Article by Loraine Diputado Graphics by Samanatha Galang
December 20, 2022
he time has come for us to get back into the holiday spirit! Christmas season dawns upon us again, so what better way to start it than with some festive holiday advertisements? Balenciaga, however, may have gotten too abstract with that idea.
Balenciaga’s “Gift Collection” holiday ad campaign for 2022 was released last November 16. They had two campaigns that sparked controversy both featured inappropriate messages implying child abuse and exploitation. One of the campaigns featured children holding handbags in the form of teddy bears clothed in bondage gear while the other contained an excerpt from a U.S. Supreme Court case referencing child pornography.
Netizens have been constantly putting the brand and everyone involved in the campaign on fire for even allowing the campaign material to go public. The heads of the company, Artistic Director Demna, and President and Ceo Cedric Charbit, have posted their apologies on Instagram, admitting their mistakes. Charbit says that they are in the works on solving the issue internally.
Balenciaga also sued the agency that put together the shoots of the ads and has since released a statement saying that they do not condone child abuse and child exploitation. On the other hand, the ad agency claims that they were not given any creative freedom in the campaign ad shoot. A week later, the brand withdrew its lawsuit and set aside some funds for organizations advocating the protection of children.
It's still questionable how little Balenciaga claims their involvement was with the campaign up until its final release. With how detailed the shoots were, it's doubtful that not one person caught on to the negative message the ads could imply.
After the backlash from all around the internet and even criticism from one of their top ambassadors, Kim Kardashian, Balenciaga has since then removed the controversial ad campaigns.
It’s a sad reality we live in that large brands can get away with mistakes like this and pay it off like it never happened. Can we expect Balenciaga to do better?
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