Controversial excessive drinking PSA removed from YouTube
A woman in a mini skirt and a red shirt orders first one, then two, three drinks at a club. She dances alone, in a group, and on the bar. Unsteady, she leaves the club clearly intoxicated and gets into a taxi with two strangers, who say they will take her “anywhere.” The car takes off.
That’s the rough script of a public service announcement produced by the government which bloggers have said promotes victim-blaming and sexism. instead of the intended message about excessive drinking.
Ecuador’s national communications secretariat released the video as a part of an ongoing PSA series called “React, Ecuador” which has in the past tackled alcohol consumption and machismo in Ecuadorian society with 30-second TV spots.
Rocío Carpio, a blogger, wrote an article in GKillCity.com called “Everything that happens to you is your fault, whore” that set off the debate on social media, including on the secretariat’s Facebook page.
Carpio pointed out that the timing of the video’s broadcast made is content even worse. The release of the ad coincided with the high-profile disappearance of Karina del Pozo, a model and student who was raped and murdered allegedly by friends after a night of drinking.
The user who uploaded the video to YouTube has now marked it private so it can no longer be viewed.
However, heres a video produced in the same series: