Commercial advertising poster for the Financial Times depicting Richard Branson as Che Guevara by the Adam&Eve DDB agency, London, printed 2018.

Poster in red and black depicting Richard Branson as Che Guevara with the tagline in the top left 'Business Revolutionaries. Past, present and future'.

Given by adam&eveDDB

The image of Che Guevara, taken by Cuban photographer Alberto Korda in 1960, has become one of the world's most iconic images since it was transformed into a poster in 1967. His face became an emblem for revolutionary spirit, particularly for anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist causes, and has since been reappropriated to sell all manner of things from jeans to alcoholic drinks. Here, his image is co-opted by businessman Richard Branson to sell the Financial Times. A defence of the controversial comparison was made by Peter Aspden in the FT, December 13th, 2008, at the time of the advertising campaign:

'The man who started his business selling underground albums by mail order, and went on to become one of the richest men on the planet, is portrayed here as a harbinger of revolution. He [Branson] helped change business thinking. And for that, it is only natural that he be portrayed as the financial world's very own Che Guevara....Such sleights of image have become commonplace, as we have travelled ever further from the days when armed insurrection was considered the height of fashion. The corporate world, nothing if not supple in its thinking, recognises an icon when it sees one'.

E.3411-2018