Zara Apologizes, Defends Concept For Campaign That Seemed To Mock Gaza Conflict
Image via Zara
Zara is digging itself deeper and deeper into a hole in response to backlash surrounding its Atelier 2024 campaign, titled The Jacket. Supposedly meant to highlight the brand’s craftsmanship, the visuals left a bad taste in shoppers’ mouths and ignited a storm of criticism as well as calls for a boycott in the flurry of the Gaza conflict.
The contentious imagery featured in the campaign, showing mannequins and statues wrapped in white amid rubble and some missing limbs, drew parallels to the grim scenes from war-torn areas, as pointed out by critics and pro-Palestinian activists on social media. Many demanded a boycott of the brand under the hashtag #BoycottZara.
i can promise you no one with a shred of humanity will ever buy Zara again, I don't even have to appeal, zara is done.#BoycottZara pic.twitter.com/ECwY1ZWzsA
— Nabeeha Ilyas (@NabeehaIlyas) December 12, 2023
The discontent wasn’t confined to the digital world either. In Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, protesters gathered outside a Zara store, displaying the Palestinian flag and voicing their disapproval. One of the branches even witnessed its window splattered with red paint.
🇪🇸 | Massive boycott campaign against Zara.
— Breaking News (@PlanetReportHQ) December 12, 2023
Zara has come under scrutiny from pro-Palestinian activists who entered one of its stores to express their grievances, advocating for a boycott.
This heightened attention followed the launch of Zara's new advertising campaign,… pic.twitter.com/d1ZpgH3uFY
In response to the growing outrage, Zara first removed the campaign images from its website. Inditex, its parent company, initially defended this action as part of a regular content refresh. However, as the situation escalated, the campaign was also withdrawn from Zara’s social media channels.
Attempting to address the situation, Zara issued a statement expressing regret for any offense caused by the campaign. The brand clarified that the campaign, conceptualized in July and shot in September, was an artistic endeavor aimed at showcasing their craftmade garments. Despite these intentions, Zara acknowledged the campaign had inadvertently offended some customers and reaffirmed its respect for all individuals.
“The campaign… presents a series of images of unfinished sculptures in a sculptor’s studio and was created with the sole purpose of showcasing craftmade garments in an artistic context,” Zara defended in a new Instagram post.
“Unfortunately, some customers felt offended by these images, which have now been removed, and saw in them something far from what was intended when they were created. Zara regrets that misunderstanding and we reaffirm our deep respect towards everyone.”
View this post on Instagram
Not everyone is buying the fashion retailer’s justification. Members of the public have accused the brand of making a non-apology, with some labeling it as a classic example of “gaslighting.”
“My dudes really posted, ‘It’s not us, it’s you’ as an apology,” one customer wrote.
Others questioned the internal approval process at Zara, suggesting that someone should have flagged the campaign as inappropriate given the current global context.
“The amount of people that need to approve this makes the whole thing even worse,” one user commented. “Before this was scheduled, someone from the team should have (or maybe did) flag this as inappropriate based on today’s circumstances. So it’s quite evident the campaign still intentionally went ahead despite this knowledge.”
One person described the response as the “worst apology in the history of PR-saving apologies.”
This incident highlights the delicate nature of global brand campaigns and the importance of cultural sensitivity in marketing.
[via Newsweek, The Hill, Daily Hive, USA Today, images via various sources]
