Update Nov. 16, 4:10 p.m.: The Benetton has dropped the image of the Pope kissing an Imam from the campaign after complaints.

Benetton returns to its controversial marketing roots with a new campaign that features President Obama and other world leaders engaging in a kiss. In two separate ads, Obama is seen kissing Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The Unhate Foundation, founded by the Italian clothing company, is an advocacy group for tolerance. The controversial ad campaign is an attempt for Benetton to regain its status from the “United Colors” ads that regularly shocked viewers with subjects that had nothing to do with clothing: A priest kissing a nun, a man dying of AIDS, a just-born baby with umbilical cord still attached, a trio of real human hearts.

"It means not hating," Alessandro Benetton, deputy chairman of Benetton Group and son of the founder of the family company told the Wall Street Journal. "In a moment of darkness, with the financial crisis, what's going on in North African countries, in Athens, this is an attitude we can all embrace that can have positive energy."

Skepticism abounds, though — the company’s sales have been dragging, and some are speculating that the ad campaign might just be a way of jolting consumers into remembering the Benetton name. The campaign is the first part of a three-step plan to revive the Benetton brand. According to the WSJ, the brand is also rethinking its clothing lines.