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By Shubhranshu Singh
Oliviero Toscani, a creative genius, may not be very vividly remembered now, but his work remains iconic and will never be forgotten. From his perspective, he was more of a photographer and less of an adman. His advertising was the stuff of legend. It was intensely loved, deeply reviled, diligently studied and poorly copied.
Toscani’s disturbing images for several Benetton campaigns buzzed up the advertising circle in the nineties. His work created polar opinions, and he made the fractures of race, religion and inequality look like the giant canyons they truly were.
He single-handedly created 'shock advertising’.
A priest kissing a nun, a smeared new born baby with his umbilical cord intact or a dying AIDS patient surrounded by family was a commentary on society more than advertising apparel. It made Benetton a brand known across the world. It also made other advertising seem so plain and boring—odourless, colourless and tasteless, if we may say so.
Toscani was born in Milan in 1942. He studied photography and graphic design at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zürich, graduating in 1965. After working for Elle, Vogue, GQ, Stern and other leading titles, he became a leading name, further garnering attention for his work for Fiorucci, Esprit and Chanel. Having said this, he never intended to do the regular stuff.
Let’s just say that this is when the nail hit the head and Benetton was born.
Luciano Benetton started the family firm in 1965 with his brothers Gilberto and Carlo when his sister Giuliana knitted a sweater for him. He liked it so much that he felt it was something they could do as a business.
Until Benetton hired Toscani in 1982, the company had done no advertising whatsoever. The brand was already going international and there was an indispensable need to invest in making the brand well-known.
Benetton and Toscani were firm in taking their brand message globally, across markets. To break in, they had to make certain that people saw their spirit was intense and that they had really arrived.
Toscani’s first campaign was for a line of children’s clothes, but instead of using kids, he used teddy bears. In hindsight, it was a very soft kick-off.
He first picked the theme of multiculturalism articulated as the ‘United Colors of Benetton’. As he pushed the boundaries towards provocation, multiculturalism was never abandoned. An image of a black woman breastfeeding a white baby and many such images, such as a nun kissing a priest, mating horses, a bloodstained Bosnian soldier’s uniform, black and white wrists chained together, and the dying AIDS victim—all of these were comments without closure. While some saw it as bold and inspiring, others looked at it as gross and biased.
Benetton and Toscani leveraged the shock and dissonance via smart PR. A stylish photography magazine, Colors was launched, as was a pioneering art school, Fabrica.
Toscani saw his work as art. Advertising gave it exposure, acknowledgement and traction. Discomfiting scenes were not pointless. They raised unspoken questions. Fashion had become a trivial indulgence. Benetton made it stand for something bigger. The big difference lay in its communication.
Toscani’s work created a unique genre but also raised the bar (and eyebrows) for others.
In 1999, Benetton was judged the 10th most powerful brand in fashion.
With fame and acceptance, Toscani didn’t peter down. Instead, his
work became more ominous. His last campaign for Benetton featured men on death row. It blew up in the United States, with calls for a boycott of Benetton products.
Sadly, in May 2000, Benetton and Toscani parted ways, ending an 18-year partnership extraordinaire.
With Toscani's exit, Benetton stuck to its knitting (pun intended), and its advertising settled into relaxed compliance. It was a leading player with a global footprint. But soon, rivals like H&M and Zara gained momentum and the Italian fashion brand became a slowpoke.
The author is Vice President - Marketing - Domestic and IB - CVBU, Tata Motors
