Amsterdam launches stay away campaign targeting rowdy British tourists
The city council for Amsterdam has launched a digital discouragement campaign aimed at British men between the ages of 18 and 35. The new initiative is part of the Dutch city’s efforts to improve its international reputation. The video shows intoxicated young men staggering around the streets, being handcuffed by police and having their mugshots taken.
Amsterdam has long been regarded as one of the party capitals of Europe, with cannabis and other magic mushrooms being both legal and readily available. For just as long, locals have complained of intoxicated Brits treating the city as a playground.
This new targeted ad argues that a carefree weekend in the notoriously liberal city could land tourists with hefty fines and serious convictions. While its critics argue that the ad is based on lazy stereotypes, the angle echoes the sentiment of Amsterdam’s former mayor Eberhard van der Laan, who, almost a decade ago, invited Borish Johnson to see the debauchery the British were unleashing upon the city first hand.
“They don’t wear a coat as they slalom through the red light district,” he began, “they sing ‘You’ll never walk alone’. They are dressed as rabbits or priests and sometimes they are not dressed at all. I’d love to invite him to witness it.” You can watch the advert below.
Campagnevideo Stay Away versie 1 from Gemeente Amsterdam on Vimeo.
