Desigual, the fashion brand born in Barcelona more than 40 years ago, apologised in early September for a campaign video about its own city, after a wave of criticism from local audiences, according to Marketing Directo, Reason Why and elDiario.es. The spot was made to launch a limited-edition capsule collection with Ottolinger, the Berlin label founded by designers Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient.
A tour of the city's "B side"
The video, just over 30 seconds long and in English, follows the American model Delilah Belle Hamlin on a tour of "Barcelona's B side. The one the postcards skip." It starts in front of Barcelona Cathedral and moves into the backstreets of the old town. She lies on the bonnet of a taxi saying "the traffic is so wild", walks two pigeons on leads ("we love our palomas"), pays €9.50 for an iced coffee on a terrace and laughs "Everyone wants your bag!" as a hand off camera tries to snatch her backpack.
In another scene, a local woman tells her in Catalan that she is in the way. The model turns to camera and says that locals love to share their culture with you. The use of English in a city where Catalan and Spanish are the everyday languages also angered part of the audience, who read it as a nod to mass tourism.
The backlash
Hundreds of comments accused the brand of mocking the gentrification and touristification of Barcelona, and of legitimising tourists' incivility; many demanded the video be taken down. Some users questioned whether local talent was involved and described the piece as an expat's view of the city, while others defended it as an uncomfortable truth told with humour. What made it land badly, both outlets noted, is that the jokes came from a brand born in the city itself.
An apology, but the video stays
Desigual answered in the comments of its own post: "We are reading you. Barcelona is our home and we see the problem of gentrification and touristification in the city. We used humour to talk about it, but it was not the place for irony. We understand" (translated from Spanish). In a statement to the media it added that "Barcelona is an essential part of our identity: we were born here more than 40 years ago and we remain deeply linked to this city" (translated from Spanish). According to elDiario.es, the company refused to remove the video despite the demands.
The collection itself reworks archive and deadstock pieces from Desigual, which were taken apart and reinterpreted, with part of the production handmade in the brand's workshops in Barcelona. For years, Ottolinger had bought vintage Desigual pieces second-hand to take them apart and rebuild them. As El Publicista noted, the controversy turned a campaign designed for social media into one with global reach. It is not Desigual's first advertising controversy: last year a T-shirt reading "Not a doll" also drew criticism.
