The luxury of the Zelensky couple on the cover of “Vogue”: “a flower among ruins” or a “shot in the foot” in terms of communication?

Olena Zelenska: 42 years old, architect and screenwriter, First Lady of Ukraine, cover of the fashion magazine “Vogue” in the next October issue. The first photographs of the report were published this Wednesday and show a luxurious production staged in a scenario of suffering, destruction, death and struggle for life. But why?

“Western public opinion began to mobilize a lot, but now people are tired, there is a certain amount of media weariness that is normal”, explains Nelson Ribeiro, a communication specialist and professor at the Catholic University. Moscow is counting on it: the longer the war lasts, the greater the media fatigue. “Zelensky knows that the interest of public opinion is fundamental [para ganhar a guerra]so it is normal that alternative and more effective ways of communicating are thought of.”

The strategy does not seem to have worked: “’Vogue’ is associated with an idea of ​​luxury and ostentation and therefore there is a certain dissonance with the situation that Ukraine is experiencing at the moment. How does a President at war invest the time and resources to do this? It is normal for people to point out this contradiction”, says Nelson Ribeiro.

“It is important for Ukraine to remain on the international media agenda, but this was a shot in the foot in terms of communication, with effects opposite to those intended”, comments José Santana Pereira, professor of Political Science at ISCTE. “The weather is far from suitable for these levities.”

The entire session is a mistake, confirms Sofia Aureliano, a specialist in political marketing. So far, Zelensky’s media choices have been strategic – just last month he gave an interview to the technology and entertainment magazine “Wired” – and therefore this report will not have been a “reckless act”.

“I can imagine the arguments that would have weighed on the decision to make the photo shoot: the strong woman behind the hero, a message of hope for tomorrow, of normality and of rebuilding the destroyed present. But they are all arguments that can be easily dismantled in the context of warfare, where what is at stake, daily, is life and death”, says the expert.

“What particularly shocks me is the use of war scenes for fashion photography purposes, and the romantic aspects of the photographs in which the President appears, taken at a time when so many Ukrainian couples were forced to separate because of the war. ”, stresses José Santana Pereira, who understands the collective revolt. “ The message is negative; it does not reinforce an image of resistance, as [Olena] perhaps he wanted to, but it creates the idea of ​​a certain levity in the face of the current Ukrainian situation.”

The appearance of Volodymyr Zelensky in the report refers to the war: closed face, simple costume in shades of green already recognized throughout the world. “The first lady is the most “normal”, extremely feminine, with sober colors and a heavy countenance. You want to transmit strength. I have no doubts. But the devil is in the details.”

Since the war began, the presidential office has sought to “place the narrative of the war in a context of popular culture and entertainment,” he says. Rita Figueiras, professor of political communication at the Catholic University. Example: Zelensky spoke at the Emmys and shared her hologram at a technology fair in Paris, evoking “the imagery of the ‘Star Wars’ movie” and advocating the defeat of the empire – that is, Russia. “Olena Zelenska herself made a reference to the [filmes] ‘Hunger Games’ when he was in the US”, adds the expert.

“There is tenderness there, and tenderness is essential in a war scenario”

Specialist in Communication and International Affairs analyst, Helena Ferro Gouveia invites us to see beyond what the first sight achieves and demystify the “glamorization” that has been pointed out to the portraits of Olena Zelenska. “They don’t shock me, I don’t find them obscene, I don’t find them pornographic. It’s like a flower among ruins, and that’s a key sign.”

Helena Gouveia knows the colors of armed conflicts, has seen tears up close, and is not ignorant of their subtleties. “I see life for what it is. Even in the most terrible scenarios, there is love, there is beauty, there are feelings.” One of the images shows Olena “unbreakable” in front of the Antonov, the largest plane in the world and the pride of Ukrainian aeronautics, destroyed in the first days of the war by the Russians.

In other words: the couple continues to show “a sign of resilience, of resistance of a people”. “There is tenderness there, and tenderness is essential in a war scenario, so that people do not go crazy with suffering either.” It is the strength of “normality”, even in a war scenario: “a united, passionate and very strong couple – who could have left the country” and did not.

Rita Figueiras and Helena Ferro Gouveia are also not indifferent to the image of Olena Zelenska surrounded by female soldiers.”If we look at the composition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, we can see that they have a lot of women. fighting, fighting with a weapon in their hand, and not in support positions. They are women who are mothers, who are companions, who are girlfriends, who have a weight in Ukrainian society”, recalls Ferro Gouveia.

The Varoufakis case and a necessary change in strategy

It is not the first time that ostentation has created difficulties for politicians: in 2015, Yanis Varoufakis, then Minister of Finance of Greece, allowed himself to be photographed with his wife in their luxurious home at a time when the Greek people were facing austerity and a severe economic crisis. Result: he was forced to submit his resignation. “When certain politicians have a very affirmative speech, anything that can jeopardize the definitive way in which they say things turns against them”, says Rita Figueiras.

“ANDIn both cases, they are photo sessions that show some disrespect for the complicated situations in which the fellow citizens of these couples live”, says José Santana Pereira. However, the case of Varoufakis is more “objectionable” due to the “hypocrisy factor”. “Left politicians are often penalized by public opinion when it is discovered that they enjoy and benefit from the luxuries provided by capitalism”, maintains the professor.

The Ukrainian president’s popularity also favors him in this comparison, points out Sofia Aureliano. “Zelensky’s story is much more powerful. He is the ‘underdog’, the unlikely hero who emerges from the chaos, survives and resists. His strength is like a superpower, which moves and mobilizes us all. This shows an image of a futility that we did not recognize. It’s a big weakness.”

After all, the criticisms were made on social media – and therefore the consequences may be limited only to the digital world. “These reactions are always very violent, but we also know that it is often sofa violence. It’s very easy to be ruthless behind the keyboard”, says Nélson Ribeiro.

With “Vogue” or without “Vogue”, one thing seems certain: from now on, Ukrainian power needs to communicate differently. “This type of case cannot be repeated”, not least because Russia will seek to spread this association with luxury. “Zelensky has to depart from this orientation, otherwise he runs the risk of distancing himself even further from public opinion”, concludes the expert.