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Pope Kissing Imam Ad Outrages Vatican (18th November, 2011)

The clothing giant Benetton is once again in the headlines over a controversial advertising campaign. The company has a history of using shocking ads for its products. In the past it has used photos of two horses mating, an AIDS victim and a bloodied newborn baby on billboards and in magazines. This time it has used doctored photos of world leaders looking like they are kissing. One of these shows what looks like Pope Benedict XVI brushing lips with Imam Ahmed el Tayyeb – one of Egypt’s top religious leaders and imam of Cairo’s al-Azhar. Benetton pulled the ad after complaints from the Roman Catholic Church. However, the Vatican has told its lawyers around the world to "take the proper legal measures" to stop further use.

Benetton’s new ads are part of a campaign called “Unhate,” which it says aims to "battle the culture of hate”. Similar images show political rivals seemingly with locked lips. These include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas kissing the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, smooching North and South Korean leaders, US President Barack Obama kissing Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A spokesman for the Imam described the advertisement as "irresponsible and absurd," while the Vatican said it was "damaging not only to the dignity of the Pope and the Catholic Church but also to the feelings of believers".

WARM-UPS

1. ADVERTISING: Walk around the class and talk to other students about advertising. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.

2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

 

clothing / giant / advertising campaign / shocking ads / kissing / religious leaders / culture of hate / political rivals / irresponsible / absurd / damaging / dignity / believers

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. BENETTON: What do you think of Benetton’s ads? (Type “Benetton ads” in Google Images to see many examples.) Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

 

Your thoughts?

Kissing Pope and Iman

 

AIDS victim

 

Mating horses

 

Bloodied newborn baby

 

Death row prisoner

 

Black mother breastfeeding white baby

 

4. ADS: Students A strongly believe advertising needs to be more heavily regulated; Students B strongly believe not.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. ANYTHING GOES?: Which of these should not be in adverts? Rank them and share your rankings with your partner. Put the worst at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

  • people smoking
  • semi-naked women
  • drug users
  • men kissing
  • famine victims
  • religious leaders
  • animals
  • children

6. CONTROVERSIAL: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘controversial’. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.

A clothes company has upset the Vatican over an advertisement.

T / F

b.

The clothes company never usually uses shock tactics in its ads.

T / F

c.

A Benetton ad shows a doctor kissing two religious leaders.

T / F

d.

The Vatican is now happy that the ad is no longer being used.

T / F

e.

A new ad campaign is aimed at getting people to like each other more.

T / F

f.

Most of the leaders in the ads are actually kissing each other.

T / F

g.

Representatives of a Cairo imam suggested the ads were ridiculous.

T / F

h.

The Vatican is concerned about the feelings of Catholics worldwide.

T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.

campaign

a.

falsified

2

mating

b.

fight

3.

doctored

c.

withdrew

4.

pulled

d.

ridiculous

5.

measures

e.

drive

6.

battle

f.

kissing

7.

seemingly

g.

self-respect

8.

smooching

h.

breeding

9.

absurd

i.

apparently

10.

dignity

j.

actions

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.

once again in

a.

absurd

2

The company has a history of

b.

the headlines

3.

photos of two horses

c.

of hate

4.

it has used doctored

d.

measures

5.

take the proper legal

e.

Imam

6.

battle the culture

f.

using shocking ads

7.

political

g.

of the Pope

8.

A spokesman for the

h.

mating

9.

irresponsible and

i.

photos

10.

damaging not only to the dignity

j.

rivals

 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

The clothing (1) ____________ Benetton is once again in the headlines over a controversial advertising campaign. The company has a history of using (2) ____________ ads for its products. In the past it has used photos of two horses (3) ____________, an AIDS victim and a bloodied newborn baby on billboards and in magazines. This time it has used (4) ____________ photos of world leaders looking like they are kissing. One of these shows what looks like Pope Benedict XVI brushing (5) ____________ with Imam Ahmed el Tayyeb – one of Egypt’s top religious leaders and imam of Cairo’s al-Azhar. Benetton (6) ____________ the ad after (7) ____________ from the Roman Catholic Church. However, the Vatican has told its lawyers around the world to "take the proper legal measures" to stop (8) ____________ use.

