Suitsupply celebrates gay love in SS18 campaign, stirs controversy

By

Shomara Roosblad

Published
Feb 22, 2018

Dutch men’s tailoring brand Suitsupply is celebrating gay love in its latest advertising campaign for the SS18 collection. Launched yesterday, the campaign has already provoked debate.

The ad features a male couple kissing and will be distributed in 22 countries online and on the brand’s social media channels, as well as in Suitsupply stores and on billboards. Suitsupply explained in a press release that it wants to bring attention to the attraction between two men, which is ‘relevant to the brand.’ Additionally, the brand believes that, although pride and love are celebrated all over the world, it has not yet found a place in mainstream advertising.

However, according to Dutch media reports, the campaign has already stirred some controversy. Dutch newspaper NRC reported that about 12,000 people unfollowed the Dutch brand on Instagram alone. People also posted homophobic comments and claimed that the store is profiting from gay emancipation to market their product. Fokke de Jong, founder and CEO, Suitsupply, told the newspaper: “The fact that there is a debate about it makes it relevant.”

It is not the first time that a Suitsupply ad has caused a commotion. In 2016, the brand launched a campaign called Toy Boy, in which male models were portrayed in the size of a doll, sliding down a woman’s bare breasts. At the time many people on social media labeled the ad as ‘sexist and racist’.