Italian clothing giant United Colors of Benetton has unveiled its new campaign, featuring unlikely men kissing.
Three advertisement banners were revealed in Italy yesterday as part of the company’s UNHATE campaign.
Two were unveiled in Milan, one featuring Barrack Obama and Chinese leader Hu Jintao sharing a kiss, and another with French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel.
The third was revealed in Rome and featured Pope Benedict kissing Egyptian imam Mohamed Ahmed el-Tayeb.
According to their website, Benetton’s UNHATE campaign seeks to “contribute to the creation of a new culture of tolerance”.
An official press statement on their website said: “The central theme is the kiss, the most universal symbol of love, between world political and religious leaders...
“...These are symbolic images of reconciliation - with a touch of ironic hope and constructive provocation - to stimulate reflection on how politics, faith and ideas, even when they are divergent and mutually opposed, must still lead to dialogue and mediation.”
The retailer has previously released advertisements that featured a man dying of AIDS and a nun kissing a priest.
Image courtesy of United Colors of Benetton.
