1 of 9

1. INTRODUCTION
The average young adult can see up to 5,000 advertisements each day, but how many of them will they remember? Companies need to be able to distinguish themselves from others in order to stand out and be noticed in the crowded world of advertising. A company can achieve this by providing themselves with an image
(Williamson, 1978).
“ Good advertising…penetrates the public mind ” (Carfoot et al,
2006).
Benetton, French Connection and Calvin Klein are well known to use a style of advertising commonly referred to as Shock Advertising or Shockvertising. Shock advertising is designed to unnerve its audience through portraying controversial material or ideas. The more unconventional the idea, the more it will get noticed and the United Colors of Benetton truly took this concept and ran with it, leading to many of its campaigns being withdrawn due to public outrage, but also winning praise for increasing awareness of controversial social issues. During this ten year period of outrageous campaigns, annual sales were more than twenty times greater that at the beginning of the advertisements.
2. OBJECTIVES
This essay will explore how Shock Advertising is the common bond linking three dissimilar advertising campaigns by United Colors of Benetton. Firstly, looking at how sex in advertising can be used as a stylistic device, even if the product is completely unrelated to the advertisement, deconstructing an advertisement that uses this method and breaking down the Benetton approach to sex in advertising. Secondly, the way Benetton uses outside influences and fashion elements within an advertisement will be examined, along with a deconstruction of another United
Colors of Benetton ad that fits under this topic. Lastly, a third Benetton ad will be deconstructed, the photographer of the advertisements, Oliviero Toscani, will be discussed to see how his photographs can be seen as art as well as acknowledged pieces of design. The essay will also explore to what degree the controversial advertisements of Benetton can impact on the world.
2 of 9

3. DECONSTRUCTION AND LINKING OF BENETTON IMAGES
3.1 HORSES
‘Horses’
‘Horses’, which was released in October 1996 by the United Colours of Benetton is a perfect illustration of using sex as a stylistic device, and also using shock as a form of advertising. Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani photographed it and which, as to no surprise to Benetton, caused expressions of outrage that led for it to be removed from shop windows. The landscape photograph spans the whole advertisement, which shows a side-on, eye-level, view of an equine mating scene, between a white mare, with a blonde mane, and dark-brown stallion, with a black, wavy mane. The female is standing facing the left and the male horse is mounting, resting his upperbody, front-legs and chin against the female with the horses on a white background, standing in sand, almost motionless. Gillian Dyer (2005, pp.97-98) explains how females are seen as ‘sex objects’ in advertising and males are portrayed in positions of authority and dominance.
The female horse looks nonchalant and uninvolved with what is happening whilst the male horse’s expression is hidden under his mane.
Even though there is colour in the advertisement, because of the extreme differences
3 of 9

in the colours of the horses, it almost appears as though the image is black and white except for the logo. The logo is the only text on the advertisement, reading ‘United
Colours of Benetton’, which stands out because it is white text on a bright green bounding box, in the centre of the right hand side of the page, not invading the photograph. The aim of the advertisement is to sell clothes, but they do not appear in the advert. I believe that the advert is showing you colours rather than clothes through the contrast of the horses and their surroundings. I think that the colours and positioning of the animals have a deeper message than just two horses mating.
Benetton have used a shocking and seemingly irrelevant photograph to communicate a powerful message, which has to be processed and the message deciphered. This advertisement depicts the interracial relationship stereotype through its use of colour and other aspects of the photograph. One example is that one horse is white and one is dark brown, almost black, which suggests differing ethnicity rather than solely difference in colour. Another aspect of the photograph that leads to the same suggestion is the texture and appearance of the horses’ manes.
The white horse has light, straight smooth hair that flows neatly, whereas the black horse has dark, wavy free flowing hair. An alternative interpretation could be evil triumphing over good. White is often associated with purity, goodness and peace, whereas black is commonly linked with rage, power and evil. The setting of the horses on the sand is significant, as if the image was to show people in a similar circumstance it would suggest liberation and unaffected by what is classed as acceptable. Benetton, in past campaigns have used the controversial issue of interracial relationships, themselves stating "it [Benetton] made a commitment to foster the cohabitation of opposites, to break down barriers and ensure dialogue.
Benetton had a plan: to integrate opposites, to unite differences under a single flag, the flag of its own logo" (Benetton, 2009).
Sex in advertising can be outlandish and uncomfortable and this style of advertising I find particularly awkward to study and process. In this case sex has been portrayed as emotionless and animalistic, even though the meaning is much more complex. United Colors of Benetton not only shock, but too aim to raise awareness through use of semiotics in their advertising, which leads us onto the second image I am deconstructing.
4 of 9

