UPDATE: June 1, 2007: All evidence points to this being a fake ad. We - and several other sites, including those that cover advertising - were fooled. The pranksters who pull this together clearly did a good job - we are currently trying to learn more about them, the model, etc. YOUR HELP WELCOME - saja[at]columbia.edu. We apologize to our readers and to Benetton for this.
UPDATE: May 30, 2007, 3:45 pm: Salon and WritesLikeSheTalks report that this is NOT A BENETTON CAMPAIGN. We are checking to find out either way. All the more reason for us to ID the model below. Anyone know her? How about the photographer, Jatin Kampani?
Yet another ad with a South Asian (or so we assume), but this time it's rather dark. The ad's for Benetton, and says "Colors of Domestic Violence," and in fine print, "Issued in Public Interest by United Colors of Benetton." Click on the ad to enlarge it - you'll be able to notice how her purple bruise matches her sweater.
Read more about the campaign and see the other models in this series here - the campaign's ad agency is McCann Erickson.
This item has details about the shot, including the fact that the photographer is a South Asian - Jatin Kampani (see other work by him here and here - his portfolio includes public service ads to glamor shots). But no mention of the model, though.
This isn't the first time Benetton has gone topical for attention. The most obvious example, to my mind, is the AIDS ad they ran years ago, with a dying man who looked like Jesus. See Benetton campaigns going back to the late 1980s here.
Press contacts here for Benetton and here for McCann Erikson.
See our earlier posts on advertising (including items about desi models for Microsoft and Apple) and let us know what you think in the comments section below.
UPDATE: As per Jaya's request in the comments below for a list of anti-domestic violence orgs in the US, please see this collection provided by Sakhi for South Asian Women in NYC.
Also see various comments about this at SepiaMutiny.
[Thanks to Jaya Kamlani and Swapna Vora for bringing the ad to our attention.]
