What are the advertising objectives of Benetton?

Benetton Case Sample Case Study

Discussion Questions

1. What are the basic objectives of advertising? What are the advertising objectives of Benetton?

Advertising may be used to achieve a variety of objectives including building awareness of the brand and/or company, informing customers about the product/service or company, providing information and developing an image Additional objectives include creating favorable attitudes and preferences for a brand, persuading the target audience to switch brands, and encouraging them to try new products. Advertising may also used to maintain top-of-mind awareness of a brand and/or company.

The objectives of Benetton’s advertising appear to differ from those discussed above. Benetton’s shock advertising did not focus on the company or its products, choosing instead to address socially relevant issues that might concern the global audience such as war, poverty, AIDS, discrimination and the death penalty. Benetton believed that its advertisements could project the company as a supporter of social causes and that its customers would highly value that stance. Of course many would argue that while Benetton’s goal was to use the ads to position itself as a socially conscious company, the ultimate objective was to use this image to help generate sales of its products.

2. Discuss the pros and cons of the shock advertising campaign that Benetton used for many years.

There are few companies in the world that enjoy the global brand recognition of Benetton. The unconventional shock advertisements used in this campaign evoked strong feelings among consumers and helped the company attract attention and generate publicity. One of Toscani’s quotes is appropriate here: “Most good ads are forgotten after six months, but who still remembers the Benetton ad with the priest kissing the nun? Ten years later and people remember! That’s immortality!” Benetton has always had an image as somewhat of a renegade in the advertising community because of the avant-garde approaches the company has used. However, the company is also known for being very socially concerned and trying to make consumers realize the realities of the world in which they live. Benetton’s goal with the shock advertising campaign was to raise public awareness of social issues and position the company as a cutting-edge, socially conscious marketer. However, one might argue that the ultimate goal of the campaign was to help the company sell more of its products. The controversy surrounding the various shock ads that Benetton used over the past two decades generated a tremendous amount of publicity and made many consumers aware of the company. Also, it is important to note that Benetton’s primary target market is teens and young adults who are likely to be more tolerant of the shock ads as they may identify with the issues and causes the company is raising in these ads. Thus, the campaign might have actually helped Benetton’s image and sales.

There are also a number of negative aspects to the Benetton shock ads. Many critics argued that Benetton was exploiting human suffering to sell its products and felt that the company used the ads to create controversy and generate publicity rather than to address social issues. One might question whether the type of publicity Benetton was getting from its shock ads was really beneficial to the company. The Benetton ads were controversial even in more liberal European countries, and advertising self-regulatory bodies in Britain, France, and Spain condemned some of the ads and urged magazines to reject them. As long as the advertisements were just unconventional in nature, Benetton’s image was enhanced and sales grew. However, when Toscani resorted to using “shock techniques” from 1991 onwards with the pictures of a priest and nun kissing, a baby with uncut umbilical cord, etc., it generated huge furor among religious and social groups, not to mention the advertising regulatory bodies in various countries. Toscani argued that the company’s intentions were misunderstood by the public. While many thought the kiss to be inappropriate and the uncut umbilical cord to be disgusting, the position of the company was that all that was meant was to demonstrate love and motherhood. Unfortunately for Benetton, many countries banned the two ads. Another ad which created problems due to its intensity was the scene of a dying AIDS victim. The ad angered many viewers because they thought Benetton exploited the man’s suffering and intentionally made him look like Jesus Christ.

3. Oliviero Toscani has defended Benetton’s use of shock advertising by noting that it constitutes nothing less than a debate between advertising and art. He argues that potentially offensive images are acceptable in the world of art and journalism while in other realms such as advertising they are not. Do you agree with Toscani’s position?

The position taken by Oliver Toscani, Benetton’s former creative director, is that advertising should be free from any type of censorship or scrutiny since it is often a form of art. When viewing advertising as art it becomes difficult to say where one ends and the other begins. If one views the Benetton ads as a form of art, this suggests that there should be a wide tolerance for the types of images used. The statement by Toscani which is shown at the beginning of the case summarizes his position very well:

When Life magazine makes a cover about war, it makes the cover to inform, but also to sell the magazine and to sell the advertising pages inside the magazine — Chivas Regal and all the others. So Time magazine and all the others make a cover to inform and to sell. To do what I do, I do that to sell but also to inform. And as soon as you inform, people point a finger at you and say, “You are exploiting!” No. It’s the people who don’t even inform [who are exploiting]. I don’t care about the rejection; I’m not afraid to be rejected. Actually, it’s a big honor in this world.

