Greece pushes back against marketing shenanigans near heritage sites
Sneaker promotions and the Acropolis do not necessarily, okay do not at all, mix
You don’t gift wrap the Lincoln Memorial and charge tourists an admission fee for holiday photos, do you? Of course not. You don’t offer private tours of the White House for young whippersnappers in the sham industry of “crypto”, do you? Well um….
In normal times, none of those shenanigans would happen. These days, you never know. In America culture or what passes for it is so easily commodified. Elsewhere — think France, Japan — not so much. Add Greece to that list of countries that still have, shall we say, a sense of taste.
A spate of recent cultural affronts, or potential ones, have rocked the Greek capital and in each case, those who would tinker with Greece’s greatest natural resource — its heritage — learned that in this respect among others no, Greece is not Donald Trump’s everything-is-for-sale America.
Here are three things that happened that illustrate this:
First, there was something noteworthy in the category of comeuppance. A film director named Yorgos Lanthimos, who makes the kinds of movies that generate some awards buzz and are then fast forgotten (call it the Dances With Wolves effect), thought he might shoot scenes for a new flick at the Acropolis of Athens — well, think again Yorgos! The Greek culture ministry wasn’t having it, stating that “the proposed scenes are incompatible with the symbolism … and the values the Acropolis represents”.
No movie director is any kind of match for the goddess Athina, whose spirit still inhabits the world’s most iconic temple, erected in her honor, for the city she protects.
Basically, neither the Parthenon nor the Acropolis are props. This month, a Greek newspaper reported that “a promotional drone show orchestrated by Adidas near the Acropolis ignited a fierce political and legal backlash in Greece, prompting the Ministry of Culture to launch legal action for potential violations of archaeological protection laws.”
Really, Adidas? Those shoes never fit me very well. A lit-up outline of an Adidas show over the Acropolis not only doesn’t jibe with the DNA of Athens, it’s also just sort of pathetic — like, let’s just say it, the haircuts of virtually every male politician in Washington D.C.: Cringe.
There was also this attempted stunt by Coca-Cola — no can do, the culture ministry said.
Oh, about that pole dancing? That was up in Corfu, where according to Greek newspaper Kathimerini, “authorities filed a formal complaint after female models were filmed pole dancing on the grounds of the Ionian island’s historic Royal Palace, sparking public outrage and raising concerns over security at the site.”
The bottom line here seems to be that Las Vegas-style marking antics probably are going to work better in Las Vegas than in most of Europe.
The Column’s view? We support the Greek Ministry of Culture 100%. And, we would go one step further: not just in Greece but in New York and everywhere, we support a ban on tourists who plant tripods in front of monuments and historical sites so they can tell their 14 Instagram followers where they are — while blocking the view for all the people who actually took the time and the trouble to go there. Blame Kim Kardashian and toxic social media but still, come on, what doltburgers: somewhere above, Zeus shrugs.