Since we’re on the Cannes theme, we’ll have to give it up to Grey Denmark, which we found out last year was behind a popular viral ad for Visit Denmark, for going against its former client and entering the clip into this year’s Cannes festival even after the agency was told to sod off.
Much like the Downfall meme, a client proves once again that it doesn’t get “viral” as the video–where mom Karen sends a shout-out looking for her baby daddy–garnered 2,578,961 views across 466 websites in 266 countries before Visit Denmark admitted it was a hoax and pulled it from YouTube.
But Grey tells the The Wall UK that the client approved the ad “at every step,” but “fell at the first hurdle.” According to a statement from Grey Group’s vice chairman and worldwide CD Tim Mellors, “The documentary style proved incredibly convincing and peaked people’s curiosity about life in Denmark.” Time will tell if the agency’s defiance pays off.