Agency Spy

A little while ago the internet was buzzing about the new Sisley ad campaign featuring two models “sniffing” a vest and looking totally coked out. We hated it, but weren’t surprised that Sisley, which is part of the Benetton group, would create such a campaign. The brand is notorious for pushing the boundaries on sexual advertising, so why not go whole hog and get the drugs involved? Well, we and the entire blogosphere got it wrong. See what happens when you assume? From Benetton’s PR team:

“Statement on a fake Sisley campaign…

20 July, 2007

In the recent days, images which are told to be part of the new Sisley advertising campaign have been published in internet.

One of these images shows some girls “sniffing a vest”. The allusion to drugs and alcohol is more than clear. We would like to clearly state that the Sisley brand (and the Benetton company) has nothing to do with these images and therefore we refuse to be linked with them.

Please also note that these images infringe Benetton’s rights in the Sisley trademark. Our Legal Department has therefore been retained to take all advisable actions to protect the company’s rights and interests.

The next Sisley campaign will instead have a very special testimonial, Stephanie Seymour, worldwide recognized as an icon of fashion and beauty.”

Hmmm…. Stephanie Seymour… remember her? She was dating Axle Rose in like 1992 right? What a weird choice for a youth oriented, supposedly hip fashion brand.

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