by InTrieste
Italy’s new tourism marketing campaign featuring Botticelli’s Venus as a “virtual influencer” has faced a wave of criticism, including from Friuli Venezia-Giulia, since its launch last week.
The “Open to Meraviglia” campaign features the Roman goddess of love wearing modern-day clothes, including a miniskirt, posing in front of various Italian landmarks holding a cell phone or a slice of pizza.
The €9 million campaign, launched by tourism minister Daniela Santanchè and Italy’s national tourism board ENIT, was slammed by the Italian culture undersecretary and outspoken art critic Vittorio Sgarbi.
Local Trieste’s filmmakers recognized our neighboring Slovenia in one scene in the promotional video, featuring young people drinking wine in an outdoor setting, saying that it came from a stock footage platform. “We are surprised that with such big budget the government would opt out for a stick platform,” they told the local news.
In addition, an Italian marketing company was quick to spot that the Open to meraviglia campaign was not registered with its own website and promptly purchased the domain name.
Open to Meraviglia (Open to wonder) has sparked numerous internet memes, with social media users accusing the campaign of being tacky, embarrassing and relying on tired stereotypes.
You can watch the promotional video here.
