Controversial Labels
In 1995 Vini Lunardelli started to sell bottles with pictures of historical personalities, including highly controversial persons, under the name "Historical line" (Linea della storia). Many of their labels seem to be taken from historical posters and sometimes include propaganda slogans. The around 60 different labels are not tied to specific wines, but can be bought on any of Vini Lunardelli's wine bottles. Separate collection of motifs of the "Historical line" include:
- Il ventennio, featuring pictures of Benito Mussolini.
- Communist Collection, with Che Guevara, Joseph Stalin, Karl Marx and others.
- Der Führer, with pictures of Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun, Rudolf Hess, Hermann Göring and others, some of them including Nazi slogans.
- Miscellaneous other images, such as Napoleon I of France and Winston Churchill.
Especially the Hitler labels, and to some extent the Mussolini labels, have been the subject of outrage and accusations of spreading fascist propaganda, especially from Germany, where the use of such images and slogans is strictly regulated. However, the historical line seems also to have been a commercial success for Vini Lunardelli, which claims to sell around 50% of their production with labels from this line.
In September 2007, 20,000 of Vini Lunardelli's bottles bearing labels from "Der Führer" line were confiscated by the Italian police, but were returned in October 2007 after a court decision.
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Famous quotes containing the word labels:
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—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)