Zara forced to apologise and remove ad campaign after being accused of ‘mocking Gaza’

Clothing company Zara has said it “regrets” a “misunderstanding” and has removed its new advert after receiving backlash due to Gaza parallels.

Zara’s campaign called “The Jacket” was made to advertise its new Atelier Line and contained pictures in which the model was pictured against a background of cracked stones, damaged statues and broken plasterboard. One of the pictures featured the model holding a mannequin wrapped in a white sheet.

But people have criticised the advert for “mocking Gaza” and have called for people to boycott the brand.

Today, Zara has removed the campaign and posted an apology statement on its Instagram.

The photos, which have now been removed, were originally posted on Zara’s Instagram account with thousands of comments reading #BoycottZara.

In one of the photos, a model is pictured carrying a mannequin wrapped in white, in another a bust lies on the floor and another features a mannequin with no arms. People have said these photos resemble the “images of shrouded bodies coming out of Gaza.”

One person called the campaign “The most disgusting ad I’ve ever seen in my life” and another person said: “Shame on you ZARA. You can’t post these and pretend you didn’t mean any harm!! Deleting them after is a big sign you knew what you were doing!! We’re not dumb. #BoycottZara.”

The ad has since been removed and in a statement issued on Instagram this morning, Zara said: “After listening to comments regarding the latest Zara Atelier campaign ‘The Jacket’, we would like to share the following with our customers:

“The campaign, that was conceived in July and photographed in September, 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.

“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.”

Featured image via Instagram and Shutterstock/Valerii Eidlin. 

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