The Rewards of Misbehaving

Recently the Danish Tourism Agency produced a video with tax payer money, in which a woman called Karen claims her baby is a product of a drunken one night stand with a foreigner. She uses YouTube to asks the baby’s father, where ever he is in the world to come forward, because by morning he wasn't by her side. Unfortunately the video is no longer available on YouTube, but I was able to find a copy on metacafe. Below is the link, watch before further reading.
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/3384882/danish_mother_seeking/

This video comes across as genuine, however it is a hoax designed to attract attention towards Denmark. The woman is an actress and the baby lets say is a future actor as well. It was a huge success with over 1.9 million Google searches, 773,000 YouTube viewings and is linked to 83,000 websites. On the flip side it prompted a slew of angry comments, with one user saying it was a “tasteless, tactless way of attracting attention” and that its unethical to portray Danish woman as promiscuous one night standers.

VisitDenmark disagrees. "Karen’s story shows that Denmark is a broad-minded country where you can do what you want. The film is a good example of independent, dignified, Danish women who dare to make their own choices, We tell a good and sweet story about a mature, responsible woman who lives in a free society and shoulders the responsibility of her actions. And she uses a modern social medium," says VisitDenmark CEO Dorte Kiilerich.

Whats my take on this? Well, I admire VisitDenmark for producing such an impactful and innovative tourist campaign, especially because it was low budget aswell. What the agency did is what I like to call "misbehave", which can be a highly positive dynamic. Be less angelic and more innovative-For those not naturally inclined to naughtiness, I encourage the occasional foray, its good to break a rule every once in a while. Theirs a very important link between risk taking and creativity. Sure acting improperly can be a little scary; however, theirs no way of finding out your true potential unless you step out of the boundaries and color outside the lines.

You could still achieve excellence- just like perfectly proficient musicians who never miss a note-but you wont be GREAT. Yo Yo Ma and other standout players deliberately add imperfections-slowing things down and speeding them up and slurring things. they musically "Misbehave".

Such was the case for Denmark Tourism, they dared to "misbehave" and it payed off in leaps and bounds. Just a few weeks ago, Denmark wasn't in anyone's mental radar, and now, it is. Besides, whats the big deal, SeX has been used for decades to sell your everyday products in subtle ways, (shampoo, jewelry, lotion, clothing, etc) so why not places. So go ahead, misbehave and create memories !