrawn now but it will linger on in all media for quite a while longer and even if it is utopian, odd (to put it mildly) and all-around unlikely, it generates just what Benetton really wants, ultimately - publicity for its brand. And that, my friends, is pure genius, marketing-wise anyhow...! Never mind the fact that all the snapshots are obviously fake and none of that has a snowball-in-hell's chance of ever, EVER, EVER happening in the real world...! (Well, actually, Merkel and Sarkozy I could see happening - if Carla's in the middle? But all the others are pure/impure fantasy...! Hey - Blame it on Benetton! Ok?)
Thus, its latest crazy idea for an ad campaign "that stands out" got the shaft due to the Vatican, ironically, their own backyard pontiff and crew, who deemed it highly offensive, disturbing and downright disrespectful. It stood out, all right, this latest ad campaign - it stood out too much and went too far beyond the borders of the clothing and fashion galaxy! When it begins to broach universal subjects, and in such a vigorous "shake them up to wake them up and make them react" way, it is truly a case when the fashionistas are treading upon territory that is not theirs and where they should not tread.
For fine clothing is simply not the solution that will beget world peace!
And besides, everyone knows that there isn't a single imam, politician or any Pope in history that ever, EVER, dressed at Benetton's...! Come on...!
;-)
Having said all that - kudos to Alessandro Benetton for not giving up on this at all (when controversy rose and the Vatican condemned it) and for releasing a FILM now, which you can see below, one that carries forth the campaign to the everyman and everywoman confronted with hatred - to every potential customer, hence! A film that explores the very real and far more disturbing tendency that humankind has to intermingle love and hate, go from one to the other with the greatest of ease, as if the feelings were interchangeable...? This theory (that love gives way to hate and vice-versa) is explored in full throttle in the short film commissioned by A.B. and it eludes the previous type of controversy by avoiding to use any world leaders or religious patriarchs against their will - rather, it features a selected cast of unknowns doing what comes naturally to some of their types of human nature. The new controversy it might generate will be of an entire other order: for, if the pulsion to love is truly intertwined with that to hate, humankind will assuredly self-destruct (since, on top of all that, many of the instances of spontaneous love lead nowhere fast...!) Now that is far more disturbing than any pics of annoying old goats puckering up after years of threatening the lives, welfare and all-around peace of mind of millions upon millions around the world! Wouldn't you agree?
Watch that short film now, why don't you:
On 16th November 2011, in Paris, Alessandro Benetton launched and presented to the press Unhate, the worldwide communication campaign.
The film Unhate tells of the precarious balance and complex interweaving between the drive to hate and the reasons to love.
www.unhatefoundation.org
Video: Laurent Chanez
Bravo, Alessandro - bravissimo!
Gaga was cuckoo when she made a song about Alejandro (nearly 160 million views on YT - yikes!) instead of you - or me, for that matter, but that is another story too...!
But she has more in common with you, not me - both of you condone the same types of monstruosities...!
;-)
Labels: Hilarious, Late Night TV, Luminous pundit moi, never-surrender, original thinking, politics, sarcasm, shenanigans, YouTube
