„13 criminals from Parliament vs. an advertising agency”. The administrator of Papaya Advertising cited by police to give explanations with regards to the video clip „Children of the Referendum” inspired by a dystopia.

13 lawmakers filed a police complaint against the advertising agency Papaya Advertising – maker of several ads with a powerful social message – for making the video clip „Children of the referendum”, urging the boycott of the popular consultation from 6 -7 October on redefining the family as the exclusive marriage between a man and a woman.

Papaya Advertising administrator Robert Tiderle announced that he was called to appear next Tuesday at the Criminal Investigation Division of the Police „in order to clarify all aspects of the subject matter”.

„13 criminals in Parliament vs. an advertising agency. I’m counting the minutes till Tuesday?” Tiderle wrote on Facebook.

The „Children of the referendum” video clip made by Papaya was launched on October 1 by the Declic Community to urge the boycott of the referendum on redefining the family as solely the marriage between a man and a woman. The message of the clip was the following: „For evil to not happen, it is enough that the good people stay at home.”

The clip was inspired by HBO’s TV series „The Handmaid’s Tale”, based on the novel by the Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. The series follows the story of a woman who has been forced to become a concubine in the fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship society of the of Gilead, in what used to be parts of the United States, and where women’s rights no longer exist (details here).

„The Declic Community launches the” Children of the Referendum” video produced by Papaya Advertising. The video presents the future of our children if we go and validate the referendum”, the community announced in a press release.

„This referendum is not about the traditional family, but it’s about taking away the rights from our children. It is up to us to decide if we want to raise our children into a new dictatorship under terror, „said Roxana Pencea Bradatan, senior campaigner at Declic.

Our Romania cannot be that of hate and stigma, nor can it be that of the crooks. Freedom is a fundamental right and we demand that it be respected, the statement says.

On the same day that the video clip was released, ALDE Vice-President Steluţa Cătăniciu called for the National Authority for the Protection of Child’s Rights and Adoption „to take an attitude” towards the use of children in the video (details here).

Papaya Advertising has made itself known by producing several tv ads with a powerful socially-emotional message: its Savana paint ad that mocks the Coalition for Family and the spot for Transavia with the slogan „All that it takes for evil to triumph, is for good people to do nothing”.

The ad was well-received on the internet, especially after the agency launched its creation with the announcement „All that it takes for evil to triumph, is for good people to do nothing. Or for brands.” The Transavia ad was launched amid the calls to boycott the commercial brands that advertise on Antena 3 and RTV news channels.

On June 25, Papaya Advertising announced on Facebook that it would give employees a day off to attend the rally at Parliament on the day of the censure motion. The action prompted the CEC to cancel its advertising contract with the agency (details here).

Traducerea: Ovidiu Harfas