Matthew Mills

Toscani is an Italian photographer who is behind the success of brands such as Esprit, Chanel, Fiorucci, and Benetton. Toscani began his advertising for Benetton in 1984.

United Colours of Benetton. 

Benettons most controversial campaigns (British VOGUE) look into the work that was made over different periods of time. One of the first controversial campaigns that Toscani was involved with was condoms. This is a photograph that bases itself on the AIDS crisis, which was raging in the eighties and nineties. After this campaign in November 1997, according to British Vogue, Bennett started selling a range of coloured condoms. 

Advertising.

Toscani said, “Advertising agencies, all they are after is their clients’ budget,” and “They spend millions and millions to say nothing. Clients throw money out the window when they do traditional advertising. I think it is finished. I think it is immoral.” This was in response to the in-house agency that was in charge of managing the Benetton advertisements and campaigns. The Times says, “There is, of course, a marketing method to Mr. Toscani’s madness.” The method that Toscani uses is controversial because of the way that he chooses to use time-specific social problems to develop his work in a way that captivates the viewers due to its continuous relevance. This allows for a wider audience and lets them be captivated by the shock factor of his work, but this can be taken further than shock because of the choice of subjects that are part of the specific problems inside the social and political environments he is shooting.

References

Eilidh Nuala Duffy. “Benetton’s Most Controversial Campaigns.” British Vogue, Vogue Britain, 8 Dec. 2017, http://www.vogue.co.uk/gallery/benettons-best-advertising-campaigns.