OMEN
05-26-2010, 05:39 PM
Giant billboards for a clothing shop featuring Adolf Hitler dressed in bright pink has provoked outrage in Italy.
The 18ft posters were put up in the city of Palermo in Sicily, with the caption: "Change your style. Don't follow your leader".
The swastika on Hitler's armband has been replaced by a love heart, reports the BBC.
But the local association of wartime resistance fighters said the adverts were offensive to those who had fought fascism.
Second World War resistance fighters wrote to the mayor demanding their immediate withdrawal.
A spokesman said that the posters violated democratic principles.
The advertising agency behind the posters told Italian media the aim was to ridicule Hitler, not minimise his crimes.
"We have ridiculed Hitler in a way that invites young people to create their own style and not to be influenced by their peers," said the agency's Daniele Manno.
Locals will have to brace themselves for a fresh affront - the company is planning a new poster campaign featuring Mao Tse Tung.
Orange
The 18ft posters were put up in the city of Palermo in Sicily, with the caption: "Change your style. Don't follow your leader".
The swastika on Hitler's armband has been replaced by a love heart, reports the BBC.
But the local association of wartime resistance fighters said the adverts were offensive to those who had fought fascism.
Second World War resistance fighters wrote to the mayor demanding their immediate withdrawal.
A spokesman said that the posters violated democratic principles.
The advertising agency behind the posters told Italian media the aim was to ridicule Hitler, not minimise his crimes.
"We have ridiculed Hitler in a way that invites young people to create their own style and not to be influenced by their peers," said the agency's Daniele Manno.
Locals will have to brace themselves for a fresh affront - the company is planning a new poster campaign featuring Mao Tse Tung.
Orange