Zara, the fast-fashion retailer, announced on Tuesday that it had pulled an ad campaign following criticism that the imagery evoked scenes from the Israel-Hamas War and was deemed insensitive.
The campaign, titled “The Jacket,” featured model Kristen McMenamy and was photographed by Tim Walker. One image showed Ms. McMenamy holding what seemed to be a mannequin wrapped in white cloth, while another showed what appeared to be white powder sprinkled on the floor.
In a company statement posted on Instagram, Zara expressed regret that some customers felt offended by the images, stating that the images were misinterpreted. The company also clarified that the campaign was developed in July and photographed in September, before the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
Zara also noted that the campaign was created to showcase craftmade garments in an artistic context and stated that the photos have since been deleted from their Instagram page but are still available on other websites.
The campaign faced backlash from customers who compared the images to those taken by war photographers. Some even called for a boycott of the brand. The protesters also gathered in front of Zara stores and expressed their discontent through social media.
In one particularly poignant photo, taken by Mohammed Salem for Reuters, a Palestinian woman named Inas Abu Maamar, 36, holds the body of her 5-year-old niece, Saly, who was killed in an Israeli strike.
The decision to release the campaign in December, despite being developed before the start of the Israel-Hamas war, was criticized as insensitive to the conflict. Some protesters gathered in front of Zara stores and expressed their discontent through social media.
One social media critic stated, “You’re not aware enough of current affairs to be working in marketing. You approved it through ignorance.”
Protesters gathered in front of a Zara store in Tunisia on Monday and chanted while waving the Palestinian flag. Red paint was splattered on one of the store’s windows.
Some Instagram users left pro-Palestinian messages as comments on Zara’s Instagram statement and its other recent posts.