Chi mi ama mi segua ("He who loves me, follows me")

Jesus Jeans (Maglificio Calzificio Torinese)1973

Chi mi ama mi segua ("He who loves me, follows me") is a 1973 poster and press campaign for Jesus Jeans, created by Agenzia Italia, Milan.

Chi mi ama mi segua.Jesus Jeans (Maglificio Calzificio Torinese)

Why it works

A close-up of a model's behind in tiny denim shorts, with a line from the Gospels laid across it: "Chi mi ama mi segua", he who loves me, follows me. Its companion poster showed unbuttoned jeans under "Non avrai altro jeans all'infuori di me", a rewrite of the First Commandment. Made in 1973 for Jesus, a young Turin jeans label, the campaign was shot by Oliviero Toscani; the 1973 annual credits copywriter Emanuele Pirella and art director Michael Goettsche of Agenzia Italia, though Toscani long claimed the lines as his own. The Vatican paper L'Osservatore Romano called it blasphemous, the vice squad seized posters, and Pier Paolo Pasolini replied in the Corriere della Sera, calling it the new spirit of the second industrial revolution. It is studied in Italy as a turning point in the country's advertising, the moment photography and provocation took over, and as the launch pad for Toscani's career long before Benetton.

Techniques

  • Shock and provocation Laying a Gospel line across a close-up of a model's behind in tiny shorts deliberately courts accusations of blasphemy.
  • Transfer Borrowing the words of the Gospels and the First Commandment hijacks religious authority to sell a young jeans label.

Sources · 4

  1. Chi mi ama, mi segua Il Fotografo (2020) · ilfotografo.it
  2. 'Chi mi ama mi segua' compie 50 anni. Fu il colpo di genio di Oliviero Toscani Il Fatto Quotidiano (2023) · ilfattoquotidiano.it
  3. Jesus Jeans. Alcune precisazioni su una campagna che ha fatto storia Spot and Web (2025) · spotandweb.it
  4. Drapers Denim Report: The ads that rocked the industry Drapers (2015) · drapersonline.com

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