The “unemployee of the year” campaign applying a feminist lens by ANNE OLSEN

In September 2012, Benetton group launched the “unemployee of the year” advertising campaign for United Colours of Benetton.  The advertisement campaign, with the purpose of communication, was promoted by the Unhate Foundation whose aim is to challenge “the cliché and stigma of youth unemployment by powerfully affirming faith in the creativity of younger generations around world, providing concrete support for their aspirations through the financing of 100 projects” (Unemployee of the year, 2012). Nearly 100 million people under the age of 30 were unemployed during the time of the campaign and a few of them, from different countries, were featured on the posters. The main focus of the campaign is to create awareness around the problem of youth unemployment, but also around the question of dignity. The Benetton group is taking a practical approach to the problem by granting support to the 100 best projects to increase their chances of becoming a reality.  Previous United Colours of Benetton campaigns are known for causing controversy and debate around the subjects of sexuality, human rights, racism and religion. By taking a closer look at the composition in the poster, which is including both men and women, some of these social aspects come to the surface. The focus point in this essay will be on the women in the posters through a feminist lens.

Feminism is defined as “the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes” (Oxford dictionaries). The most influential feminist theoretical perspectives are radical, liberal, womanist, socialist and cultural feminism. Radical feminism emphasizes on women as oppressed by men, not because of social class or race, but because of the power of the male. Liberal feminism focuses on the similarities between men and women and on the importance of equal social and legal rights. Womanism, or woman-of-colour feminism, is an opposition to the traditionally white middleclass women’s movement for not including issues that is important to women of colour. Womanism’s main focus is on racism, poverty and job opportunities. Socialist feminism emphasizes on different forms of discrimination as inseparable and that these will lead to oppression. Cultural feminism, unlike liberal feminism, focuses on the differences between men and women and that these should be respected. An example of this is the view of women as more nurturing than men. All these perspectives are part of feminism, but they all share two fundamental believes: women are important and valuable and that social change is needed to benefit women’s lives.

There are several feminist aspects related to the United Colours of Benetton “unemployee of the year” campaign. Some of the aspects are linked to the visual elements like the composition, dress code, race, appearance, message (text) and colours. Other aspects are related to the deeper message behind the advisement and the history of female employment. The composition varies between the 18 posters depending on the featured number of people. On the main three posters, there are between four and seven people featured, some in the front and some in the background. This creates a sense of depth, also referred to as depth-of-field, which is contributing to highlight the focus point in the front by making the background blurry and unfocused. The way the camera is angled facing upwards, is making an illusion of them look down on the audience and creates a sense of superiority. All the main three posters are featuring one or two woman in the front centre, which is creating an image of women as powerful, strong and independent. However, the traditional difference between men and women related to power is one of the core subjects within feminism. Men have more public power due to the outnumbering of women in the majority of positions within the government, the legal system or in other positions with influence over other people. In many societies the outnumbering is so great that is it impossible for women to push through law regulations that would in any way favour them. In all of the three posters however, the number of women is the same or outnumbering the men.

There are also other visual elements that relates to appearance. These are clothing, hair and skin colour, body piercings and makeup. The sense of clothing in all three posters is smart, formal and conservative. Both men and women are wearing black blazers and fully buttoned-up shirts, which traditionally is related to an office job. The men are also wearing a tie, but that is the only difference between the sexes. The way they are dressed is giving of a sense of professionalism and seriousness that illustrates the situation they are in as unemployed but also their ability to work within a serious work environment. The fact that both men and women are dressed alike can from a feministic point of view be conflicted. On the one side, liberal feminism would argue that it is a positive thing to wear the same kind of clothes to remove any differences between men and women. On the other side, cultural feminism would say that they should dress differently. However, the black blazer and the shirt are traditionally related to men and masculinity and can therefore be conflicting from any feministic point of view. The question is therefore if they would dress in typical women’s clothing like a dress or a skirt if they had the opportunity to choose and if that would be as conflicting.