 

 

 

pulled
mating
shocking
lips
giant
further
complaints
doctored

Benetton’s new ads are (9) ____________ of a campaign called “Unhate,” which it says aims to "battle the culture of hate”. Similar images show political (10) ____________ seemingly with locked (11) ____________. These include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas kissing the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (12) ____________ North and South Korean leaders, US President Barack Obama kissing Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A (13) ____________ for the Imam described the advertisement as "irresponsible and (14) ____________," while the Vatican said it was "damaging not only to the (15) ____________ of the Pope and the Catholic Church but also to the feelings of (16) ____________ ".

 

 

smooching
rivals
dignity
part
believers
spokesman
lips
absurd

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

_______________________ Benetton is once again in the headlines over a controversial advertising campaign. The company has a history of using _______________________ products. In the past it has used photos of two horses mating, an AIDS victim and a _______________________ on billboards and in magazines. This time it has used doctored photos of world _______________________ they are kissing. One of these shows what looks like Pope Benedict XVI brushing lips with Imam Ahmed el Tayyeb – one of Egypt’s _______________________ and imam of Cairo’s al-Azhar. Benetton pulled the ad after complaints from the Roman Catholic Church. However, the Vatican has told its lawyers around the world to "take the _______________________ " to stop further use.

Benetton’s new ads are _______________________ called “Unhate,” which it says aims to "_______________________ hate”. Similar images show political rivals seemingly _______________________. These include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas kissing the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, _________________________ Korean leaders, US President Barack Obama kissing Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A spokesman for the Imam described the advertisement as "_______________________," while the Vatican said it was "damaging not only to the dignity of the Pope and the Catholic Church but also to the _______________________ ".

 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘kiss’ and ‘advert’.

kiss

advert

 

 

 

  • Share your findings with your partners.
  • Make questions using the words you found.
  • Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

  • Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
  • Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

  • once
  • history
  • baby
  • leaders
  • top
  • proper
  • culture
  • rivals
  • locked
  • smooching
  • spokesman
  • feelings

STUDENT ADVERTISING SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about advertising in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.

When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

 

STUDENT 1

_____________

STUDENT 2

_____________

STUDENT 3

_____________

Q.1.

 

 

 

 

Q.2.

 

 

 

 

Q.3.

 

 

 

 

Q.4.

 

 

 

 

Q.5.

 

 

 

 

  • Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
  • Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

ADVERTISING DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

a)

What did you think when you read the headline?

b)

What springs to mind when you hear the word ‘hate’?

c)

What do you think about what you read?

d)

What do you think of Benetton’s ads? (Do a Google Images “Benetton ads search if you can.)

e)

Do you think advertising is an art form?

f)

Have you ever been shocked by an ad?

g)

What ads can you think of that you thought were very clever?

h)

Is it OK to include religious leaders in ads?

i)

Why do you think Benetton uses such controversial advertising?

j)

Should advertising only feature the actual product, message or service being sold?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

a)

Did you like reading this article?

b)

Should the Vatican understand this is the 21st Century and try to understand these ads?

c)

What do you think of Benetton’s “Unhate” campaign?

d)

What do you think the political and religious leaders think about the kissing ads?

e)

Should Benetton pay compensation for creating these doctored images?

f)

What is “the culture of hate”?

g)

Is an ad of the Pope kissing a leading Muslim imam damaging?

h)

Is the Vatican making this issue bigger by complaining about it?

i)

What questions would you like to ask Benetton’s advertising boss?

j)

What do you think his/her replies would be?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

The (1) ____ giant Benetton is once again in the headlines over a controversial advertising campaign. The company has a history of using shocking ads for its products. In the past it has used photos of two horses (2) ____, an AIDS victim and a bloodied newborn baby on billboards and in magazines. This time it has used (3) ____ photos of world leaders looking like they are kissing. One of these shows what looks like Pope Benedict XVI brushing (4) ____ with Imam Ahmed el Tayyeb – one of Egypt’s top religious leaders and imam of Cairo’s al-Azhar. Benetton (5) ____ the ad after complaints from the Roman Catholic Church. However, the Vatican has told its lawyers around the world to "take the proper legal (6) ____ " to stop further use.