There are other examples which support Toscani’s argument. For example, the December 22, 2003 issue of Time Magazine featured the Year in Pictures 2003 and showed disturbing images of the Iraq and Afghan war injured and dead — not very different from Toscani’s image of the bloodied uniform of the Bosnian soldier shown in one of the Benetton ads. Ethical or moral standards are very subjective and relative as evident from reactions to the Benetton ads showing an image of a priest and nun kissing. While this ad was banned in Italy, it won the Eurobest Award in Britain.

Some people question Toscani’s position, however, and argue that advertising is intrusive in nature and the public cannot decide what ads they will be exposed to in a medium. Advertising must often respond to a different set of standards since consumers often have no way of controlling their exposure to the images used in advertising and these images are often offensive to many people. Benetton has taken a novel approach and people are likely to disagree as to whether the ads are unethical. However, as noted discussed in question five, Benetton may have gone too far with the “We, on Death Row” campaign. The surviving family members of those killed by the inmates shown in the death row campaign were very offended by the ads and opposed to the idea of having the killers lionized in the national media. However, there were also those who feel that capital punishment is inhumane and praised Toscani’s effort to increase awareness of the issue.

4. Can you think of any other companies that use shock advertising? For what type of companies might this type of advertising be effective?

Calvin Klein and Benetton are the two companies that are probably best known for using shock ads although there are a number of other companies that have used the technique (see Abercrombie). Calvin Klein has been using shock ads for nearly two decades and built the company and brand by tapping into both the charge and the cultural unease surrounding youthful sexuality. The company’s controversial ads have explored the taboo of youthful sexuality and appeal to the independent spirit of young people. Calvin Klein was willing to accept the controversy that accompanies its ads because the scandal and sex appeal surrounding them help differentiate CK products. It also helped generated hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free publicity. Like Benetton, CK handles its advertising in-house which means that an agency does not have to become involved with the negative publicity and controversy surrounding their shock ads. However, Calvin Klein also found that there is a limit to how far they could push could push the envelope with their advertising. Many retailers rebelled against the Calvin Klein ads featuring childlike models in provocative poses which was referred to as “kiddie porn” by many critics. Irate consumer groups also called for boycotts and threatened to picket stores carrying the brand.

Another company that has used shock ads is FCUK (French Connection UK) who has been criticized for what many perceive as pornographic images in its campaigns. As discussed in Chapter 21 of the text, clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has also been criticized for using shock techniques its ads as well as in other promotional materials such as its quarterly catalog. It should be noted that all of these companies are involved in the fashion industry and their primary target market consists of young people. Younger consumers are less likely to perceive shock ads as offensive or in bad taste and may even help create favorable attitudes toward these companies because of their edgy, rebellious tone.

While other companies have used shock ads, Benetton’s use of the advertising genre is unique. While the ads of Calvin Klein and FCUK are meant to differentiate these brands and increase sales, Benetton’s goal (at least according to Toscanni) was to raise the public’s awareness and make them more conscience of important social issues. Few companies are brave enough to experiment to such a degree with their advertising. One exception is Egg Banking, a United Kingdom based online financial services group that has used campaigns based on stereotyping of men, women and certain ethnic groups. One advertisement shows a dark-skinned man in an orange string bikini that revealed the outlines of his small sex organ. The caption reads, ‘Black men are well endowed.’ Another ad shows a blonde woman studying a modern painting as the brunette next to her studies an exit sign. The caption reads, “Blondes have nothing in their heads.” However, while some consumers in the UK have viewed the ads as humorous, other have been offended by them and have protested.

