Madrid (AFP) – Faced with calls for a boycott, the Spanish brand Zara withdrew an advertising campaign, accused on social networks of resembling images of victims in the Gaza Strip, something it denied this Tuesday.
First modification: Last modification:
2 min
“Some customers were offended by these images, which have since been removed, and saw in them something very different from what they intended when they were created,” said Zara, the emblematic brand of the world's number one ready-to-wear group, Inditex, in a statement published on social networks.
The advertising campaign showed a standing model carrying an adult-sized statue wrapped in a white sheet over her shoulder, posing in front of a drawer used to transport works of art, in the middle of a room in which pieces of plaster and sections of walls destroyed.
On social media, some accused this campaign of resembling images coming from Gaza.
A message published on the social network and shrouds as a backdrop”.
Numerous calls to boycott the brand emerged on social media under the hashtag #BoycottZara.
“Zara reiterates its deep respect for everyone”
Zara explained in its statement that its advertising campaign was “designed in July and photographed in September”, that is, before the current war between Israel and Hamas, which broke out due to the bloody and unprecedented attacks launched by the Palestinian organization on September 7. October on Israeli soil and from the Gaza Strip.
According to the Spanish brand, the campaign “presents a series of images of unfinished sculptures in a sculptor's studio and were created with the sole purpose of showing artisanal garments in an artistic context.”
“Zara regrets this misunderstanding and reiterates its deep respect to everyone,” the brand concluded.
At the beginning of the war, Inditex announced that it was “temporarily” closing its 84 brand stores in Israel until further notice.
According to Israel, 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the October 7 attacks.
In retaliation, Israel has vowed to “annihilate” Hamas and is carrying out devastating bombings in Gaza.
Hamas' Health Ministry reported on Monday that 18,205 people had been killed in the bombings, most of them women and children.
#Zara #withdraws #campaign #accused #inspired #images #Gaza