An airline advert discrediting the things its region is famous for, an angry response online from right-wing politicians and commentators, a swift takedown quickly reversed, and even a bomb threat: It’s been quite the few days in Scandinavia. Here’s what happened.
SAS: Absolutely nothing is Scandinavian
Late on Tuesday, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) quietly launched a new two-minute video advertisement on YouTube and its social channels. The ad displays a montage of all things considered Scandinavian, albeit with a curious twist. The narrator asks: “What is truly Scandinavian? Absolutely nothing. Everything is copied.”
Several Scandinavian stereotypes were challenged. The rye bread beloved by Danes is Turkish, as are Swedish meatballs, says the narrator. Other Scandinavian cultural icons tackled in the video include democracy, open sandwiches and even Danish pastries. According to SAS, the concept of the ad is to promote the idea of being inspired by other cultures, and therefore being inspired to travel.
Anger from anti-immigration parties
The pro-globalization ad quickly went viral, garnering more than half a million views in just a few hours. However, the virality didn’t indicate popularity. It drew a barrage of criticism online, notably from various anti-immigration parties across Scandinavia.
Dissent was especially strong in Denmark. Søren Espersen, the foreign affairs spokesperson for the populist, right-wing Dansk Folkeparti (Danish People’s Party), said he was “in shock” over the video and called on the Government, which owns 14.24% of the airline, to intervene. He told Ekstrabladet that SAS “spits on everything” that is genuinely Danish. Meanwhile, the Swedish Democrats’ Richard Jomshof said on Facebook that the video was “really devilish nonsense and self-hatred”.
By the time Scandinavian media covered the story on Wednesday morning, the airline had removed the video. SAS claimed there had been a “coordinated attack” on social media, and they would temporarily remove the film to evaluate the next step.
“When analyzing the pattern and volume of reactions we have reason to suspect an online attack and that the campaign has been hijacked. We do not want to risk being a platform for views that we do not share,” read a SAS statement.
The ad returns
Just five hours after their previous statement, SAS announced the film would return. However, while claiming they stand by the message, the new film is shorter, and SAS says, “clearer.”
The statement says they are proud of their Scandinavian heritage” and that the campaign would continue: “It is part of SAS’ DNA and the foundation for our existence. It is regrettable that the film is misunderstood, that some chose to interpret the message and use it for their own purpose.”
The statement goes on to explain the concept of the video, from the perspective of SAS: “When we travel, we influence our surroundings and we are influenced by others. The experiences we bring back from our travels inspire us as individuals, but also our society.”
Ad agency targeted
The bizarre turn of events didn’t stop there, however. On Thursday morning, Bloomberg reported that the Copenhagen-based ad agency behind the controversial campaign received a bomb threat. It turned out to be a hoax, but that didn’t stop several streets being shut down for several hours by the Danish police.
The original video on Scandinavian Airlines’ YouTube channel received more than 60,000 “dislikes”, with thousands also on the newer, shorter version. However, if you believe the saying that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, then SAS surely has gotten its money’s worth.
Source: forbes