Zara is the latest retailer to spur social media outrage over Holocaust-tinged items
Trend-setting fashion brands are hardly strangers to controversy. Sometimes they court it purposefully, other times it can be the result of a social media faux pas. In the case of high-end fashion brand Zara though, it was a product that crossed a line: a poorly designed piece of clothing that has caused a bit of outrage, especially in the Jewish community.
Zara recently released (and has since recalled) what they called a “Sheriff” pajama t-shirt for children, which strongly resembles the uniform of the imprisoned Jews of the Holocaust. The black and white striped shirt features a six point star, similar to the Star of David on the chest, recalling the stars patched on to Jewish prisoners of concentration camps.
Zara isn’t the only retailer that’s recently inadvertently stepped in when it comes to the Holocaust. Walmart, Amazon and Sears came under social media fire from shoppers this summer for selling a commemorative poster featuring a photo of one of Nazi Germany’s concentration camps.
To Zara’s credit, it quickly apologized on Twitter for the design. It spent the morning cutting and pasting apologies on Twitter, rather than releasing a broad statement.
@zh1nt0 We honestly apologize, the T Shirt was inspired by the sheriffís stars from the Classic Western films and is no longer in our stores
— ZARA (@ZARA) August 27, 2014
“This is an unfortunate coincidence rather than a deliberate insult,” Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain, minister of Maidenhead Synagogue told The Telegraph. “It was right that the error was pointed out and all credit to Zara for withdrawing the product immediately.”
This isn’t the first time that Zara has inadvertently created a design that slipped into anti-Semitic territory. A few years ago they released a handbag adorned with swastikas, the Hindu symbol appropriated by the Nazis and transformed into a symbol of hate.
In a world where hate is flowing like water, brands would be wise to stay as far from it as possible. Whether by mistake or not, wading directly into the middle of religious political tension will undoubtedly be a public relations nightmare. We’ll stick to Adventure Time pajamas, thanks.
More in Marketing
The TikTok outage caused TikTok Shop sales to spike, not sink
As it turns out, the hours-long TikTok shutdown on Jan. 18 and 19 did not have a negative impact on the platform’s sales over the weekend. In fact, TikTok Shop sales spiked in the days immediately preceding and following the ban.
Havas acquires sports marketing agency in first deal following stock exchange debut
The deal is first of 10 agencies Havas Media Network aims acquire this year, fresh from its spinoff from Vivendi.
Retail chain WHSmith brings first airport ad network into the specialty retail media race
The retailer hopes to capitalize on the “huge captive audience” of air passengers traveling through U.S. airports each day, notably business travelers.