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Denmark: the land of promiscuity
Denmark promotes promiscuity?! Well, that's the accusation that caused the country's tourism agency to yank an ad from YouTube. The country, which has a reputation for being a bit more open than we're used to seeing in the United States, used a three-minute video clip to promote the destination, but featured a blond woman and an infant, claiming the latter came from an encounter with a foreign tourist.
I guess Denmark, if only briefly, became the land of opportunity.
The ad continues with the woman claiming to be looking for the kid's father. She launches into a fairly involved story, claiming how she met this unknown stranger and uses it as a vehicle to talk about the other reason. The best part: she's not looking for anything, implying that there are no strings attached. And, she speaks English, another perk.
Don't get too excited; it's all fiction. Denmark's TV2 has confirmed this.
VisitDenmark scored a quick win with this concept, pulling in more than 800,000 views on YouTube. Though the ad has been pulled, it lives on through other YouTube accounts, so you can still enjoy the stunt.
Now, of course, everyone's backpedalling. VisitDenmark manager Dorte Kiilerich told the Associated Press, "I regret that the film has offended so many people," continuing that it was intended to convey "a nice and sweet story about a grown-up woman who lives in a free society and accepts the consequences of her actions."
Economy Minister Lene Espersen says that the clip offers "a not very well-thought-out picture of the country."
Perhaps the most critical reaction, though, comes from sociologist Karen Sjoerup, who claims that the ad suggests that "you can lure fast, blonde Danish women home without a condom."
Isn't that the point?
Check out the commercial after the jump.
