Benetton dropped its shock ads, lost its identity — 25 yrs on, closing stores

Benetton, founded in 1965 by Luciano Benetton, built one of the most recognisable fashion brands of the 1980s and 1990s through photographer Oliviero Toscani's provocative advertising — a priest kissing a nun, a man dying of AIDS, three labelled pig hearts. The clothes were barely in the pictures, but the brand was everywhere. In 2000, Benetton ranked 75th in Interbrand's global brand valuation, alongside the world's most valuable companies.

Then the formula broke. In late 1999, Benetton's 'We, On Death Row' campaign — sympathetic profiles of 26 condemned inmates — provoked a backlash that cost the company its Sears franchise agreement and drew lawsuits from US states. Within the year, Toscani's eighteen-year partnership with Benetton ended. The company faced a strategic choice: continue shock advertising with a new creative director, or abandon the formula and reposition as a conventional fashion brand. It chose the latter.

The rebranding failed. Without Toscani's distinctive voice, Benetton's ads became forgettable. The brand lost the free media attention that controversy had generated and could not compete with Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo on either price or fashion relevance. By 2002, Benetton had dropped out of Interbrand's top 100 entirely. The brand that had been synonymous with global social commentary became a clothing company nobody talked about.

The financial decline was slow but relentless. The group posted a €180 million loss in 2017, prompting the 83-year-old Luciano Benetton to return as executive chairman. Revival efforts included re-appointing Toscani as creative director in 2018 — an admission that the rebranding had failed. It did not work. In May 2024, Luciano Benetton announced a further €100 million loss and accused CEO Massimo Renon of mismanagement. By 2025, more than 418 stores were closing, 180 of them since 2024 alone. Benetton had spent 25 years trying to become a brand it was never designed to be.