Debate: Was the Balenciaga teddy bear ad an innocent mistake or intentional shock?

Okay so I keep going back and forth on the Balenciaga scandal from last year and I really want to hear what you all think. On one hand, their creative team said the whole thing was a random oversight and they never meant to include those court documents about child exploitation. But on the other hand, they've done tons of edgy, borderline offensive ads before, and this seemed way too specific to be an accident. I mean, the bear was holding a teddy bear wearing BDSM gear, that's not just a prop you grab off a shelf. My cousin works in PR and she insists it was a calculated move to get free press, good or bad. What side do you fall on - did they genuinely mess up, or was this a dark marketing stunt that backfired? Has anyone here forgiven a brand after something this wild.

2 comments

2 Comments

blake6912d ago

Didn't a former Balenciaga employee leak something about them planning this months in advance?

kevin_harris784d ago

The court documents thing is what got me. I used to think it was probably just bad judgment and poor oversight by a creative team that got too edgy, but then I actually read about the specific language in those papers and how they were deliberately placed. You don't accidentally include references to a real legal case about child trafficking in a fashion shoot, no matter how chaotic the set is. That level of detail feels too on the nose for an oversight. Do you think there's any chance they're telling the truth, or is that just naive at this point?