Kiss And Make Up...

WAAAAAAAH holy freakout people!! Men kissing, politicians, clothing stores, legal action, the world ending!?! (Last part's just for dramatic effect. Saw Melancholia a few days ago and it's still on my mind)

Why this massive hysteria? Let's get right to it peeps...

Yesterday, Benetton Group, a popular Italian-based clothing company, released this outdoor campaign, and let me tell you, the world is going bonkers. Take a look at the ads for yourselves:

Wow, right? But the one below is causing the most controversy out of all of them, and after only one day up it's already been taken down. Why? I'll let you take one wild guess: 

WHOA Pope!

The whole campaign was designed by 72andSunny to promote Benetton's Unhate Foundation, targeted to "contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance, to combat hatred, building on Benetton's underpinning values." Based on the 1979 photo of East Germany leader Erich Honecker and Soviet Union leader Leonid Brezhnev, the company doctored photos of the leaders having a loving moment without permission by any them (which is a huge no-no, but seriously, there is no way in hell any of them would get permission. Just imagine them going to the Pope and saying, "Hi, yeah, would it be okay if we...") The ads were put up around Rome, Paris, New York, Milan, and Tel Aviv.

After these outdoor ads were released and everyone pretty much crapped their pants, Benetton Group SpA deputy chairman Alessandro Benetton told WSJ, "It means not hating. In a moment of darkness, with the financial crisis, what's going on in North Africa countries, in Athens, this is an attitude we can all embrace that can have positive energy." Their blog also has a full description about what this campaign is going for.

I have no idea where to start with the controversy of these ads. Yes, five out of six of these feature two men kissing, but the question I have is, are people upset by the fact two men are kissing or the fact of who is kissing whom? Right now, the one with the Pope kissing imam Ahmed el Tayyeb is getting the most attention, and understandably so. It's the only one that has been taken down, and Benetton has even apologized for the fact that "the image had so hurt the sensibilities of the faithful." So let's say the Pope ad was not a part of the mix and was never released, would the fact that two men were locking lips cause a ruckus?  I think so, but I'm not sure it would get the amount of worldwide attention it's getting now. The video they released with this campaign features same-sex couples, but it's only one of many factors to this amazing video. Check it out below:

 

Some people accuse Benetton of creating these ads just to cause this controversy to brand the company. Ummm...you're damn right that's what they're doing! I do think they're kinda pulling a MMS with these ads and just doing it for shock value, but at least now people are talking about it and have these thoughts and images in their heads to think about. This isn't the first time Benetton has come out with controversial ads, including the one below depicting a priest and a nun kissing:

Okay, this is one I HAVE to open the floor. What do you all think? Do you think it's an issue of same-sex kissing or who is featured in the ad? Do you think Benetton took it too far or people are overreacting? 

Also, shout out to my girls Nanda and Darya for their contributions!


UPDATE: Here's a clip from our girls at The View talking about their, well, views on this ad. It's a great depiction of the many different types of reactions this campaign is getting.