United Colors of Benetton -- The Italian Fashion Brand with a Soul

Transform sweaters into messages, shirts into signs, and jeans into signifiers.

-- Luciano Benetton

United Colors of Benetton is a 50-year old Italian fashion brand that enjoyed wild international success in the fashion industry with a market focus on the young adults. In its heyday, it had 40 plus stores in the United States and its airy boutiques were filled with sweaters in every color imaginable. "The brand was vaguely exotic and pleasantly cool without being aloof or intimidating." Benetton hit a sweet spot in both pricing and aesthetics. However, its place as a stalwart in the fashion industry has been replaced by labels such as J. Crew, Abercrombie & Fitch, Uniqlo, Target, Club Monaco, Zara, and others. Fast fashion left it behind and it has lost its magic touch of design. Its clothes, at least those shipped to the U.S. market became unattractive and unfashionable. Around 2014, Benetton exited the U.S. market (no U.S. stores can be located on Benetton's official website, therefore the deduction).

In the international marketing industry, however, Benetton is also very well known for its campaigns. It markets its clothes in an extremely non-traditional fashion and stirred extreme emotions among consumers. Benetton uses controversial social issues that common among different cultural, racial, and religious groups in the world. Some of its marketing campaigns were loved by consumers while others found it hard to swallow. Despite of mixed reviews , it has managed to convey the message of peace, equality, and love and raised awareness of social problems around the world.

Luciano Benetton, one of the founders of United Colors of Benetton, wants to transform "sweaters into messages, shirts into signs, and jeans into signifiers." This quote tells us that Benetton is passionate about two things: its clothes and its message. Amongst the most controversial ads, Benetton has featured topics such as dead AIDS patient, interracial homosexual couples, reconciliation of Chinese soldier and monk, kiss between a priest and a nun, and the list goes on. Most of the time, the Benetton ads provides a shocking visual focus on the social issue with its green logo served as the only identifiable text in the campaign.

When questioned the motives of its decade long ad-campaign, the Benetton photographer and artist Oliviero Toscani said "the goal [of the campaign] was to reach people's souls, to invoke discussion of controversial topics, and to bring societies to the awareness that humans share many similar concerns." Since Toscani took the reign of marketing, the company's sales increased by 20%. In autumn 2011, Benetton launched its new worldwide communication campaign, an invitation to the leaders and citizens of the world to combat the "culture of hatred", and created the UNHATE Foundation.

Benetton is struggling with charging into the future with its colorful sweaters and newly appointed creative director (appointed 2011), hoping to regain its glory in the fashion industry. But fashion stories never end there. In an industry that is fueled by changes, there is possibility of a new day. What Benetton needs (to my opinion only) is revamping its design aesthetics, but keep its soul! Let's enjoy some out of many of its memorable marketing campaigns.

To know more of the controversial ads by United Colors of Benetton, please click here: http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1170425/alessandro-benetton-building-brand-controversy#timeline by Judy Attwell.