3.2 ‘OLYMPIC GAMES’
‘Olympic Games’
‘Olympic Games’ was released in July 1992, photographed by Oliviero Toscani, renowned for his scandalous photos. The advertisement was deemed inappropriate and although it was not banned, it was like ‘Horses’, asked to be removed from window displays. Like all of the advertisements by this photographer, it is a landscape and the photograph is the same size as the advertisement, but it takes a birds-eye view of the subject. It shows five coloured condoms- two red, a orange, a blue and a green, filling the page on a white background, placed in the same formation and colours (although the colours are not in the same sequence) as the
Olympic logo. The Benetton logo is not intrusive of the photograph, which is placed on the right hand side, two thirds down the page, with the text being white on a bright
5 of 9

green bounding box, which is the same colour as the green condom. This advertisement, at first view shows colour, which relates directly to United Colors of
Benetton clothing range, but as you look deeper into the meaning, it becomes apparent that outside influences have inspired this photograph. John Berger (1972, pp2) explains that there is always a distinction between what we see and what we know. So the condoms are seen and what we then have to decipher are underlying messages that relate to their formation and why they are being used.
‘Olympic Games’ was released to coincide with the hosting of the Olympic games in
Barcelona, Spain. Toscani capitalised the enormous public interest in the event and placed it with objects, which would never normally be related. Many companies have used outside influences and events in their advertising; McDonalds used the National
Basketball Association in their poster designs, showing a section of a basketball hoop looking like the letter ‘M’. In the late eighties and early nineties awareness of
AIDs increased, so Benetton's executives aimed to increase awareness further through their posters. The Olympic games aims to unite the world in competition towards the same goal, an alternative interpretation of this advertisement could be the uniting of the world in the fight against aids. Prior to the 'Olympic Games' advertisement Benetton released a photograph by Therese Frare of David Kirby, who was a man dying of AIDS in hospital with his family surrounding his bedside. The use of this photograph in Benetton’s advertising "brought the attention of the world media and it made people talk about dying of AIDS" (Benetton, 2009). This advertisement started a succession of designs that focused on social and world issues and a year later ‘Olympic Games’ was released. Although not as controversial as ‘Horses’,
‘Olympic Games’, I feel was too inappropriate to be displayed in shop windows. This advertisement aimed to raise awareness and to shock the public into thinking about a topic, which needed to be discussed. These advertisements had been designed to cause disturbance, but also to trigger a multitude of emotions and because of this, I feel that they can be also seen as art in their own right. Craig A Elimeliah (2006) supports this view by stating that expressing emotion in designs can create art.
6 of 9

3.3 NEWBORN BABY
‘Newborn Baby’
In September 1991, Benetton brought ‘Newborn Baby’ to the public; another image photographed by Oliviero Toscani and another advertisement heavily criticized that caused a scandal throughout the world. This landscape photograph is of a newborn baby girl on top of a white background, and it spans the whole of the advertisement.
The close up of the baby, with the camera angle coming from above takes up the majority of ad, but you can also see the umbilical chord running off the left hand side of the picture, and the nurse ’s hands under the baby and lower sections of the arms entering on the right. Unlike ‘Horses’, this picture feels alive and natural, rather than stationary and staged, with the baby covered in blood and vernix caseosa and
7 of 9

