Namah Bose
Gucci launched its tiger collection to celebrate the Chinese year of the tiger which begins on the 1st of February. It was all in perfect harmony until the luxury brand came under the fire for incorporating actual tigers within its photoshoot. The regular ‘No animals were harmed during the making of this shoot” disclaimed did little to pacify the anger of customers and activists. The comments ranged from questioning the need for a tiger in the photoshoot to a reminder about how the wild animal is not a pet.
Gucci further in an attempt to pacify the backlash it was receiving quoted that the American Humane Society was present and monitored the shoot to ensure no animals were harmed. Various organisations and imminent celebrities came up speaking against the ad campaign.
PETA (People for ethical protection of animals) requested all of Gucci’s customers and followers to ask Gucci to stop using wild animals in their photoshoots.
Carole Baskin, the founder of big cat rescue and animal rights activist also vehemently objected to Gucci’s use of tigers for the shoot. She stated that this projects the worst possible message internationally that wild animals are a ‘disposable product’. She further went on to say that tigers belonged in the wild within their natural habitat and not on pianos to be clicked by photographers. Gucci should have also considered that Tigers are categorised in the IUCN red list as endangered.
The main concern most people had with the ad campaign was that using a wild animal –
– intends to make tigers look like pets
– Reduces their magnificence
– is unnecessary
– uses a creature for trying to market their products
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The pictures within the photoshoot show models on sofas and couches or next to a piano. While one to two tigers sit next to the models in each of these photos.
The picture caption on Instagram has now been edited to include the statements that wildlife and its creatures are extremely important to Gucci and hence in February 2020 Gucci made the decision to join the Lion Share fund that helps raise funds to protect endangered animals and their habitat. It was also added that the tigers were photographed in a separate safe environment due to Gucci’s policies on photo shoots.
The unfortunate bit of the news is that while Gucci has just edited the captions on Instagram to add various funds and mentions to American Humane society, it still hasn’t removed the campaign and its photos from Instagram.
It showcases how Gucci might still not be able to understand the harm that it has actually caused and only intends to pacify the anger of netizens and activists.
This is not the first time that Gucci has used various animals. It has used captive deer, owls, and skunks in one of the Gucci campaigns. It has also used Monkeys in its advertisements.
PETA has called this attribute of Gucci as a version of the wildlife selfie phenomenon. It is a part of the obsession to get clicked and snapped with real wild animals. As rightfully observed, such wild animals are taken away from their habitat and separated from their families, and are used for the purpose of human entertainment advertisement. Gucci should immediately remove the photographs from Instagram and further make a declaration to stop using wild animals in all of its shoots. PETA has also called for further action.
