Case Study: Benetton, Toscani and the Limits of Advertising.
Nick Saccary
Toscani’s bold use of photography began with advertisements. Toscani went where no other ad photographer has ever been. In one case, Toscani portrayed a Russian boy in Benetton clothing and Soviet emblems in a way that was suggestive of the USSR being the reason for the arms race. Next to that photo, an American girl holds a model of the Statue of Liberty, symbolic of the U.S. being upholders of liberty. This, along with the other ads he did, became indicative of the companies ideological interests. In addition, portraying international children in ads grew international exports exponentially, even surpassing domestic productions.
After seeing how much attention Toscani’s tactics were getting, he began to use race as a playing card, experimenting with skin colors. In one ad, he portrayed a black mother nursing a white child which sparked an uproar because of the way it dehumanized the black woman. While it initially caused a decrease in sales, eventually it reversed and increased the Benetton’s sales. While I could go on listing Toscani’s groundbreaking and daring use of photography, the main idea that I took away from reading this is that the popular choice is not always the best. It is important to stray from the norm and experiment with ideas, even if it may be seen as “wrong” in others eyes.
Nick Saccary
Toscani’s bold use of photography began with advertisements. Toscani went where no other ad photographer has ever been. In one case, Toscani portrayed a Russian boy in Benetton clothing and Soviet emblems in a way that was suggestive of the USSR being the reason for the arms race. Next to that photo, an American girl holds a model of the Statue of Liberty, symbolic of the U.S. being upholders of liberty. This, along with the other ads he did, became indicative of the companies ideological interests. In addition, portraying international children in ads grew international exports exponentially, even surpassing domestic productions.
After seeing how much attention Toscani’s tactics were getting, he began to use race as a playing card, experimenting with skin colors. In one ad, he portrayed a black mother nursing a white child which sparked an uproar because of the way it dehumanized the black woman. While it initially caused a decrease in sales, eventually it reversed and increased the Benetton’s sales. While I could go on listing Toscani’s groundbreaking and daring use of photography, the main idea that I took away from reading this is that the popular choice is not always the best. It is important to stray from the norm and experiment with ideas, even if it may be seen as “wrong” in others eyes.
Amanda Pokorny said...
To Nick,
It seems to me like Toscani, after breaking out of 'the norm', discovered how much a shock value or shock factor can popularize one's work. The ad with the black mother nursing the white child reminds me of the Cheerios ad that came under fire, just because the family was mixed race. I'm sure the Cheerios company got a TON of publicity through it, and sales probably went up as well.
It seems to me like Toscani, after breaking out of 'the norm', discovered how much a shock value or shock factor can popularize one's work. The ad with the black mother nursing the white child reminds me of the Cheerios ad that came under fire, just because the family was mixed race. I'm sure the Cheerios company got a TON of publicity through it, and sales probably went up as well.
