Brits who voted against Brexit can now be “adopted” by Romanians thanks to a new campaign called “Romanians adopt Remainians”. The initiative is aimed at the 16 million Brits who voted “remain” in the June 23rd EU referendum, and was launched by the Romanian newspaper Gandul in cooperation with the viciously clever advertising agency GMP Advertising/Webstyler.
Romanians interested in symbolically “adopting” a Brit can visit the campaign’s website and simply click “adopt” to become an adoptive parent. The campaign encourages visitors to adopt with some smart ad copy: “Fellow Romanians, the good people who voted remain and share European values deserve to be our relatives. Let’s all volunteer so that each remainian is adopted by a Romanian.”
Romanians can adopt a Facebook friend or stranger from Britain, who are issued a token Romanian ID in return. Brits seeking adoption can also visit the campaign’s website and register their desire for an adoptive family from Romania by clicking “Get Adopted”.
British visitors to the “Romanians adopt Remainains” website are greeted with the message: “Dear Brits who believe in a united Europe, leave the Brexiters, the quarreling, and the weather behind. Start a brand new life in a loving Romanian family.”
GMP Advertising/Webstyler was the same agency responsible for the award-winning “Why Don’t You Come Over” campaign launched in response to the widely hyped fears in Britain that Romania and Bulgaria’s admission to the Schengen Zone in January 2014 would result in the breakdown of British society. The fear of Romanians unleashed by the British press during that time was probably unlike anything seen in Europe since Vlad Tepes emerged from a Transylvanian village in the 15th century, and the Romanian advertising campaign targeting potential British tourists seemed a pitch-perfect response.
Placards promoting Romania as a destination for Brits included statements like “our draft beer is less expensive than your bottled water” and “summer here lasts three months, not three hours”.
Cover photo credit: gato-gato-gato/flickr/some rights reserved
