Why Is President Obama Kissing Hugo Chavez?

It's kind of hard to be shocked by advertisers anymore.

But Benetton's new campaign is created to shock you...into tolerance.

Courtesy of Benetton

Benetton Unhate Obama & Chavez

"Unhate"is the theme of the campaign — "Public displays of affection are intended to promote reconciliation and tolerance."

Such displays include photoshopped images of President Obama kissing Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and China's Hu Jintao, and even French President Nicolas Sarkozy kissing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Yowza.

Not sure how this sells sweaters, but the timing is interesting.

The commercial—on Youtube—seems ripped straight from the headlines, with images patterned on everything from the Arab Spring to Occupy Wall Street.

You may hate the Unhate approach—I mean he IS the President—but you will notice it.

Which is the point.

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