Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
Zara, the high street fashion brand, has pulled an advertising campaign after it was accused of using imagery that referenced the Israel-Hamas war. The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said it has received 110 complaints about the campaign but it will not take further action as the campaign, “The Jacket”, has now been axed. The hashtag #BoycottZara trended on Twitter after the advert’s release, and protesters gathered outside Zara stores. The campaign was photographed in September, the brand said, and intended to show “images of unfinished sculptures in a sculptor’s studio”. Critics however pointed out that the wrapped mannequins resembled images of corpses in white shrouds in Gaza. In some of the shots, supermodel Kristen McMenamy poses amid rubble, inside a wooden box, and alongside mannequins with missing limbs. “Unfortunately, some customers felt offended by these images, which have now been removed, and saw in them something far from what was intended when they were created,” Zara said.