Balenciaga Slams Creators Of 'BDSM Teddy Bear' Ad Campaign With $25 Million Lawsuit
Nov. 26 2022, Published 2:29 p.m. ET
Balenciaga is suing North Six, Inc. and set designer Nicholas Des Jardins, the creators of the shocking ad campaign that showcases a young child posing near teddy bears that appeared to be drabbed in BDSM gear.
The popular fashion brand filed the court documents on Friday, November 25, after facing backlash for the controversial campaign.
Despite the flood of social media responses aimed at the oddly dressed plush toys, Balenciaga hedged the suit against the company specifically because the ad briefly included images of legal documents from a US Supreme Court decision on child pornography laws.
The fashion house is seeking to "redress for extensive damages defendants caused in connection with an advertising campaign Balenciaga hired them to produce," the court documents read, alleging that North Six and Des Jardins purposefully included the Supreme Court papers without telling Balenciaga, an act which they claim was "malevolent or, at the very least, extraordinarily reckless."
"As a result of Defendants’ misconduct, members of the public, including the news media, have falsely and horrifically associated Balenciaga with the repulsive and deeply disturbing subject of the court decision," the filing continued. "Defendants are liable to Balenciaga for all harm resulting from this false association."
This comes only a few days after Balenciaga removed the ads from their website and publicly voiced their regret for the campaign.
"We sincerely apologize for any offense our holiday campaign may have caused. Our plush bear bags should not have been featured with children in this campaign," the statement said. "We have immediately removed the campaign from all platforms."
The next day, on Wednesday, November 23, ad photographer Gabriele Galimberti also took to Instagram to issue his own apology for his involvement in the shoot.
"Following the hundreds of hate mails and messages I received as a result of the photos I took for the Balenciaga campaign, I feel compelled to make this statement," Galimberti explained. "I am not in a position to comment [on] Balenciaga’s choices, but I must stress that I was not entitled in whatsoever manner to neither choose the products, nor the models, nor the combination of the same,” he continued, adding that the "direction of the campaign and the choice of the objects displayed" were not his choice.