Gucci’s Year Of The Tiger Campaign Falls Prey To Animal Rights Concerns
With the Lunar New Year fast approaching on February 1 this year, many luxury brands have taken to unveiling collections in tune with the zodiac animal of the year, and Gucci is no exception.
Its latest limited-edition collection, Gucci Tiger, draws inspiration from the big cat, with an advertisement campaign to match.
The still images show models surrounded by tigers in various positions and behaviors, including sitting perched on a piano like an oversized house cat or lying by a luscious gold couch, looking just like a docile pet.
There’s also a short video in which a tiger prowls around a luxurious afternoon tea, looking very much like it’s just another guest in attendance.
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This has drawn criticism by many online, especially from animal rights organizations and activists. The campaign used tigers as objects and props, they argued, with no regard to the animal’s “best interests,” as reported by Shine.
The news outlet also notes that a statement was released by the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, dubbing the brand’s inclusion of tigers “exploitation.”
On its Weibo account, the Foundation, quoted by Shine, writes that it’s acceptable to film wildlife in their natural habitat “if it’s within animal ethics.” However, commercial promotions like Gucci’s are deemed “unacceptable.”
“Gucci filmed tigers for commercial purposes, which violates business ethics and encourages illegal hunting and trading of endangered animals in a disguised form.”
Hit television series Tiger King’s Carole Baskin has also spoken out against the campaign, referring to the use of tigers in the advertisements as “ego props” in an interview with Yahoo.
Considering the fashion industry’s endeavors to move away from using materials sourced from animals, like fur and leather, Baskin states that this was a “backwards move.”
“Why put [the tiger] in this unnatural scene at all?” she questions. “This sort of ad campaign sends the worst possible message; which is that tigers are disposable products to be used for capitalism and discarded at will.”
In response to the backlash, Gucci appears to have added a disclaimer to the images shared from this campaign, stating that “Nature, wildlife and its denizens are particularly important to Gucci.”
The fashion house also says that the tigers were filmed separately before being inserted into the campaign, and filming was overseen by American Humane to ensure that “no animals were harmed.”
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Apart from criticism about the “exploitation” of tigers, the campaign also left a sour taste in many Chinese consumers’ mouths. Like previous Lunar New Year campaigns by various other Western luxury brands, this one appears to have missed the cultural mark.
“These luxury brands don’t really understand Chinese culture,” a comment on Gucci’s Weibo account, cited by Shine, states. “It’s just so superficial.”
Other users have also stated that the tigers featured in the campaign diminished the formidable creature, reducing their wild magnificence to the docility of domestic cats.
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