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D&G rapped over knife ad

10/01/2007

An advertising watchdog has condemned Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana (D&G) for a campaign which "condoned and glamourised" knife crime.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld complaints about advertisements which depicted models aggressively brandishing knives.

The watchdog said it had received more than 150 complaints about two adverts which appeared in the Times and Daily Telegraph newspapers.

One of the ads featured four men dressed in D&G clothing, two of which were said to be "brandishing knives in an aggressive manner towards a third man who was sitting on a chair". A fourth man was lying on the floor with a wound to his forehead.

The other ad, which appeared in the Telegraph's magazine supplement, showed two men supporting a woman who was holding a knife and had a chest wound.

"There's a proliferation of knife crime," ASA director general Christopher Graham told the Today programme.

"The ads actually appeared opposite news reports of a particularly nasty knife attack; it was during a time when there was a police amnesty on knives. We just thought it was irresponsible and offensive."

"It was one of the most complained of ads of last year - 165 complaints. And even if it had only been one, I think we would have taken the same view."

In its defence, D&G said the scene "was photographed to reflect the Napoleonic period and to appear theatrical and highly stylised". It added that there was no representation of "any act of aggression or self-harm", according to ASA's ruling.

But Mr Graham dismissed the fashion house's claim as "completely bizarre".

"The reference they gave us was the David painting of the Coronation of Napoleon, lots of uniforms, lots of posh frocks, no knives," he added.

"We thought the assassination of Marat in the bath or the death of King Sardanapalus would have been more appropriate.

"We just think that fashion houses need to think before they advertise. However stylised, however glamorous, knives and stabbing should not be part of fashion advertising."

In its adjudication, the ASA said it had "reminded D&G of its duty to prepare ads with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society and told D&G and the Times to take greater care in the placement of similar ads in future".

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