I’m appalled. We always say that the world
has become a globalized society which is open to new ideas and it appears to be
the other way around. Recently, I worked with the Benetton group on a new
campaign called “Unhate” to raise awareness of unity and peace and it is ironic
that it results in “hate” instead. One
of my advertisements, in particular, is condemned by the Vatican and the White
House respectively. It depicted Pope Benedict XVI kissing an Egyptian enam.
Before I get into my explanation behind my “radical”
response, I would like to explain briefly about the concept behind this advertisement. Those of you who have been following my blogs
for the last few months, I’m always fascinated by the concept of kissing. Kissing is always regarded as a preserved act
by many people. This is because it is unlikely that we will kiss a stranger on
the street and we will rather leave it to our loved ones who have close
relationships with us. A person kissing another on the lips displays a
remarkable sense of intimacy which expresses different sentiments such as love,
friendship and respect. Therefore, a
question arose in my head: Will the intimacy be stronger if two political
leaders kiss one another? This is why I
decided to imply such shocking unfamiliarity into the campaign.
I am
known for making provocative advertisements (also known as shock advertisement
in the commercial industry) for Benetton for the past decade. As a result, many of my works had caused numerous
debates and discussions among people. However,
I hate the word “provocative”. It has become a negative word which is overused
by many people when they encounter something that is diverse which sparks fear. I prefer the word “disputable” because this is a purpose of
art. As I mentioned during an interview from The Florentine years ago:
“If art doesn’t
create a discussion then the artist might as well stay home.”
Art is meaningless when artists work
according to the social norms they are expected to follow. Our purpose is to capture
social issues instead and encourage discussions. Indeed, this often results in
people disagreeing with our works. From the eyes of a photographer who
has been working in the fashion industry for the past decades, I have received numerous
praises and critics with regards to my
series of shock advertisements. Let’s face it. This is art and it is meant to
be subjective so it is common to see that different people have different
thoughts and judgments about it. Still,
I have never heard of such parochial response from the Vatican before:
"It is a serious lack of respect for the pope, an
affront to the feelings of the faithful and an evident demonstration of how, in
the field of advertising, the most elemental rules of respect for others can be
broken in order to attract attention by provocation."
They say it is “an
affront to the feelings of the faithful”. Yes, I understand that line of
thinking because it is preposterous for Catholic believers to witness their leader
kissing a person with different religious beliefs. Yet, I’m absolutely offended by the comment of
advertising industry breaking “the most elemental rules of respect”. What is respect? Does a religious leader having
an intimate moment with another religious leader in an advertisement considered
as disrespectful whereas it is promoting world peace? It is absurd that some people perceive shock advertisements
as an attention grabber by disregarding the moral values which the society is
conformed to.
Shock advertisement
is not a weapon of politics or sins, but a weapon for change in the world of mass
communication by shocking the audiences. As unconventional as it seems in the commercial
industry, it is used to promote an idea effectively. It provides a new spectrum
of possibilities and creativities that challenges the definition of advertisement.
Benetton’s popularity and success is not
only because of its product quality, but to manifest itself in social changes with
alluring images by eliciting audiences’ complex emotions. When you are drawn towards the pope’s lips
touching the Egyptian enam with his eyes closed, you will discover a sense of understanding
and incredible beauty between these two people. Subsequently, your attention
will be drawn towards the “Unhate” slogan and the Benetton logo at the bottom
right hand side. When you link all your observations together, you will
encounter numerous questions: When can we
witness such phenomenon in real life? How can we achieve peace? Today,
politics and religions are the main sources which cause unnecessary hatred and
many political figures are daunted by the fundamental problems which are caused
by hatred. However, it is clear from my works that many political figures do
not have the appropriate mindset to deconstruct the message in the
advertisements and call for change. Why can’t people be more open to various
perspectives instead of constantly decoding how such perspectives are against their
own beliefs?
I love shock
advertisement. It is one of my
styles of reporting, especially when I’m working in the fashion industry. I’m
not interested in products. They change every season. When you walk on the street,
there are thousands of advertisements promoting different products. Who has
time to look at everything? Even if they look at an advertisement, the message
inherited within it will be forgotten shortly. Images, on the other hand, sum
up everything. It is true that image
speaks a thousand words. This is why
I prefer to include a photograph instead of including unnecessary elements like
testimonials. Shock advertisements are effective but impose various discussions
to the society. Clearly, many people are protective of their own opinions
because they do not want to be challenged or judged by other people. I am not, and I know for sure that some of
you have the same thoughts as I am.
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