The 18ft high posters of the Nazi leader advertise a line of clothing for young people and adorn street corners and bus stops in Palermo, Sicily's biggest city.

The ads show the Fuhrer in a lurid pink uniform, with his swastika armband replaced with one bearing a bright red heart, above the slogan "Change Style - Don't Follow Your Leader".

Many local people say the advertising campaign is offensive and have called for the posters to be taken down.

A city councillor with the centre-Left Democratic Party, Rosario Filoramo, has protested to the mayor of Palermo.

"The use of an image of a person responsible for the worst chapters of the last century is offensive to our country's constitutional principles and to the sensitivities of citizens," he said.

A council official, Fabrizio Ferrandelli, said: "Having Hitler's face on a poster... cannot be passed off as an innocent advertising message. Seeing these posters in front of schools is an embarrassment." But the advertising agency which came up with the idea said critics of the campaign were over-reacting.

The Hitler poster was a tongue-in-cheek way of encouraging young people not to follow the crowd in their fashion choices.

"We have ridiculed Hitler in a way that invites young people to create their own style and not to be influenced by their peers," said the agency's Daniele Manno.

Impressionable locals will now have to brace themselves for a fresh affront - the company plans to bring out a new poster campaign in the next few weeks featuring Mao Tse Tung.

相关中文报道（转自北京晨报）

近日，意大利西西里首府巴勒莫街头随处可见一款备受争议的海报——臭名昭著的纳粹头子希特勒化身“粉红男郎”，纳粹军服胳膊上的纳粹符号被大大的粉色心形图案代替。据悉，这款海报主要是为了鼓励年轻人穿出自己的风格。

“粉红希特勒”海报高5.5米，遍布巴勒莫的大街小巷及公交车站。该海报亮相后，立即在当地引起争议热潮。很多人表示这样的海报令人生厌，并呼吁立即将海报撕掉。

巴勒莫市中左翼民主党议员罗萨里奥·费罗拉莫已经向市长表示抗议。他说：“使用上世纪最恶贯满盈的人做形象代言人，这对我们的国家、我们的人民都是一种冒犯。”

虽然遭到了来自社会各界的强烈指责，但海报的广告商却不以为然，并声称舆论对该海报的反应过于强烈。广告商负责人丹尼尔·马诺说："选择希特勒只是想通过这样的方式对他进行嘲讽。"不过，迫于舆论压力，广告商决定在未来几周内推出新款海报。