VisitDenmark’s viral video put Denmark on the tourist map – the question is whether it is a place some would now rather avoid

Sex sells, but rising above the flotsam of common pornography on the internet requires true talent. That’s why it’s so impressive that a video of something as wholesome as a mother and child could attract over a million internet viewers with one thing on their mind.

What’s unimpressive about the now infamous VisitDenmark YouTube video is that its goal was so obvious. The bogus story of an attractive woman looking for the father of a child sired during a one night stand might have been humorous to some, and almost certainly even inspired some men to consider a swing by Denmark the next time they are in northern Europe, but in the end it could wind up giving the country an reputation it would rather do without.

All’s fair in the global tourism battle, and VisitDenmark did right to think of new ways to attract attention to this easily overlooked corner of the world. But the tourism board seems to have forgotten that even in a bastion of liberal social morals there are voices that object to a state-funded organ promoting the nation’s women as tourist destinations.

If there is one country on this planet where women have come close to eliminating the gender gap, it is Denmark. Whether in the workplace or on the home front, women here have proven themselves men’s equals on all accounts.

But just because women have equal status does not mean they are the same as men. And that’s where VisitDenmark failed in allowing the video to be uploaded, for while half the population (openly or not) were drawn in by the video’s promise of easy sex, the other half was – quite vehemently – repulsed by it. In short, VisitDenmark seems to have confused ‘liberated’ with ‘easy’.

Error of judgement aside, what’s more disturbing is that VisitDenmark failed to recognise that its target audience – everyone outside Denmark – generally has a less casual attitude towards sex. That’s something a tourist board should have been acutely aware of.

Whether it will affect tourism numbers is unknown, but it’s a sure bet that the slight is something women will keep in mind next time they sit down to discuss summer holiday destinations with their husbands.

Dothe Kiilerich summed it up correctly when she defended the video by saying Denmark needed to resort to unconventional measures in order to compete for tourists. But while selling half the population as hussies certainly is unconventional, the sex card is just as overplayed as the Little Mermaid.