It is not only the Pope but Barack Obama, Nicholas Sarkozy and Palestian leader Mahmoud Abbas who are seen with their political rivals in the ads. The Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said that the picture of the Pope used in such a manner by the company was utterly manipulative and they might also sue the Italian company for the same. These words however might be falling on deaf ears as Benetton’s advertisements are known more than their clothes.

Who can forget the controversy that the nun and the priest about to kiss created and that is till date used as a marketing example for students of various management classes. The present advertisement might just have the same effect. The launch of the new campaign took place on Wednesday and after the uproar the company defended the whole thing.

As reported in samachar.com, the company released a statement that said that the ad was made to ‘battle the culture of hate in all its forms.’ They also added that a 'kiss' is the most universal symbol of love and the political leaders in passionate embrace with their rivals and kissing them is a provocation to unhate them. Benetton deputy chief Alessandro Benetton also clarified that the company always “chooses social issues and actively promotes humanitarian causes that could not otherwise have been communicated on a global scale.”