5. Do you agree with Benetton’s decision to drop the use of shock ads and return to the use of more conventional ads?

Benetton appears to have pushed the envelope too far with the “We, On Death Row” campaign as the ads generated very negative reactions and there were strong repercussions as a result. Families of the victims objected strongly to the campaign and accused Benetton of glamorizing murderers while ignoring the crimes they had committed. The state of Missouri filed a lawsuit arguing that it had been misled regarding the use of the photos. The lawsuit was settled in June 2001 when Benetton agreed to write letters of apology and to donate $50,000 to the Missouri Crime Victims Compensation Fund. In the US, retailer Sears canceled an exclusive $100 million contract to sell a line of Benetton clothes, calling the death row images “terribly insensitive.” Sears ended its contract even after Benetton agreed to allow the retailer to preview future ads. Toscani believed that the sharp criticism in the US was not justified as many countries in Europe had more already banned the death penalty. However, as a result of the increasing furor, Toscani resigned in May 2000. He was replaced by James Mollison, a graduate of Fabrica, Benetton’s cultural research and development center that backs young artists from all over the world.

In 2001 Benetton began running a new campaign featuring product-focused ads that ran in print and on TV and billboards. The ads showed exuberant teen models clad in Benetton sweaters and jackets against a crisp white background and were designed to convey a sense of freedom and a positive, dynamic expression of the Benetton style. The impact of Benetton reverting back to more conventional advertising is yet to be determined, although given the way Benetton had built its brand image under Toscani, this approach does appear rather conservative. As noted in the case, Toscani dismissed the more conventional ads as a “waste of money.” In some countries such as Britain they were panned as “so innocuous as to be invisible.” Benetton may be able to capture the customer’s attention and interest with more conventional ads focusing on young people wearing its colorful clothing and emphasizing product qualities and perceived value. While these types of ads may not generate as much attention and interest as the shock ads, they may be effective in shifting attention to Benetton’s products and image as a retailer rather than as a social crusader.

Benetton Case Sample Case Study

Discussion Questions

1. What are the basic objectives of advertising? What are the advertising objectives of Benetton?

Advertising may be used to achieve a variety of objectives including building awareness of the brand and/or company, informing customers about the product/service or company, providing information and developing an image Additional objectives include creating favorable attitudes and preferences for a brand, persuading the target audience to switch brands, and encouraging them to try new products. Advertising may also used to maintain top-of-mind awareness of a brand and/or company.

The objectives of Benetton’s advertising appear to differ from those discussed above. Benetton’s shock advertising did not focus on the company or its products, choosing instead to address socially relevant issues that might concern the global audience such as war, poverty, AIDS, discrimination and the death penalty. Benetton believed that its advertisements could project the company as a supporter of social causes and that its customers would highly value that stance. Of course many would argue that while Benetton’s goal was to use the ads to position itself as a socially conscious company, the ultimate objective was to use this image to help generate sales of its products.

2. Discuss the pros and cons of the shock advertising campaign that Benetton used for many years.

There are few companies in the world that enjoy the global brand recognition of Benetton. The unconventional shock advertisements used in this campaign evoked strong feelings among consumers and helped the company attract attention and generate publicity. One of Toscani’s quotes is appropriate here: “Most good ads are forgotten after six months, but who still remembers the Benetton ad with the priest kissing the nun? Ten years later and people remember! That’s immortality!” Benetton has always had an image as somewhat of a renegade in the advertising community because of the avant-garde approaches the company has used. However, the company is also known for being very socially concerned and trying to make consumers realize the realities of the world in which they live. Benetton’s goal with the shock advertising campaign was to raise public awareness of social issues and position the company as a cutting-edge, socially conscious marketer. However, one might argue that the ultimate goal of the campaign was to help the company sell more of its products. The controversy surrounding the various shock ads that Benetton used over the past two decades generated a tremendous amount of publicity and made many consumers aware of the company. Also, it is important to note that Benetton’s primary target market is teens and young adults who are likely to be more tolerant of the shock ads as they may identify with the issues and causes the company is raising in these ads. Thus, the campaign might have actually helped Benetton’s image and sales.

