Lessons From Balenciaga's Advertisement Controversy

Xinyi (Catherine) Wu

Abstract

The Balenciaga advertisement controversy of November 2022 highlighted critical shortcomings in their crisis management, resulting in severe damage to the brand's reputation. This issue brief identifies the key issue, analyzes Balenciaga’s actions and their consequences, and emphasizes the strategies employed. Policy recommendations focus on strengthening ethical advertising guidelines, industry-wide regulation, and collaboration for social media accountability. These recommendations aim to prevent similar instances of child sexualization in commercial advertising and promote responsible practices. 

Background

Balenciaga is a luxury fashion brand founded in 1919 by the Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga. The brand produces ready-to-wear clothes, footwear, handbags, accessories, beauty products and fragrances (The Fashion Law, 2020). Under the leadership of CEO Cedric Charbit and creative director Demna Gvasalia, Balenciaga distinguished itself from other high-end fashion competitors by pioneering innovative footwear, including sock sneakers. This distinctive approach rapidly captured the attention of influencers and fashion enthusiasts alike (Highsnobiety, n.d.). Balenciaga’s customer base primarily consists of fashion-forward, high-income young individuals bolstered by a strong celebrity following (Highsnobiety, n.d.). Additionally, Balenciaga has maintained a robust social media presence, interacting with its followers regularly through online campaigns and influencer partnerships. For younger consumers, who increasingly turn to social media for fashion inspiration, this has helped the brand maintain relevance and stay top-of-mind.

The Key Issue

In November 2022, Balenciaga released its holiday ad campaigns: one with children holding teddy bears in bondage harnesses and costumes (BDSM). Meanwhile, another campaign showcased photos that included paperwork about child pornography laws (Paton et al., 2022). On November 21st, a Twitter user with the handle @shoe0nhead sparked the controversy when he claimed that Balenciaga had incorporated a court document regarding “virtual child porn” in their new product photoshoots (Issawi, 2023). The hashtags #burnbalenciaga and #cancelbalenciaga quickly gained traction on TikTok, accumulating more than 300 million views, with influencers publishing videos showcasing their commitment to the online boycott, tearing up Balenciaga bags or clothing as a symbolic act of protest (Gárgoles & Ambás, 2023). From that on, the public began accusing the brand of condoning paedophilia and the sexualization of kids in the campaigns. Balenciaga’s reputation has been severely affected by this advertising scandal which has plunged it into its biggest PR crisis. 

Actions and PR tactics

Balenciaga’s crisis management was characterized by a delayed and ineffective response. Balenciaga’s first crisis response strategy during the initial stages of the crisis was the “deny strategy” with a focus on “scapegoating”. This approach involves attributing the crisis to an external individual or organization, deflecting responsibility from the brand (Kelleher, 2021). Balenciaga placed the responsibility on the production company and set designer, Nicholas Des Jardins, and claimed $25 million in legal action. The lawsuit stated that because of the production company’s actions, “members of the public, including the news media, have falsely and horribly associated Balenciaga with the repulsive and deeply disturbing subject of the court decision,” and that material had been included “without Balenciaga’s knowledge or authorization” (Issawi, 2023). Since it was implausible that the brand was ignorant of the campaign’s props, this deceptive tactic failed. Seven days later, Balenciaga shifted to a “rebuild strategy” of the “apology” type—a process involving taking responsibility for an issue or crisis and seeking forgiveness or understanding (Kelleher, 2021). In a statement released on November 28th, the company acknowledged “a series of grievous errors for which Balenciaga takes responsibility” and said that “internal and external investigations were still underway” (Paton et al., 2022). On December 2nd, Demna and Cédric Charbit released separate statements of apology. They outlined remedial actions, including the implementation of new content validation procedures, withdrawing the lawsuit against the production company and set designer, and adopting a "compensation" strategy. This involved collaborating with its parent company, the Kering Foundation, to make donations to the National Children’s Alliance (Issawi, 2023).

Results and Evaluation

On the one hand, we have to admit that Balenciaga adopted the accommodation response action, conceding to the public’s demands and acting in the public's interest to settle the backlash. The company coordinated its messages across several media platforms and employed a variety of issue management techniques.

