United Colors of Benetton the Italian clothing retailer is making headlines over the release of a series of controversial ads launched this week. As part of its new “UNHATE” campaign, the retailer revealed digitally manipulated images of world leaders kissing on the lips. The ads featured fake images of President Barack Obama kissing Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, French President Nicolas Sarkozy with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others.
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CBS.com reports Benetton is in hot water over the campaign and has already pulled an ad featuring a manipulated photo of Pope Benedict XVI kissing a top Egyptian Iman. The Vacation launched a protest against the image and threatened to take legal action against the brand, saying in a statement on Thursday that the image is “offensive not only to the dignity of the pope and the Catholic Church, but also to the sensibilities of believers,” reports the Associated Press.
Do you think Benetton went a little too far this time or do you think they have the right to express their brand and not offensive?