Running head: CASE STUDY: BENETTON 1

Case Study: Benetton

Michelle Darby, Janeth Guadiana, Lindsey Hamilton,

Eunice Hurh, Anita Manji, Brenda Ruiz

University of North Texas

CASE STUDY: BENETTON 2

Case Study: Benetton

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

Benetton?

a. According to Kundan Pandey (2011), there are six basic objectives of advertising:

basic goals, information, persuasive, reminders, advertising message, and

communication. The basic objectives of advertising are to secure, develop,

innovate, and create advertisements to sell a product (Pandey, 2011). Informing

the consumers about products and its developments create a sort of transparency

for the company (Pandey, 2011). In a highly competitive market, companies will

need to persuade potential customers that their products are better than the leading

competitors’ (Pandey, 2011). The reminding objective keeps the company and

product at the top-of-mind for the consumers. Due to the immense overload of

advertisements one may see in a day, it is crucial for advertisement messages to

be striking and impressing to its consumers (Pandey, 2011). Lastly, an emotional

connection must be communicated for a consumer. With the use of these basic

objectives, advertising agencies and departments will continue to thrive in the

tough competition and impress the client (Pandey, 2011).

b. Benetton’s advertising objectives differ from the basic objectives of advertising in

that its advertisements are provocative and controversial. They cross barriers that

most companies are too afraid to cross. Benetton’s advertising goals are to inform

and make the consumers aware of social causes going on worldwide through the

use of “shock value”. Famous advertisements during the late 1980s included a

black hand and a white hand linked by a handcuff and a black woman breast-

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feeding a white baby (Ganesan & Thota, 2003). Such ads have created for

Benetton stronger brand awareness, although maybe not so positive. Oliviero

Toscani and Luciano decided to create for Benetton a lifestyle brand image to its

consumers (Ganesan & Thota, 2003). Then campaigns were launched with

advertisements that engaged its consumers and sparked controversy. A blending

of cultures was created with new advertisements featuring Adam and Eve, Joan of

Arc and Marilyn Monroe, Leonardo de Vinci and Julius Caesar (Ganesan &

Thota, 2003). Benetton was proud of its shock advertisements and Oliviero stated

that the company’s images don’t show a fictitious reality in which consumers will

be irresistible if they use Benetton’s products (Ganesan & Thota, 2003).

Benetton’s main advertising objectives at the time were focused on promoting

discussions about issues which people normally glide over, but needed to be

widely discussed (Ganesan & Thota, 2003).

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

many years.

a. Pros:

i. The shock advertising campaigns brought brand awareness to Benetton.

Attention was immediately gained in the news and these advertising

campaigns spurred much controversy. Moreover, these ads gave Benetton

a sense of social responsibility in the consumers’ eyes. The most

influential pro of the shock advertising campaigns would be Benetton’s

ability to remain as a subject of conversation for its consumers.

b. Cons:

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i. Unfortunately, Benetton’s shock advertising campaigns had negative

impact on many of its loyal customers. Customers with young children

would not want to expose them to such graphic images. Additionally,

there was a major disconnect with the physical stores with a clean layout,

and its advertisements. There needed to be a better flow of a unified brand

image.

3. Oliviero Toscani 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?

a. Oliviero Toscani is correct in that offensive images are acceptable, or rather

necessary in the world of art and journalism. In the world of art and journalism,

there is a sense of freedom and is a source of creative outlets. Everyone relates or

sees art differently and that is what makes it so great. Additionally, consumers can

decide what is or isn’t offensive in correlation to their beliefs and morals.

Different parts of the world have different standards as to what is acceptable in art

and journalism. Benetton’s shocking advertisements differentiated them from

other brands. They became recognized as a company that cared and was not just

about selling clothes to the consumer. However, why is Toscani supporting

Benetton’s use of shock advertising, but not okay with offensive advertising in the

broad sense? Perhaps this was so because he felt emotionally connected with

Benetton and not with other advertising agencies. Nevertheless, Toscani should

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not state that he agrees with Benetton’s shock advertising, then say otherwise for

other advertisers.

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

companies might this type of advertising be effective?

a. Many fashion retailers use shock advertising to gain brand awareness and/or seek

publicity. Companies like American Apparel, Dolce & Gabbana, Levi’s, Calvin

Klein, Victoria’s Secret, and many more are on the list of companies that resorted

to using shock advertising. Also, companies that are not doing well and want to

get back in the news or gain new brand awareness may want to use shock

advertising. Then there are companies whose sole purpose of existence is to bring

awareness to a particular social cause. Campaigns like “Don’t text and drive”.

“Look before you cross the road” and PETA, are a few examples of these social

awareness organizations. Here is a link to the “Look Before you Cross” ad

campaign video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oUW0DTg7uY

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

use of more conventional ads?

a. There are two sides to Benetton’s decision to drop the use of shock advertising

and returning to using conventional advertisements. Dropping the ads gave the

previously loyal customers a reason to come back. They were no longer afraid

that their children would be exposed to these offensive campaigns. However, if

the ads remained, Benetton remain a brand that stood for its beliefs in what was

vital for the world to know. Most importantly, Benetton would need to cautiously

decide if dropping the ads would hurt its brand image of beings socially

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responsible. Currently Benetton runs an “UNHATE” campaign, which brings

attention to social causes and events. Furthermore, its Color’s magazine is still

circulating online and available for purchase and subscription worldwide.

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References

Ganesan, S & Thota, V. (2003). Benetton group: Evolution of communication strategy. ICRAI

Knowledge Center. Retrieved from https://learn.unt.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-338319-dt-

content-rid-1517317_1/courses/MDSE_4660_001_11235W2/Benetton%20Group%20-

%20Evolution%20of%20Communication%20Strategy.pdf