What is truely Scandinavian? “Absolutely nothing,” SAS replied in its new commercial. The “organized reactions” against the video led SAS to cancel the campaign after 24 hours. SAS Norway pointed a possible troll attack.
-When we look at the pattern and the number of reactions, we suspect of a coordinated attack against our campaign. We do not want to risk becoming a platform for these things. That is why we have currently canceled the film from our channels and are now considering the next step, writes press officer John Eckhoff of SAS Norway to VG.
The video starts with asking “What is really Scandinavian?”, with video images of typically Scandinavian elements such as meatballs, and Danish design. And then the answer comes:
“Absolutely nothing”. The video states that everything Scandinavian is copied from somewhere else.
-Everything is copied”, from our democracy, to rye bread, sandwiches, licorice and binder. We are nothing better than our predecessors, the Vikings, we take everything we enjoy on our trips abroad, adapt it a bit, and voilà: It is a unique Scandinavian thing, says the narrative voice.
The video ends with the following message: Every time we go beyong our borders, we add colors, progress, and bring the best of every place back home. In a way Scandinavia was brought here piece by piece.
These messages provoked some users and the comment section was filled with curse words and promises not to fly SAS again.
-We are behind the message in the film. Traveling creates inspiration. We let ourselves to be inspired and we inspire others. The experiences we bring from our travels affect us as individuals, and society. We at SAS are proud of our Scandinavian origin and the values that characterize our open, equal and democratic societies, says Eckhoff.
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Scandinavian Airlines, usually known as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. SAS is an abbreviation of the company’s full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark-Norway-Sweden.
