Xavi Lopez/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
- Zara has pulled an ad campaign after some people said that it resembled recent photos from Gaza.
- One image showed a mannequin wrapped in a white material that resembled a body bag.
- Zara said that the ad was meant to show a sculptor's studio and was a "misunderstanding."
Spanish fast-fashion giant Zara has pulled an ad campaign after some people said that images included in it resembled recent photos showing the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
The campaign featured photos of model Kristen McMenamy standing in front of broken drywall. Some of the shots showed mannequins with limbs missing or wrapped in white material that looked similar to body bags.
The campaign provoked an outcry on social media, with people likening the images to recent ones from Gaza. Some people claimed that one of the pieces of broken drywall resembled an upside-down map of Palestine.
"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 said in a statement on Instagram. "Zara regrets that misunderstanding and we reaffirm our deep respect towards everyone."
Zara said that it came up with the campaign in July and photographed it in September, the month before Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a series of terrorist attacks on Israel, provoking retaliatory attacks. As of Monday, there were more than 1,200 reported fatalities of Israelis and foreign nationals in Israel, the UN says, citing Israeli officials. More than 18,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the UN, citing data from Gaza.
Universities and companies have been scrutinized for the way they've responded to – or failed to respond to – the conflict.
Zara said in its statement that the campaign was meant to show unfinished sculptures in a studio "and was created with the sole purpose of showcasing craftmade garments in an artistic context." It said it pulled the ads after listening to customers' comments. Zara did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
The UK's advertising watchdog, the Advertising Standards Authority, told BI that it had received 110 complaints related to the campaign.
The comments on Diet Prada, an Instagram page that calls for accountability in the fashion industry, show how the ad campaign has divided the internet.
While some commenters acknowledge that Zara may have thought up and photographed the campaign before the hostilities began in October, they say that the company should have scrapped the ads after the conflict started.
Other commenters say that they can't see a connection between the campaign and the war and say that people have overanalyzed the photos.
Zara is owned by Inditex, the clothing giant set up by Amancio Ortega, who is currently the world's 15th-richest person on Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.