In addition to the way they are dressed, is the use of makeup, hair dye and body piercings. The women featured in the poster are wearing some makeup and have dyed hair. Some feminists will say that wearing makeup or dying their hair is a sign of oppression by the consumerist market that in many cases is lead by men. Some will also say that women who are wearing makeup or changing their hair colour wants to appear more attractive to the opposite sex and are therefore being objectified. Others will say that makeup and hair dye is a source of power for women and a way to enhance the female features. Two of the women are also having their nose pierced. There is not one united feminist approach to the subject of piercings and the subject has been debated in several articles and blogs. The are arguments supporting female’s rights to have piercing as a part of reclaiming their body from the norms of a society “in which the body becomes an object, exterior to the self” (Jeffreys, 2007). Another argument is stating the fact that a part of western piercing history goes back to gay communities in the 1970s were men would wear piercings to enhance their feminine sides. On the other side, piercings are also associated with pain and masculinity. The fact that two women have nose piercings might seem like a tiny detail, but says a great deal about the growing acceptance of female body art.

Another element is the standards of beauty and the perception of what is physically attractive. The standard of beauty in many countries is the white woman with blonde hair. Women with different skin colour are featured in the “unemployee of the year” campaign. This can be a way to represent the wide range of women from different racial backgrounds who are unemployed and to emphasize that skin colour is not the reason why. On the contrary, none of the people are according to beauty standards viewed as less attractive. The women are slim and attractive but do not appear to be digitally retouched or enhanced in any obvious ways. The fact that none of them are considered to be heavy is most likely a conscious decision from the producers of the campaign. The body image of women related to height has been literary shrinking over the past few decades. Being heavier is being considered as less desirable and unattractive and the pressure of living up to an unrealistic and unhealthy body image is viewed as problematic through a feminist lens. Many feminist movements are fighting against the increasingly distorted and unattainable look and supporting the shape of the natural female figure.

All in all the campaign is supporting many feminist believes, because unlike 73% of all advertisement, the women are not portrayed in a sexist way (Crawford and Unger, 2004). The campaign is rather focusing on women’s ability to work and contribute to the society, than displaying them as decorative and sexualized. Through a feminist lens it can be debated whether the way they are dressed is a consequence of oppression or equalizing between men and women. Feminism will also state that it is unfortunate that the campaign might be considered as unlikely to be displayed in many countries in the world where women’s right to education and work is lacking.

Benetton is unlike most companies known for its provocative, but unique form of communication and the “unemployee of the year” campaign has been reviewed as “utterly unprovocative” and “Benetton's most boring campaign ever” (Mahadwi, 2012). However, Benetton seems to be ahead of traditional stereotyping of women by portraying them as intelligent and educated individuals and will continue to challenge social stigmas.

References

Crawford, M. and Unger, R., 2004, Women and Gender a Feminist Psychology, 4^th ed, New York: McGraw-Hill

Roberts, H., 1995, Doing feminist research, Wiltshire: Redwood books

Curthoys, A., 1988, For and Against Feminism, a personal journey into feminist theory and history, Australia: Allen and Unwin 

Zillah, R., E., 1988, The Female Body and the Law, Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press

Watkins, A., 1999, Introducing Feminism, Cambridge: Icon Books

Mahadwi, A., 2012, Benetton's 'Unemployee of the Year' is a flimsy attempt at brand-aid, The Guardian, [online] Available at http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/19/benetton-unemployee-campaign-flimsiest-brand-aid [Accessed April 29 2014]                      

Company vision, 2011, Benetton group, [online] Available at: http://www.benettongroup.com/group/profile/company-vision [Accessed April 27 2014]

Social commitment, 2013, Benetton group, [online] Available at: http://www.benettongroup.com/sustainability/social-commitment [Accessed April 27 2014]

Jeffreys, S., 2007, ‘Body Art’ and Social Status: Cutting, Tattooing and Piercing from a Feminist Perspective, Sage publications, [online] Available at: http://www.brown.uk.com/selfinjury/jeffreys.pdf [Accessed May 1 2014]

Unemployee of the year, 2012, [online] Available at: http://unhate.benetton.com/unemployee-of-the-year/image-gallery/unemployee_of_the_year_02/ [Accessed April 27 2014]

2012, Unemployee of the year, [image online] http://unhate.benetton.com/unemployee-of-the-year/image-gallery/unemployee_of_the_year_01/ [Accessed April 27 2014]

2012, Unemployee of the year, [image online] http://unhate.benetton.com/unemployee-of-the-year/image-gallery/unemployee_of_the_year_02/ [Accessed April 27 2014]

2012, Unemployee of the year, [image online] http://www.benettongroup.com/sites/all/temp/imagecache/o300/unemployee_of_the_year_03.jpg [Accessed April 27 2014]