The Vatican has denounced a shock ad campaign by Italian apparel giant Benetton which features Pope Benedict XVI kissing a top Egyptian imam on the lips.

Benetton says its "Unhate" campaign launched Wednesday is aimed at fostering tolerance.

The campaign features a half-dozen purported political nemeses in lip-locked embraces, including President Barack Obama and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Vatican said the photo of Benedict kissing the imam of Cairo's al-Azhar mosque is an "unacceptable" provocation that offends the faithful, and warns it will take measures to protect the pope's image.