For its Spring/Summer 2013 promotion, Benetton has focused on people’s differences, which should not be hidden, but highlighted and supported. In the new multi-channel (online, press, out-of-door, in outlets) international campaign dubbed «Faces of Color,» the brand features nine ambassadors, who are the living examples of what is to be not similar to most of others—Lea T, trans-sexual Brazilian model, Matias Perdomo, Uruguayan chief, who combines diametrical cultures in his restaurant, Mario Galla, differently-able German model and others. While the theme is potentially provocative, the new advertising effort turns to be quite smooth and moderate unlike the award-winning Benetton’s UNHATE initiative, which generated much buzz. Prejudice is so yesterday, Benetton and tolerance are so now.
Pic.: Benetton’s «Faces of Color» campaign, Charlotte Free (click to enlarge)
“The iconic value of color—a founding value for United Colors of Benetton and once again at the centre of our aesthetics and communications—to give a powerful assertion of the identity and excellence of this brand, which holds diversity as a value, and the unity of differences as a wealth to be treasured,” says the company’s chairman Alessandro Benetton. The new campaign, developed by Benetton’s in-house agency Fabrica in collaboration with Macs Iotti, rolls out in a new format for the brand—Benetton will continue the advertising effort with a changing cast of faces.
The campaign also features: Elettra Wiedemann, fashion model since 15, who has been drawing attention to the environment and natural resources; Kiera Chaplin, actress, model and granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, and an active supporter of UNESCO; Hanaa Ben Abdesslem, Tunisian model, who is a living embodiment of many other Arab women’ modeling dream; Dudley O’Shaughnessy, British welterweight champion-turned-actor and fashion model; Alek Wek, activist drawing global attention to the humanitarian disaster in Sudan as well as Charlotte Free, the celebrated pink-haired Californian model.
Pic.: Benetton’s «Faces of Color» campaign, Dudley O’Shaughnessy (click to enlarge)
The new campaign unites two major pillars of the brand’s philosophy—the humanitarian (“all people are worth attention”) twist and, of course, colour. As a tribute to the first one, the brand has released a limited-edition collection of T-shirts (will be available at the brand’s online store), with all the proceeds from selling the tees will be donated to the UNHATE Foundation. To mirror the second one, Benetton is launching a new dynamic online platform, which will aggregate user-generated content with color-hashtags from Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and the mobile network to build a digital community, celebrating and focusing on colours. Benetton will also bring colour in words to its stores across the globe—“quotations, epigrams, expressions and proverbs about color will animate the colourful windows of the United Colors of Benetton stores in streets and squares around the world,” says the brand.
Benetton has also revealed a series of spots, which focus on the colours and the emotions, which might be behind the shades. Plus, the brand has posted interviews with the ambassadors (about colours, of course), which can be watched on its YouTube channel or its official website.
Pic.: Benetton’s «Faces of Color» campaign, Mario Galla (click to enlarge)
Pic.: Benetton’s «faces of Colour» campaign, Alek Wek (click to enlarge)