“My first reaction to Balenciaga’s campaign: it’s pretty disgusting. Especially that line with that hidden text. A bizarre detail. This creative director is known for pretty explicit campaigns with a lot of satire, but here he goes further. This is no longer satire.”
Child abuse reference
So says Joeri Jansen, creative director of the Roorda advertising agency. He himself is not at all against high-profile campaigns that seek the edge, he says, on the contrary: “We should be very happy with advertisers who still have the courage to seek the edge these days. And then every once in a while you can go on your mouth. It is happened here.
This is the controversial campaign of the exclusive Spanish clothing brand Balenciaga. This allowed young children to pose with teddy bears wearing straps and harnesses popular in the (erotic) bdsm world. The ‘hidden statement’ concerns text appearing on one of the photos: it refers to an infamous US court case (Ashcroft vs Free Speech Coalition), which ruled that virtual images (i.e. fake images) of child abuse were legal.
Balenciaga has since apologized for the campaign after a firestorm of criticism.
Exactly this state of affairs – borderline or borderline campaigning, hype, apology – seems to happen so often that one may wonder whether they are still “accidents.” A small selection from the work: Samsung let a woman jog alone in a dark city (as if she were safe), McDonalds sold Bloody Ice Cream Sundaeice creams, H&M left a black boy wear a sweater with the text “the coolest monkey in the jungle”, Gucci pulled one out ‘blackface’-trui of the shopping and supermarket chain Jumbo has left a group of construction workers (painful, due to the many fatal accidents involving construction workers in Qatar).
In all those cases, a fuss followed and then an apology.
“You can really see a pattern,” says consumer psychologist Patrick Wessels. “Sometimes, like Jumbo, they just accidentally miss the mark. That company focuses on the masses. They don’t want that hustle at all. Attention .”
“Balenciaga thinks the hype is fine”
This is especially true for a brand like Balenciaga, Wessels says, because it wants to be distinctive, bold and original. “This is also true for a company like Suitsupply. They have campaigned with naked women, with men who seem to oppress women, with men kissing. You know: this will generate discussions. It is not a coincidence, this is the strategy. This is what they want to radiate.”
Such brands, often in the higher segment, want a reputation as a brand that resists “paternalistic rules”. “Balenciaga probably likes this hype,” Wessels thinks. “They want to appeal to a target group that opposes the masses.”
Apologies. Finished. Further.
Advertiser Jansen feels the same way: “I wonder if it will hurt them. Most aficionados of this brand absolutely hate it. They’re pretty quick to ignore this kind of ethic, I think.”
The brand won’t lose sleep over it either, he expects: “They’ll come up with a statement containing an apology, and that’s it. Carry on.”
Jansen highlights the collaboration between the brand and the controversial musician Kanye West, now called Yé. “That man is constantly crossing all kinds of boundaries, but yeah, he generates attention and he’s popular. Fans of the brand will think: A little hype is part of it.”
Cancel culture
Jansen points out that such instances, where the ad does indeed go “over the edge,” shouldn’t stop you from continuing to look for that edge. “I’m glad that there are still brands that still dare to push the envelope. You shouldn’t think that we only do safe and well-mannered advertisements.”
He therefore urges colleagues and companies to “don’t test everything piecemeal beforehand”. “Society is currently very busy with anything that invites you to write off and criticize. The nerve is very open.”
The upshot, Jansen says, is that anything that might cause confusion, by definition also leads to confusion. “Someone is always offended. That’s exactly why we shouldn’t want to do everything safely. If you do, then everything will disappear under the stuffy blanket of cancel culture. We have to create a fuss every now and then. your mouth. That’s fine. It’s part its.
The Rules of the Catholic Church
Bring the historical campaigns of the Benetton clothing brand from the 1990s: “They did campaigns that covered relevant topics, such as AIDS, homosexuality and the rules of the Catholic Church. Relevant issues. Of course we have to address these things consciously, but I think it’s important that we will continue to do so. Please continue to torment the sacred cows.”