There are also a number of negative aspects to the Benetton shock ads. Many critics argued that Benetton was exploiting human suffering to sell its products and felt that the company used the ads to create controversy and generate publicity rather than to address social issues. One might question whether the type of publicity Benetton was getting from its shock ads was really beneficial to the company. The Benetton ads were controversial even in more liberal European countries, and advertising self-regulatory bodies in Britain, France, and Spain condemned some of the ads and urged magazines to reject them. As long as the advertisements were just unconventional in nature, Benetton’s image was enhanced and sales grew. However, when Toscani resorted to using “shock techniques” from 1991 onwards with the pictures of a priest and nun kissing, a baby with uncut umbilical cord, etc., it generated huge furor among religious and social groups, not to mention the advertising regulatory bodies in various countries. Toscani argued that the company’s intentions were misunderstood by the public. While many thought the kiss to be inappropriate and the uncut umbilical cord to be disgusting, the position of the company was that all that was meant was to demonstrate love and motherhood. Unfortunately for Benetton, many countries banned the two ads. Another ad which created problems due to its intensity was the scene of a dying AIDS victim. The ad angered many viewers because they thought Benetton exploited the man’s suffering and intentionally made him look like Jesus Christ.

3. Oliviero Toscani has defended Benetton’s use of shock advertising by noting that it constitutes nothing less than a debate between advertising and art. He argues that potentially offensive images are acceptable in the world of art and journalism while in other realms such as advertising they are not. Do you agree with Toscani’s position?

The position taken by Oliver Toscani, Benetton’s former creative director, is that advertising should be free from any type of censorship or scrutiny since it is often a form of art. When viewing advertising as art it becomes difficult to say where one ends and the other begins. If one views the Benetton ads as a form of art, this suggests that there should be a wide tolerance for the types of images used. The statement by Toscani which is shown at the beginning of the case summarizes his position very well:

When Life magazine makes a cover about war, it makes the cover to inform, but also to sell the magazine and to sell the advertising pages inside the magazine — Chivas Regal and all the others. So Time magazine and all the others make a cover to inform and to sell. To do what I do, I do that to sell but also to inform. And as soon as you inform, people point a finger at you and say, “You are exploiting!” No. It’s the people who don’t even inform [who are exploiting]. I don’t care about the rejection; I’m not afraid to be rejected. Actually, it’s a big honor in this world.

There are other examples which support Toscani’s argument. For example, the December 22, 2003 issue of Time Magazine featured the Year in Pictures 2003 and showed disturbing images of the Iraq and Afghan war injured and dead — not very different from Toscani’s image of the bloodied uniform of the Bosnian soldier shown in one of the Benetton ads. Ethical or moral standards are very subjective and relative as evident from reactions to the Benetton ads showing an image of a priest and nun kissing. While this ad was banned in Italy, it won the Eurobest Award in Britain.

Some people question Toscani’s position, however, and argue that advertising is intrusive in nature and the public cannot decide what ads they will be exposed to in a medium. Advertising must often respond to a different set of standards since consumers often have no way of controlling their exposure to the images used in advertising and these images are often offensive to many people. Benetton has taken a novel approach and people are likely to disagree as to whether the ads are unethical. However, as noted discussed in question five, Benetton may have gone too far with the “We, on Death Row” campaign. The surviving family members of those killed by the inmates shown in the death row campaign were very offended by the ads and opposed to the idea of having the killers lionized in the national media. However, there were also those who feel that capital punishment is inhumane and praised Toscani’s effort to increase awareness of the issue.

4. Can you think of any other companies that use shock advertising? For what type of companies might this type of advertising be effective?

Calvin Klein and Benetton are the two companies that are probably best known for using shock ads although there are a number of other companies that have used the technique (see Abercrombie). Calvin Klein has been using shock ads for nearly two decades and built the company and brand by tapping into both the charge and the cultural unease surrounding youthful sexuality. The company’s controversial ads have explored the taboo of youthful sexuality and appeal to the independent spirit of young people. Calvin Klein was willing to accept the controversy that accompanies its ads because the scandal and sex appeal surrounding them help differentiate CK products. It also helped generated hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free publicity. Like Benetton, CK handles its advertising in-house which means that an agency does not have to become involved with the negative publicity and controversy surrounding their shock ads. However, Calvin Klein also found that there is a limit to how far they could push could push the envelope with their advertising. Many retailers rebelled against the Calvin Klein ads featuring childlike models in provocative poses which was referred to as “kiddie porn” by many critics. Irate consumer groups also called for boycotts and threatened to picket stores carrying the brand.

