Controvertising

In this shocking ad, Hanes conveys the concept of the Original Tagless Comfort underwear through the idea that the, "world gives you enough tags."

The concept of tags might be a smart idea, playing on the social tags to promote tagless undies is very creative. But, in my opinion, this is a stupid delivery! I believe the mere use of such hateful tags to promote underwear is a foolish, immature and cheap way to garner publicity for this controversial campaign, but they go even further with illustrations and slogans that make matters worse.

In Fagg*t, you see same-sex kissing, debauchery, toys, bottles of wine and references to beauty: lipstick, nail polish and makeup. In Nigg*r, you see drugs, guns, jail cells, low-life jobs like cleaning toilets, and text about being HIV positive. In Pak! (a demeaning name for people from Pakistan), you see tanks, bullets, bombs and pigs (an anti-Islamic reference).

Such a campaign would never be approved in Europe or America, where the use of such hateful references is a big 'No No', even when you are trying to use it in a positive light. The campaign was created by an Indian advertising agency (Mccann Erickson, Bombay, India).

It's a pity, because I actually like the art direction (Timsy Gupta) and illustration (Pranav & Timsy).