The supposedly “controversial” part is the fact that a gay couple is seen for a second.
Erste Bank’s advertising campaign “Croatia needs people who believe in themselves” promotes positive societal and economic values and the fellowship of all individuals in society, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion or political affiliation, sexual orientation or marital status, reports tportal.hr on November 16, 2017.
In one part of the promotional video, a gay couple and a transgender person appear, which has, of course, sparked protests from conservative non-governmental associations.
The CitizenGo Platform has launched an online petition titled “Croatia needs people who believe in themselves, in marriage, in the family”. They claim that “Erste Bank's advertising campaign undermines the foundations of the Croatian society and imposes new societal standards which do not take into account the protection of what Croatia really needs: stable families, protection and assistance for women who want to have children, high-quality and non-ideological curricular reform, as well as professional and efficient public institutions and the media which dare speak the truth and, if you really want to hear it, banks offering low interest rates.”
On the other hand, the activist LGBT website Crol is dismayed with the conservatives’ reaction. “CitizenGo and the people around them must once and for all realise that Croatia is not just theirs, and it will never be just theirs.”
Crol also claims that Erste Bank had cut the scene with two men holding their hands from some versions of the ad seen on some TV channels. They say that “viewers have informed them about it.”
However, Erste Bank says there has been no censorship since that would deny the very values which it wanted to promote in the campaign.
“The ‘Our country needs people who believe in themselves’ ad initially has the duration of more than one minute and can be seen on TV and online channels, including social networks. For the purposes of television broadcasting, depending on the lease of broadcast advertising space, several shortened versions have been created in which some scenes are omitted, but all the actors and the basic idea of the campaign have been retained. On the other hand, a more extended, main version of the ad will be shown through online channels and social networks over the entire duration of the advertising campaign. Consequently, it is important to emphasise that there has been no withdrawal of the TV ad or its shortening with the intention of omitting any of its parts. On the contrary, we believe that the elements of the advertising campaign in all its forms will continue to promote the fundamental idea, which is the prosperity of the society as a whole,” said Erste Bank.
For once, a bank seems to be on the right side of an issue.