Another company that has used shock ads is FCUK (French Connection UK) who has been criticized for what many perceive as pornographic images in its campaigns. As discussed in Chapter 21 of the text, clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has also been criticized for using shock techniques its ads as well as in other promotional materials such as its quarterly catalog. It should be noted that all of these companies are involved in the fashion industry and their primary target market consists of young people. Younger consumers are less likely to perceive shock ads as offensive or in bad taste and may even help create favorable attitudes toward these companies because of their edgy, rebellious tone.

While other companies have used shock ads, Benetton’s use of the advertising genre is unique. While the ads of Calvin Klein and FCUK are meant to differentiate these brands and increase sales, Benetton’s goal (at least according to Toscanni) was to raise the public’s awareness and make them more conscience of important social issues. Few companies are brave enough to experiment to such a degree with their advertising. One exception is Egg Banking, a United Kingdom based online financial services group that has used campaigns based on stereotyping of men, women and certain ethnic groups. One advertisement shows a dark-skinned man in an orange string bikini that revealed the outlines of his small sex organ. The caption reads, ‘Black men are well endowed.’ Another ad shows a blonde woman studying a modern painting as the brunette next to her studies an exit sign. The caption reads, “Blondes have nothing in their heads.” However, while some consumers in the UK have viewed the ads as humorous, other have been offended by them and have protested.

5. Do you agree with Benetton’s decision to drop the use of shock ads and return to the use of more conventional ads?

Benetton appears to have pushed the envelope too far with the “We, On Death Row” campaign as the ads generated very negative reactions and there were strong repercussions as a result. Families of the victims objected strongly to the campaign and accused Benetton of glamorizing murderers while ignoring the crimes they had committed. The state of Missouri filed a lawsuit arguing that it had been misled regarding the use of the photos. The lawsuit was settled in June 2001 when Benetton agreed to write letters of apology and to donate $50,000 to the Missouri Crime Victims Compensation Fund. In the US, retailer Sears canceled an exclusive $100 million contract to sell a line of Benetton clothes, calling the death row images “terribly insensitive.” Sears ended its contract even after Benetton agreed to allow the retailer to preview future ads. Toscani believed that the sharp criticism in the US was not justified as many countries in Europe had more already banned the death penalty. However, as a result of the increasing furor, Toscani resigned in May 2000. He was replaced by James Mollison, a graduate of Fabrica, Benetton’s cultural research and development center that backs young artists from all over the world.

In 2001 Benetton began running a new campaign featuring product-focused ads that ran in print and on TV and billboards. The ads showed exuberant teen models clad in Benetton sweaters and jackets against a crisp white background and were designed to convey a sense of freedom and a positive, dynamic expression of the Benetton style. The impact of Benetton reverting back to more conventional advertising is yet to be determined, although given the way Benetton had built its brand image under Toscani, this approach does appear rather conservative. As noted in the case, Toscani dismissed the more conventional ads as a “waste of money.” In some countries such as Britain they were panned as “so innocuous as to be invisible.” Benetton may be able to capture the customer’s attention and interest with more conventional ads focusing on young people wearing its colorful clothing and emphasizing product qualities and perceived value. While these types of ads may not generate as much attention and interest as the shock ads, they may be effective in shifting attention to Benetton’s products and image as a retailer rather than as a social crusader.

Rather than moving solely into product based advertising after Toscani’s exit, the company could still continue to address social issues like war, poverty, education, child labor and exploitation and the like but with less controversial ads. In fact, Benetton indicated that it would not be completely abandoning its social issues messages and planned to run ads speaking to the refugee issue. The subject is very important to James Mollison who wrote a book on Kosovan refugees in conjunction with the United Nation’s High Commission for Refugees as well as an earlier book on foreign workers in the factories of northeast Italy. In 2003 Benetton began a social issues campaign dealing with the problem of hunger that exists in many countries and promoting its work with the World Food Program. The “Food for…” campaign consists of ads promoting the important role the availability of food plays in relations to issues such as education, work, peace, and life. Examples of messages from this campaign, as well as other Benetton ads, can be found on the company’s web site at www.benetton.com.

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