--Photographer Oliviero Toscani starts working with Benetton. Soon thereafter, the Benetton label becomes well known for its individuality and distinct style.

--The campaign is based on images of simple, harmonious relationships between groups of racially diverse adults and children. This theme continues to be the central idea of the campaigns for the next several years.

--The company begins to portray racially diverse couples in its advertisements. Benetton also officially adopts the name "United Colours of Benetton."

--Benetton symbolizes unification among different countries through the use of globes in its advertisements. In these ads, the products are not shown. The phrase "all colours are equal, just as all men are equal" replaces the products.

--Benetton introduces the eau de toilette, "Colors." The ad shows two feminine hands intertwined, one white and the other black.

--"United Colors of Benetton" was awarded the 16^th Grand Prix for best poster.

--The advertisements change from bright, colorful images to black and white confrontational themes: a white wolf and a black sheep, nose to nose, for example. The products are not shown at all.

--"Shock advertising" becomes central to the Benetton campaigns, causing controversial reactions from the general public. Several issues are addressed: immigration, race relations, ecology and AIDS. Some of the images include a black woman breastfeeding a white baby, a priest kissing a nun on the lips and a newborn child covered in blood. The BVP (Bureau de Verification de la Publicite) asked billposters not to post some of the Benetton ads.

--French billstickers declare the new Benetton campaign pure sensationalism and refuse to post certain advertisements. These ads include an AIDS victim, dying, with his family at his bedside and two Indians caught in a flood in Calcutta. The images continue to spark debates.

--The HIV positive ads are introduced. The ads show close-ups of various parts of the body (pubis, stomach, bottom, etc.) tattooed with the words "HIV positive." The body parts were represented to look like numbers tattooed on concentration camp prisoners by Nazis. The public’s general impression of the ads was that of bodies being marked off and excluded.

--The French Agency for the Fight Against AIDS launches "United Boycott" against Benetton.

--A new advertising campaign is launched, designed to announce various ethnic groups. The images do not show the product and continue to implement "shock advertising."

For example: a black stallion mounting a white mare and three identical human hearts, each labeled white, black or yellow.

--Benetton proposes a Web site to explain views on the company, its campaigns and activities.

--A new campaign is launched, portraying inmates on death row, with the product not shown at all. The ads are designed to portray the company’s anti-death penalty stance. This campaign ignites great controversy and debate.

For more information on Benetton and its advertising history, please visit the Benetton Web site at http://www.benetton.com.