According to the February 21, 2000 article in Advertising Age, a Sears spokesman
said the chain allied itself with Benetton because “We thought they were past
that and had come to a point where they were interested in selling merchandise.
The whole episode is tragic, for the victims, for Sears and for Benetton.”
However, Sears is not the only one taking action against the company. According
to CNN, it was announced on February 10, 2000 that the state of Missouri was
suing Benetton for ads featuring death row inmates that reside in Missouri
prisons. Missouri claims that the company deceived the state when it used the
death row inmates as part of its ad campaign. The state thought the inmates were
being interviewed for a project sponsored by the National Association of
Criminal Defense Lawyers. In addition, according to the February 19, 2000
article in The Economist, a Benetton spokesperson in New York admitted that
payment was made to two inmates for the rights to their likeness. The state
accuses Benetton of fraudulent misrepresentation, trespass by deceit and
trespass by exceeding the scope of consent. Although the problems with Sears and
Missouri could have significantly decreased the overall value of Benetton, the
fact remains that consumers ultimately decide the fate of a company by whether
or not they shop there. It seems that sources such as CNN, Wall Street Journal,
and Advertising Age, among others, have touched upon US consumer reactions to
the new ad campaign.
Overall, it is not being accepted well in the United States
and an already weak market will continue to weaken as long as Benetton refuses
to change its US advertising techniques. According to the Washington Post,
Benetton is standing by its campaign. In fact, its US director of communications
stated, “Once again, it’s very hard for people to see what we’re doing and
understand that it’s not advertising, that it’s a way to get people to think.”
Perhaps this is the problem with Benetton’s campaigns in the United States, US
consumers do not want to think about AIDS or the death penalty when they are
shopping for pants, maybe they just want to shop for pants. Overall, the new
campaign seems to be high-risk for Benetton as its market value continues to
decrease. A January 24, 2000, article in the New Statesman stated the dangers to
Benetton seem insignificant. Benetton is used to unfavorable publicity, and for
all its undoubted worthiness, the whole campaign is expressly designed to
provoke outrage.