Benetton’s new ads are part of a campaign called “Unhate,” which it says aims to "battle the culture (7) ____ hate”. Similar images show political rivals (8) ____ with locked lips. These include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas kissing the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, smooching North and South Korean leaders, US President Barack Obama kissing Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy (9) ____ German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A spokesman for the Imam described the advertisement (10) ____ "irresponsible and absurd," while the Vatican said it was "damaging not only (11) ____ the dignity of the Pope and the Catholic Church but also to the (12) ____ of believers".

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.

(a)

cloth

(b)

clothe

(c)

clothed

(d)

clothing

2.

(a)

mate

(b)

mates

(c)

mating

(d)

mated

3.

(a)

staffed

(b)

doctored

(c)

operated

(d)

nursed

4.

(a)

lips

(b)

eyebrows

(c)

foreheads

(d)

chins

5.

(a)

drew

(b)

sued

(c)

pulled

(d)

pushed

6.

(a)

measurements

(b)

measured

(c)

measuring

(d)

measures

7.

(a)

by

(b)

of

(c)

in

(d)

at

8.

(a)

seemingly

(b)

seems

(c)

seemed

(d)

seems so

9.

(a)

of

(b)

with

(c)

in

(d)

as

10.

(a)

was

(b)

has

(c)

as

(d)

is

11.

(a)

to

(b)

on

(c)

of

(d)

up

12.

(a)

feelers

(b)

feels

(c)

feel

(d)

feelings

 

WRITING

Write about advertising for 10 minutes. Correct your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about Benetton’s advertising. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. ADVERTISING: Make a poster about good and bad advertising. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. BENETTON: Write a magazine article about Benetton’s ad. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against it.

Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).

5. LETTER: Write a letter to the CEO of Benetton. Ask him/her three questions about the kissing ads. Give him/her three of your opinions on them. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.


 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

F

c.

F

d.

F

e.

F

f.

F

g.

F

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.

campaign

a.

drive

2

mating

b.

breeding

3.

doctored

c.

falsified

4.

pulled

d.

withdrew

5.

measures

e.

actions

6.

battle

f.

fight

7.

seemingly

g.

apparently

8.

smooching

h.

kissing

9.

absurd

i.

ridiculous

10.

dignity

j.

self-respect

PHRASE MATCH:

1.

once again in

a.

the headlines

2

The company has a history of

b.

using shocking ads

3.

photos of two horses

c.

mating

4.

it has used doctored

d.

photos

5.

take the proper legal

e.

measures

6.

battle the culture

f.

of hate

7.

political

g.

rivals

8.

A spokesman for the

h.

Imam

9.

irresponsible and

i.

absurd

10.

damaging not only to the dignity

j.

of the Pope

GAP FILL:

Pope kissing imam ad outrages Vatican

The clothing (1) giant Benetton is once again in the headlines over a controversial advertising campaign. The company has a history of using (2) shocking ads for its products. In the past it has used photos of two horses (3) mating, an AIDS victim and a bloodied newborn baby on billboards and in magazines. This time it has used (4) doctored photos of world leaders looking like they are kissing. One of these shows what looks like Pope Benedict XVI brushing (5) lips with Imam Ahmed el Tayyeb – one of Egypt’s top religious leaders and imam of Cairo’s al-Azhar. Benetton (6) pulled the ad after (7) complaints from the Roman Catholic Church. However, the Vatican has told its lawyers around the world to "take the proper legal measures" to stop (8) further use.

Benetton’s new ads are (9) part of a campaign called “Unhate,” which it says aims to "battle the culture of hate”. Similar images show political (10) rivals seemingly with locked (11) lips. These include Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas kissing the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (12) smooching North and South Korean leaders, US President Barack Obama kissing Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A (13) spokesman for the Imam described the advertisement as "irresponsible and (14) absurd," while the Vatican said it was "damaging not only to the (15) dignity of the Pope and the Catholic Church but also to the feelings of (16) believers".

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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