Spanish clothing giant Zara is one of the largest international fashion companies that specializes in fast fashion and offers a range of products that includes clothing, accessories, footwear, swimwear, beauty, and perfume. The retail brand is back in the news for all the wrong reasons. Zara’s faced severe backlash for its Turkish advertising campaign for shoes.
The Disrespectful Campaign
Food can be life-changing for the needy but that isn’t the case here. The campaign featured bread, ice cream, and other food in direct contact with shoes and sandals that was termed distasteful by people. The timing of the campaign is yet another setback due to the harsh economic crises all around the world. The offensive pictures were posted on the brand’s Turkish and German websites.
Take a look at the campaign below
Social Media Outrage
The reaction of the audience was quite intense. Within no time, an online campaign was initiated on social media using the hashtag #ZaraHaddiniBil which translates “Zara Know Your Place” in Turkish.
@ZARA bread is a sacred. Everything ,keeps us live, is sacred. What is your purpose ???? I AM NOT GONNA BUY ANYTHING FROM ZARA ANYMORE. THIS IS TOO MUCH!!!!! #boycottzara #zarahaddinibil #ZARA pic.twitter.com/t21ElLyqIW
— Seniha (@efkarliseniha) June 12, 2022
#ZARA the bread is sacred for lots of people all over the world. Also some people cannot access a bread. Shame on you. We won’t buy anything from you anymore. @ZARA
— Adnan 💦MKA💦 🇷🇺🇹🇷🇷🇺 (@Adnanmka1) June 12, 2022
You will lose #ZARA ,because you have curse after that. #haddinibilzara
— Yasin Yahyaoğlu (@YasinYahyaoglu) June 13, 2022
#zaraapoligise u should apoligise for this ridiculous advertisement #zara
— öylesine görll (@bipolarbipanda) June 13, 2022
Disrespecting food in the name of advertisment. Is this a concept even ? SHAME ! #Zara pic.twitter.com/0u6GSOubSn
— Are Zee ! (@bhattispeaks) June 12, 2022
Too late To Revert
The brand soon after the online riot removed the shoe campaign pictures from its official website over remarks about wasting and disrespecting food. But it was too late by then.
One Twitter user writes, ‘bread is sacred. Everything, that keeps us alive, is sacred. What is your purpose???? I AM NOT GONNA BUY ANYTHING FROM ZARA ANYMORE. THIS IS TOO MUCH!!!!!
@ZARA bread is a sacred. Everything ,keeps us live, is sacred. What is your purpose ???? I AM NOT GONNA BUY ANYTHING FROM ZARA ANYMORE. THIS IS TOO MUCH!!!!! #boycottzara #zarahaddinibil #ZARA pic.twitter.com/t21ElLyqIW
— Seniha (@efkarliseniha) June 12, 2022
Another user shared, ‘It’s not a fashion or a style. Such a product cannot be promoted when millions of people are struggling with hunger. Bread is sacred. It was your brand value that was trampled underfoot.’
Through the Sustainability Innovation Hub we are collaborating with different partners to bring more innovation into our products and to support them to scale up their initiatives. #INNOVATION #JOINLIFEhttps://t.co/1vVo7LkZ7c pic.twitter.com/bRg4M0Y8yv
— ZARA (@ZARA) June 7, 2022
Final Word
Creativity in the name of crossing limits of decency is simply bizarre. This campaign is indeed a big blow for the brand itself. However, Zara has not issued any official statement yet.
What are your thoughts on the campaign? Share them with us in the comments. Stay tuned to Fashion Times Magazine for more entertaining content.