On the other hand, Balenciaga’s failure to respond quickly, coupled with the initial strategy of portraying itself as a victim, fueled anger in the online community. Following the public backlash, The Business of Fashion rescinded its 2022 Global Voices Award offer to Demna (Issawi, 2023). The singer Dua Lipa opted not to wear pre-selected Balenciaga outfits for her Future Nostalgia concert tour. Additionally, model Bella Hadid removed an Instagram post featuring a photo from her collaboration with the brand (Gárgoles & Ambás, 2023). Balenciaga also lost 100,000 followers on Instagram after the crisis (Issawi, 2023). In addition, the brand fell out of the Lyst Index's top 10 brands (Wei, 2023) and witnessed a significant 4% decline in sales during Kering's fourth quarter of 2022 (Kostov, 2023).

Policy Recommendation

Strengthening Advertising Guidelines for Ethical Practices

In light of the Balenciaga advertisement controversy, it is imperative to establish comprehensive advertising guidelines that prioritize ethical practices within the fashion industry. These guidelines should explicitly prohibit the use of inappropriate or potentially harmful content, especially involving children and minority groups, ensuring that brands are held accountable for the potential consequences of their creative choices. Establishing a transparent structure for content approval and validation requires businesses to evaluate the possible effects of their ads on different stakeholders. Working together with external NGOs, such as child protection agencies, can further enhance the scrutiny of advertisements to prevent the promotion of problematic content. 

Industry-Wide Regulation 

Additionally, industry-wide regulation and certification processes for ethical advertising are needed and can create a collective commitment to responsible practices and promote transparency during crises. Regular training and awareness programs for marketing and advertising teams can further reinforce the importance of ethical considerations in promotional content, fostering a culture of responsibility within the industry. Age-appropriate attire, settings and topics should all be included in the guidelines, emphasizing the importance of protecting the well-being of children. 

Collaboration on Social Media Accountability

The fashion industry should collaborate to establish a framework for social media accountability. This means working with major social media platforms to create policies that forbid the publishing and sharing of offensive or controversial content. Fashion brands should actively participate in conversations and pledge to follow these rules while running their online campaigns. The fashion industry may also advocate for the implementation of content moderation systems capable of identifying and flagging potentially sensitive information, facilitating prompt action. This initiative would contribute to fostering a more ethical online environment, simultaneously highlighting the fashion industry's commitment to responsible digital communication.

Conclusion

The Balenciaga case serves as a valuable lesson for the fashion industry, emphasizing the need for proactive crisis management and ethical advertising practices. The policy recommends calling for comprehensive ethical advertising guidelines, programs to regulate and cross-industry collaboration on accountability. By adopting these measures, the fashion industry can work towards preventing controversies, protecting vulnerable groups, and building a more responsible landscape for ethical advertising.

References

Everything you need to know about Balenciaga. Highsnobiety. (n.d.). https://www.highsnobiety.com/tag/balenciaga/

Gárgoles, P., & Ambás, G. (2023). The power of consumers on social media: A case study of Balenciaga’s crisis communication. Fashion Communication in the Digital Age, 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38541-4_1

Issawi, D. (2023, June 5). What to know about the Balenciaga ad scandal. The Cut. https://www.thecut.com/article/what-to-know-about-the-balenciaga-ad-scandal.html

Kelleher, T. (2021). Public relations. Oxford University Press.

Kostov, N. (2023, February 16). Gucci, Balenciaga Struggle Amid Designer Shakeup and Ad Controversy. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/kering-ker-q4-earnings-report-2022-c5147b5b

Paton, E., Friedman, V., & Testa, J. (2022, November 28). When high fashion and QAnon collide. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/style/balenciaga-campaign-controversy.html

Tfl. (2020, March 24). What is the state of Luxury’s Hundred Million Dollar licensing deals? The Fashion Law. https://www.thefashionlaw.com/what-is-the-state-of-luxurys-hundred-million-dollar-licensing-deals/

Wei, A. (2023, February 2). Balenciaga drops out of Lyst’s top 10 hottest brands ranking. https://fashionista.com/2023/02/lyst-index-top-popular-brands-products-2022-q4-balenciaga