Viral advertising by Visit Denmark

It’s not often I’m stunned into silence by an ad campaign but a new viral from the Danish Government, by Visit Denmark, has left my jaw on the floor and me lost for words.

In a similar vein to Witchery’s “Man with the lost jacket” campaign, a Youtube video shows a cute Danish woman with a young baby. It’s a Danish mother seeking… the father of her baby, as she goes on to say she was drunk when they met, she doesn’t remember his name or where he’s from and just wants to let him know that he has a baby.

They got a great actress and it’s actually a bit of a heart-breaking video. Then it turns out that it’s a viral campaign to promote visiting Denmark.

Karen’s story shows that Denmark is a broad-minded country where you can do what you want. The film is a good example of independent, dignified, Danish women who dare to make their own choices…We tell a good and sweet story about a mature, responsible woman who lives in a free society and shoulders the responsibility of her actions. And she uses a modern social medium.

Well yes, that’s one way of putting it. Either that or it shows that Denmark is a great place to go and get blind drunk and have unprotected sex before fleeing the next morning before she wakes up.

Exactly who are they targeting here? If they’re trying to attract English lads on a bucks night, then they’ve done an excellent job but honestly, is this the sort of tourist they’re trying to appeal to? I really think they cheapen the reputation of Danish women and Denmark in general.

The video has 40,000 views. The original has apparently been taken down, but the Grey Group (the creators of the ad) claim that they had 773,000 views.

And the internet being the internet, there are already a fair number of spoofs out there.

The campaign definitely has cut-through and memorability but I’m not sure it’s for the right reasons.

This post is tagged under: dishonesty in advertising