This is what you get for deciding to enjoy the weekend as opposed to spending it obsessed with Twitter. While we were right on top of the Motrin Moms Fiasco a few months back, we completely missed this past weekend’s Denmark Karen Debacle which involved a video of a woman seeking the father of her newborn baby. Turns out the whole thing was for Visit Denmark.
In the video, which was created by Grey Denmark, “Karen” holds her baby and speaks into the camera. She talks about how she met the father of her baby a year and a half ago in a bar and how they proceeded to have sex at a place call the Custom House bar. She doesn’t remember where he’s from or what his name is but she does manage to mention a few tidbits about Denmark in the video.
On Twitter, the video was called a sham fairly quickly but not before it was viewed many, many times. Describing the “campaign,” Grey’s Peter Helstrap said, “It is the most successful viral advertising ever. We have cut through the media clutter. It has cost us the same as a 30 second commercial, aired a few times on TV2”
Be that as it may, there was a significant amount of outrage – as these things often oddly generate – over the clip being somehow offensive to modern women and how much hatred it inflamed over Denmark. Hence, the video was removed. Of course, removing a video is an impossibility these days but the agency and Visit Denmark have pulled the plug.
A spokesperson at Visit Denmark said, “I am very sorry that the film has offended many people, that wasn’t our intention at all. The goal has been to create positive recall of Denmark and create conversations about Denmark. To prevent offending people any further we have removed the film from YouTube.”
And there you have it. Another overblown “disaster” which, if simply taken lightly, could have been in innocently fun “viral” (oh how we hate that word) and a semi-successful campiagn for the country’s tourism agency.
And you know what? We kinda like the fact we ignored Twitter this past weekend.
There’s an actual life out there there in the real world, people. Turn off the computer and enjoy it.