screaming as it enters the world for the first time; an intimate moment, shared by millions. The colours in this advertisement are natural and earthy, with the pink, green, blue and yellow tones of the baby's skin, the blue of the nurses sleeves and yellow of the gloves, and also the grass green colour of the bounding box behind the
United Colors of Benetton logo, which appears on the left of the advertisement, underneath the baby. This advertisement stands out from any other that uses babies, because of the naturalness and simplicity of the picture.
Dyer (2005, pp99) explains that this can be an advantage when other adverts use cherubic children of ‘ideal type’ because you create differentiation.
This advertisement was “intended as an anthem of life, but was one of the most censured visuals in the history of Benetton ads” (Benetton, 2009), it seemed that the natural eruption of real life in an advertisement, rather than as staged photograph caused outrage because of the sensitive and private nature of childbirth.
Oliviero Toscani is breaking the boundaries of acceptability and by his own admission he envisioned his works as pieces of art, “Sometimes advertising is art, but art is always advertising” (Lyman, 2001), but they were not always initially accepted this way. When the advertisement was first printed it was not well received, certain areas of Italy were required to remove the posters and many other countries, including England and France agreed with this decision. Despite the image being initially renounced, the advertisement was eventually viewed in a more sympathetic light, ultimately being displayed in a museum in Rotterdam, Holland, and in a maternity ward in Bologna, Italy. The piece finally started to receive the artistic recognition it deserved. Shockvertising can cause discomfort, “Didn't Francis Bacon and Goya make people feel uncomfortable? They did and we are better for it! Art represents the edge and of course the edge can make people feel uncomfortable .” –
Oliviero Toscani (Lyman, 2001).
4. CONCLUSION
Shock advertising has been used by the United Colors of Benetton to create controversy and raise awareness of issues in their advertising campaigns. This method has led to exceptional levels of exposure for the company, not only through the actual advertising campaign itself but through the media reporting the public's negative response to the advertisements. Through use of sex in advertising and using outside influential and fashionable events unrelated to Benetton's products, the company has successfully used Shockvertising to increase awareness of their
8 of 9

product. Benetton’s choice of photographer proved successful, with the company gaining more notice with their methods in advertising. Toscani always viewed his work as art, although originally seen as offensive, it has gradually was embraced by the world as it began to be understood, reinforcing the view that shock advertising works.
Word count: 2,031 Word count excl. Footnotes: 2,012
5. REFERENCES
Berger.J, (1972), Ways of Seeing, :Penguin (Non-classics)
Carfoot.C, Burtenshaw.K and Mahon.N., (2006), The Fundamentals of Creative Advertising ,
Switzerland : AVA Academia
Dyer,G. (2005) Advertising as Communication, London and New York: Routledge
Twitchell.J.B, (2000), Twenty Ads that Shook the World, The Century's Most Groundbreaking
Advertising and How it changed us all. New York : Three Rivers Press
Williamson,J. (2002) Decoding Advertising , London: Marion Boyars
Benetton (2009), A bout Benetton- Our Campaigns, Campaign history [online] (Updated 26th
October 2009) Available at: http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/about/campaigns/history/
[Accessed 9th April 2011]
Elimeliah.C.A., (2006) art Vs. design [online] (Updated 13th January 2006) Available at: http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/art-vs-design [Accessed 9th April 2011]
Lyman.E.J., (2001) The true colours of Oliviero Toscani [online] (Updated August 2001)
Available at: http://www.ericjlyman.com/adageglobal.html [Accessed 9th April 2011]
IMAGES
9 of 9

Toscani.O., 1996. Horses [electronic print] Available at: http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/image_gallery/campaigns/?branch_id=1176
(Accessed 9th April 2011)
Toscani.O., 1992. Olympic games [electronic print] Available at: http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/image_gallery/campaigns/?branch_id=2311
(Accessed 9th 2011)
Toscani.O., 1991. Newborn baby [electronic print] Available at: http://press.benettongroup.com/ben_en/image_gallery/campaigns/?branch_id=1139
(Accessed 9th 2011)
10 of 9