According to the National Catholic Reporter (NCR), the ad was part of a new campaign entitled "Unhate" which featured a montage of world leaders kissing each other. President Barack Obama is shown kissing Chinese Premier Hu Jintao and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is depicted kissing Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas. Posters with the images are appearing in Benetton stores around the world, as well as in newspapers, magazines and Internet sites.
The Vatican was not impressed.
"A decisive protest must be expressed for the completely unacceptable use of the image of the Holy Father, manipulated and instrumentalized in the context of a publicity campaign of a commercial nature," said Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, according to an NCR translation.
"It’s a question of a grave lack of respect for the pope, of an offense to the sentiments of the faithful, [and] of a evident demonstration of how, in the context of publicity, it’s possible to violate elementary rules of respect for persons in order to attract attention with provocations. The Secretariat of State is evaluating the steps to take with the competent authorities in order to guarantee a just protection of respect for the figure of the Holy Father."
Benetton, which is known for its risqué ad campaigns, issued an immediate apology, saying it was "sorry that the use of the image had so hurt the sensibilities of the faithful."
They went on to explain that the new campaign was launched "solely to battle the culture of hate in all its forms," saying that the “central theme is the kiss, the most universal symbol of love, between world political and religious leaders.”
According to the AFP, Benetton deputy chief Alessandro Benetton said in a statement that the ads were "constructive provocation" intended "to give widespread visibility to an ideal notion of tolerance."
Benetton "chooses social issues and actively promotes humanitarian causes that could not otherwise have been communicated on a global scale", he said.
The company made a name for itself in the 1990s for its provocative ads, one of which featured a nun dressed in a white habit kissing a priest in a black cassock.
However, this time, the company decided to back off and has agreed to remove the photo of the Pope from the campaign montage.
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Photo is by Stefano Rellandini for Reuters
