Life-size posters of Hitler dressed in a pink outfit and carrying a heart instead of a swastika has provoked a fiery debate in Italy
Life-size posters of Hitler dressed in a pink outfit and carrying a heart instead of a swastika has provoked a fiery debate in Italy.
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The 18ft high posters of the Nazi leader advertise a line of clothing for young people and adorn street corners and bus stops in Palermo, Sicily''s biggest city.
The uniform is coloured pink and the swastika armband has been replaced by a red heart, with a slogan below that says "Change Style - Don''t Follow Your Leader".
"The use of an image of a person responsible for the worst chapters of the last century is offensive to our country''s constitutional principles and to the sensitivities of citizens," The Telegraph quoted Rosario Filoramo as saying to the mayor of Palermo.
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Filoramo is a city councillor with the centre-Left Democratic Party.
A council official, Fabrizio Ferrandelli, said, "Having Hitler''s face on a poster... cannot be passed off as an innocent advertising message. Seeing these posters in front of schools is an embarrassment."
The ad agency however is defensive, accusing the locals and critics of overreacting.
"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.
But the tongue in cheek humour will not stop here - the company plans to bring out a new poster campaign in the next few weeks featuring Mao Tse Tung.
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