Thoughts on "Benetton, Toscani and the Limits of Advertising" Case

Reading about this case really got me thinking of cultural appropriation, and whether or not there is ever an ‘appropriate’ time to culturally-appropriate. 

This term ('cultural appropriation'), I hear ever so often in my Women’s Studies classes interests me because it is deemed as 'appropriate', when in reality it always somehow seems inappropriate. Or maybe it is just that 'cultural misappropriation' gets much more attention from the public and the media than 'cultural appropriation'. In Benetton’s case, this is true. For Toscani, it seemed inappropriate to use such images, but it worked. A great comparison to this tactic is Miley Cyrus. She sells herself on the same sort of lines- by taking elements of other cultural groups and using them in her music and videos and promo materials, in order to sell herself. Misappropriation is used to define herself as an ‘image’, a sort of brand, that pushes the limits by offending and shocking others. Just like Benetton. Could it have been done as successfully, in a more tasteful way? A more 'appropriate' way? Probably not.

I found it interesting how the case ended after all; that Toscani drew away from Benetton after he felt too close to the issue of the death penalty. It seemed like he took that specific issue too seriously to just use it as leverage to sell some clothes. That detail made it seem as though Toscani maybe did not recognize the implications his photographs might have had on some people over the years when he boldly photographed whatever he wanted, how he wanted. All in all, Toscani and Miley Cyrus might agree on business tactics, and they sure gave us something to talk about.