The fast fashion retailer Zara has dropped an ad campaign that sparked calls for a boycott on social media after some customers said it evoked images from the Israel-Gaza war.
The campaign, called “The Jacket,” featured images of a model holding a mannequin that appeared to be wrapped in white plastic, shattered plasterboard and rubble. Zara said the ad — meant to showcase the new Atelier clothing line — was conceived and photographed weeks before the war began Oct. 7. Thousands of people have died in the conflict, which has spawned a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
In a statement on its Instagram page, Zara said it regrets what it called a “misunderstanding,” noting that the campaign had the sole purpose of “showcasing craftmade garments in an artistic context.”
“Unfortunately, some customers felt offended by these images, which have now been removed, and saw in them something far from what was intended when they were created,” the statement from Zara reads, and the brand added that it reaffirms its “deep respect towards everyone.”
The Zara campaign, which included images of mannequins with missing limbs and wrapped in material that resembled shrouds, was condemned as highly insensitive in light of the devastation in full view in the region, where the civilian death toll now stands above 18,000.
Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority said it received 110 complaints about the Zara campaign saying the imagery referenced the war in Gaza and was offensive, according to Reuters. “As Zara have now removed the ad, we won’t be taking any further action,” the ASA said in a statement.
But it also marks the latest marketing misstep for an industry known for pushing boundaries in messaging. Last year, luxury fashion brand Balenciaga apologized for an advertising campaign that featured children holding teddy bears adorned with a fishnet top and what appeared to be bondage gear. The images also featured several papers sprawled on a desk, among them was a print-out of the 2008 Supreme Court ruling that prohibited the “pandering of child pornography.”
For some brands, advertising blunders can be lasting. Diet Coke got flack for an ad campaign in 2014 that some said mocked drug addiction. The ad included the phrase: “You’re on Diet Coke.” In 2007, a fashion spread from brand Sisley included an image of two models mimicking snorting cocaine, but instead of the drug, it’s a white dress strewn on a black reflective table. The tagline reads: “Fashion junkie.”
In 2014, Zara apologized for selling a striped child’s shirt with a six-pointed yellow “sheriff” star, resembling a Star of David European Jews were forced to sew onto their clothing under Nazi rule.
Urban Outfitters made a similar misstep in 2015, selling a striped tapestry with a pink triangle on it, reminiscent of clothing gay men were forced to wear in Nazi concentration camps. In 2014 the retailer sold a shirt a vintage Kent State University shirt with what appeared to have blood splatter on it. In 1970, the Ohio National Guard infamously fired into a crowd of students protesting the Vietnam War, killing four, in what came to be known as the Kent State massacre.
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