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September 17, 2009

BBC NEWS | Technology | Denmark pulls 'promiscuous' video

Denmark pulls 'promiscuous' video

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Danish actress Ditte Arnth Jorgensen played the role of single mother

A video promoting tourism in Denmark has been removed from YouTube after complaints it promoted promiscuity.

The three-minute clip shows a young blonde woman, trying to find a man whom she had a one night stand with, who fathered her child "August".

VisitDenmark's manager, Dorte Kiilerich said the film was supposed to be a "nice and sweet story of a woman".

But Denmark's Economy Minister, Lene Espersen, said it "was not a very well-thought-out picture of the country".

In the advert, the woman says - in English - that she was "trying to find August's father".

"We met one night a year and a half ago when you were on vacation here in Denmark.

"We met... and then decided to have a drink and, yeah, it's really embarrassing but it's more or less what I remember.

"I don't remember where you're from or even your name."

'Tasteless'

Critics says the video implied that along with traditional tourism, Denmark was a place to go to have unprotected sex with strangers.

One Danish newspaper, Ekstra Bladet, labelled it "grotesque" and a "waste of taxpayers' money".

The video also prompted a slew of angry comments, with one user saying it was a "tasteless, tactless way of attracting attention".

Ms Kiilerich said she regretted any offence the video may have caused, but the intent had been to tell "a nice and sweet story about a grown-up woman who lives in a free society and accepts the consequences of her actions".

The YouTube clip received more than 800,000 hits and although the official video has been removed, copies have been spreading across YouTube.

It has also spawned numerous parodies, with men from across the world saying they were "not bimbos" and trying to find the mother of their child.


Was Denmark right to pull the video? What is the best way to promote a country? You can send us your views using the form below.


BBC NEWS | Technology | Denmark pulls 'promiscuous' video